Walled Lake council orders litigation disclosure, tables contract posting and asks attorney to advise on devices
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Summary
Council adopted a resolution directing the city attorney to compile litigation filings and summaries (2020 to present), tabled a broader proposal to post contracts online, and directed the attorney and city manager to return recommendations on electronic communication policies and whether to provide city devices to elected officials.
Walled Lake 99The Walled Lake City Council voted to direct the city attorney to compile a report of past litigation filings and a summary covering calendar years 2020 to the present, and to analyze potential litigation risks going forward. The council also debated a separate proposal to publish city employee and contractor contracts on the city website; that contracts proposal was tabled for further review.
Councilman Kinsey (identified in the transcript) introduced the litigation-disclosure resolution, which directed the city attorney to provide a written response within five working days confirming whether the requested timeline was feasible or proposing an alternative. The resolution also preauthorized a special meeting if the attorney could not meet the deadline.
The city attorney cautioned that documents labeled as privileged attorney-client communications remain confidential unless the council adopts a specific resolution releasing them. "Anything that I give you that is labeled as privileged confidential attorney client communication9even though the cases may be over and resolved9they remain privileged... until you make motions or adopt resolutions releasing them," the attorney said.
On the contracts proposal, a councilor asked for clarity about posting "future" contracts and negotiation confidentiality; staff said many active contracts are already available by resolution in meeting records and that the city clerk is the keeper of contracts. Council voted to table the contracts-posting resolution to allow more time for review and redaction practice.
The council also debated device and FOIA policy. Staff and legal counsel advised councilors to use city email accounts for official business and warned that using personal devices for council work may create FOIA exposure. The council directed the attorney and city manager to research electronic-communication policies and return a recommendation to council; members discussed provisioning city devices or virtual-machine solutions but deferred procurement decisions pending legal guidance.
Outcome: litigation-disclosure resolution adopted; contracts-disclosure proposal tabled; council directed attorney and manager to deliver a plan on electronic communications and device use.
