Big Rapids commission finalizes drafting changes, agrees to submit charter materials to attorney general

The City of Big Rapids Charter Revision Commission met on Dec. 10, 2025, and completed a final review of the draft charter ahead of submission to legal counsel and the attorney general's office. Commissioners agreed to several drafting clarifications, discussed statutory citations and deadlines, and adopted a 2026 meeting schedule by roll call.

Commissioners spent the bulk of the meeting working through counsel Mr. Reddick's suggested edits to the draft. Unidentified Speaker 5 (Stacy) walked members through table-of-contents adjustments and consistency fixes, including restoring a missing section 13.5 and standardizing the phrasing for officers’ "responsibilities and duties." Unidentified Speaker 2 summarized counsel's guidance and asked members to confirm language changes before submission.

A notable text change discussed involved section 5.3, which the commission moved to clarify as: "The City of Big Rapids shall consist of one ward," and to specify that the City Election Commission may "from time to time establish by resolution one or more election precincts in accordance with Chapter 28 of the Michigan Election Law." Commissioners agreed to use a resolution (rather than an ordinance) for establishing precincts, following counsel's advice.

The commission also reviewed statutory citation practices. Counsel recommended concise MCL-format citations in many places (for example, references to the Home Rule City Act and to MCL 15.328 for certain contract provisions). Members agreed to be consistent and to add fuller citations only when they believed the reader would benefit from them.

On taxation language, commissioners discussed changes to sections 9.1 and 9.9 to reflect that the city levies winter and summer property taxes separately and to be explicit about lien dates derived from the General Property Tax Act (July 1). The group debated whether to preserve explicit "postmark counts as paid" language for mailed payments and agreed to ask the treasurer's office for input before making a final decision.

Procedural matters were handled early in the meeting. The commission moved and approved a resolution to excuse Commissioner Foster (out of town). The agenda and the Nov. 12 minutes were both approved by voice vote. Later, the commission approved a resolution adopting the commission's 2026 meeting schedule by roll call; the roll-call record included named affirmative votes for Brown and Wilkinson and multiple other commissioners vocalized "yes."

Unidentified Speaker 2 reminded members that, per Mr. Ellsworth, the materials to be submitted should include a clean copy of the charter, a redlined copy showing changes, the commission's adopting resolution, and voter information. Commissioners agreed to send all materials to counsel Mr. Reddick for review and then forward the package to the attorney general's office. They also agreed they might convene briefly one more time before year-end if outstanding questions remain.

The meeting ended with the chair adjourning at 6:40 p.m.