Lansing council president urges 9 wards, pay oversight and ban on sole-source contracts during charter review

City Council President Ryan Cost and Councilmember Adam Hussain urged the Lansing Charter Commission on Jan. 21 to rewrite parts of the city charter to increase neighborhood representation, add legislative staff and auditors, and give the council more oversight over department-head pay and certain contracts.

Cost told the commission that he wants the charter rewritten to eliminate at-large council seats and expand wards to nine, saying smaller wards would make elected members more accountable to neighbors. “If you break up those 4 at large and you make them take away the 4 at large, add 5 more wards, you split that city up, that money, that influence,” Cost said, arguing smaller wards reduce the role of campaign spending in elections.

Why it matters: Charter language determines how Lansing elects council members, who confirms department heads and how much local transparency residents can expect. Cost and Hussain said changes could reduce concentration of influence and improve constituent service.

Details of proposals and examples cited

- Ward map and size: Both presenters backed nine single-member wards in place of at-large seats, saying smaller…