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Charter Revision Commission outlines updates and aims for November ballot
Summary
Jennifer Cochran told commissioners the Charter Revision Commission completed its revisions in December and has submitted materials to the attorney general and governor; major changes replace a fixed $7,500 purchasing cap with budget-based percentages and revise terms for boards and the mayor.
Jennifer Cochran, chair of the Charter Revision Commission, presented a progress report to the Big Rapids City Commission, saying the commission began work in November 2023 and completed its revisions in December before legal review and submission to state offices.
“Our goal is to get the proposed charter on the ballot for this coming November’s election,” Cochran said, noting the city sent required materials to the attorney general’s office and the governor’s office around Jan. 20 and has received confirmation of receipt.
Cochran described three kinds of changes the commission made: procedural revisions to move technical purchasing details out of the charter into city ordinance, updates to board membership and term lengths, and readability improvements. She said the most significant operational change was removing the charter’s fixed $7,500 purchasing cap and replacing it with thresholds tied to the annual budget. Under the proposed language, department-head purchases would be capped at 0.25% of the general-fund operating budget for that fiscal year and the city manager could obligate up to 0.75% of the original operating budget without commission approval; the ordinance implementing those thresholds would be reviewed annually alongside the city budget.
Cochran also said the commission shortened or clarified several sections to improve coherence and accessibility, expanded the preamble to reflect community values based on survey and picnic input, and standardized legal citations after consulting with the city’s legal adviser.
Commissioners asked clarifying questions about the new purchasing thresholds and the interplay with the commission’s power to set lower thresholds by ordinance in any given year. Cochran confirmed the commission could adopt an ordinance in a subsequent year to set a lower dollar threshold if desired.
The presentation closed with Cochran inviting commissioners and members of the public to submit questions by email and with staff noting the possibility of placing the charter on the August ballot only if state review completes quickly; otherwise November is the target date.
