Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Comprehensive Plan topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council postpones comprehensive-plan steering committee MOU after questions about appointments
Summary
Council postponed indefinitely a memorandum of understanding to stand up a 21-member steering committee for the Imagine Flint comprehensive plan update after councilmembers raised concerns about the committee appointment process and ward representation.
Flint City Council members voted to postpone indefinitely a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that would set up a 21-member steering committee to update the city’s comprehensive plan, citing concerns about how steering-committee seats would be chosen and whether each ward would have a voice.
Planning staff member Emily told council the project team held 21 community meetings across the city and solicited applications; she said about 520 people participated in outreach and the planning office had received roughly 22 applications to serve on the steering committee. "We asked all 520 who was interested in the steering committee...we have gotten...22 applications," Emily said in response to questions about how members were selected.
Several council members said they were concerned the mayor would control appointments and that the MOU needed clearer guarantees that each of Flint’s nine wards would have representation. Councilwoman in the 6th Ward told the city attorney and planning staff she wanted a clearer role in selecting a ward representative. The council later received an updated draft that staff said added language "specifying that at least 1 member from each ward will be appointed with the goal of having equal representation." Emily said the revised version was prepared after earlier feedback but had not been circulated to the clerk before the meeting.
After a substitute motion to postpone the MOU indefinitely, the council voted 6–1 to postpone the document. The transcript records the roll-call result as: "The vote is 6 yes, 1 no. This has been postponed indefinitely."
Council members framed the postponement as a need to ensure residents appointed to the steering committee are representative and that councilmembers have the opportunity to propose candidates from their wards. Planning staff said they would circulate an updated MOU with clarified language and the list of applicants for each ward so council could review candidates before the item returns to committee.
The postponement affects the timeline for the Imagine Flint comprehensive plan update and the steering committee work, which staff said would require volunteers willing to commit to multiple meetings over six to 12 months. No further council action on the MOU was recorded in the transcript.
