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Ishpeming council approves proposed charter changes and sends them to November ballot
Summary
The Ishpeming City Council approved proposed revisions to the city charter clarifying vacancy appointment procedures, petition requirements, and timelines, and agreed to language on manager residency and candidate eligibility to be drafted for state review and placed on the November ballot.
The Ishpeming City Council voted to place a package of proposed charter amendments on the November ballot after resolving several points of wording and timing in the city attorney's draft. The package clarifies how council vacancies are declared and filled, requires nominating petitions to demonstrate public support for appointees, and sets concrete timeframes for appointments and deadlocks.
Council members and the city attorney debated whether petitions filed in pursuit of an appointment could also serve for ballot access; the attorney said the existing charter text was ambiguous and the proposed language would make clear that petitions are required for appointment to vacancies. Members said that requirement shows that an appointed candidate has demonstrable public support.
On timing, council agreed appointments should be made within 30 calendar days of a declared vacancy and that, if the council fails to appoint within that period, a selection by lot would occur within an additional 15 days (a 45-day maximum from vacancy). Council discussion emphasized the need for both prompt action and a small amount of latitude when members or candidates are temporarily out of town.
The attorney also explained the manager-residency language. Because residency requirements had been ruled unconstitutional under prior case law, the new draft would not require a manager to live in the city at time of appointment but would require the manager to establish residence within a 20-mile radius of Ishpeming after appointment, measured "as the crow flies," language the council accepted.
Council members moved and seconded a single motion to approve the proposed charter language as a group and to place it on the November ballot. The motion passed. The attorney will produce formal ballot language and submit it for state review; council members noted the county printing deadline discussed in the meeting (stated as July 28) and that state review can take weeks, so the attorney aimed to return a final draft at the council's next meeting.
The council also asked the attorney to draft language on candidate eligibility and residency (proposed one-year residency) to appear as an additional amendment (section 2.10) for later review and vote.
The action is procedural: approving charter language for submission to state review and placement on the ballot, not the final certification of ballot text. If the state or county identifies problems, council members said they will reconsider language at a future meeting.
