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Sturgis council approves revisions to municipal code after extended line‑by‑line debate
Summary
After detailed review and debate about wording and the limits of mayoral discretion, the Sturgis Common Council approved second readings of ordinances revising Title 1 and Title 7 of the city code and authorized minor punctuation edits to be made later.
The Sturgis Common Council on July 29 approved second readings of Ordinance 2024‑06 and Ordinance 2024‑07, which amend and restate provisions in Title 7 (city government) and Title 1 (general provisions) of the municipal code.
Councilors and members of the public spent substantial time on wording changes during the meeting, focusing on whether provisions should use 'may' (discretionary) or 'must' (mandatory). Legal staff explained that 'may' preserves discretion for executive acts such as calling a special meeting, while several council members and public commenters pushed for language to prevent undue delay when council requests a meeting. The council agreed on compromise language directing that special city council meetings "may be called by the mayor or, in the mayor’s absence, by the council president, and scheduled as soon as reasonably possible," with a separate provision allowing three council members to request a special meeting that then must be scheduled as reasonably possible.
Other discussions flagged typographical and phrasing issues across the draft code, including definitions (for example, the legal phrase 'real property') and cross‑references. Multiple speakers asked that non‑substantive grammatical corrections be handled through proof‑reading but that substantive wording changes be addressed in meeting discussion. Legal staff said typographical and punctuation corrections could be made after approval, while substantive edits would require additional readings.
Councilmember Kevin made the motion to approve both ordinances "with the amendments as discussed tonight, and acknowledging that further punctuation will occur," which passed on a roll‑call vote recorded in the meeting minutes.
The ordinances will be published per city procedure; council directed staff to incorporate the agreed wording changes and to correct punctuation and typographical errors identified during the session.
