Bay City councilors discuss five proposed charter changes amid resident concerns about transparency and residency rules

Bay City Council and the mayor met in a workshop to review five proposed amendments to the city charter that would affect council terms, meeting frequency, language the city attorney described as repetitive of state law, the city-manager provisions and a proposed residency waiver for hires outside city limits.

The discussion matters because the changes would alter how the city schedules meetings, how long council members serve, how the charter references state law and who may qualify to serve in city positions — and council members said any changes would go to voters if the council decides to place measures on the ballot.

City staff and council members described the packet of measures as a mix of cleanup language and larger policy choices. Anne Marie, identified in the workshop as the city attorney, said much of the language in “Measure C” traces to recommendations from prior charter commissions and to prior legal review. She told council that for some sections — including those governing elections and executive sessions — state law now prescribes specifics that make verbatim charter language inconsistent or misleading. “If you go read it, you will see it is in conflict with itself,” Anne Marie said, explaining why the city attorney’s office proposed deletions and replacements that reference state law.

Several residents urged caution. Jerry Evans, who identified himself as a former Bay City councilman and a former charter-commission director, said deletions proposed under Measure C would remove “eight pages” of the charter and risk losing local protections. “How do you…