City Charter Amendments - November 2024 Ballot Proposals
In November 2024, voters will have the opportunity to decide on several important proposed amendments to our City Charter.
These changes aim to modernize city operations, streamline processes and clarify exisiting charter requirements.
Proposed City Charter Amendments
Purpose
Eliminate calendar requirements for the first Commission meeting after the regular city election and for terms of office for City Commission and BLP.
As Written
Sec. 2-6: “The city commission shall provide by resolution for the time and place of its regular meetings and shall hold a least two regular meetings each month. ... A regular meeting shall be held at 7:00 p.m. at the then prevailing local time on the Monday next following each regular city election.”
Sec. 4-5(d): “The term of office of each elected officer shall commence at 7:00 p.m. on the Monday following the regular city election at which the officer is elected.”
As Proposed
Sec. 2-6: "The city commission shall provide by resolution for the time and place of its regular meetings and shall hold at least two regular meetings each month."
Sec. 4-5(d): "The term of office of each elected officer shall commence at the first meeting following a regular city election."
Detail
The Charter currently stipulates that the City Commission must hold at least two regular meetings per month but allows for the body to set the days and times for those meetings. This amendment wouldn’t eliminate any meetings; rather, it would simply eliminate the requirement that one meeting be held at 7 p.m. on the Monday following each November election.
Purpose
Clarify anti-nepotism language to include spouses of elected officials.
As Written
Sec. 6-11(a): “The following relatives and their spouses of any elective official or of an elected official's spouse or of the city manager or of the manager's spouse are disqualified from holding any appointive city office or any city employment during the term for which said elective official was elected or during the tenure of office of the city manager respectively: Child, grandchild, parent, grandparent, brother, sister, half brother and half sister. All relationships shall include those arising from adoption.”
As Proposed
“The city manager’s spouse and an elective official’s spouse and the following relatives and their spouses of any elective official or of an elected official's spouse or of the city manager or of the manager's spouse are disqualified…”.
Detail
The current language would prohibit the hiring of a City Commissioner’s child, grandchild, parent, grandparent, brother, sister, half brother or half sister; and it would prohibit the hiring of that Commissioner’s spouse’s child, grandchild, parent, grandparent, brother, sister, half brother or half sister. It would not prohibit the hiring of the City Commissioner’s spouse.
This clarification would amend that, and would simply align the text of the Charter with the intention of the original anti-nepotism provision.
Purpose
Remove term limits for boards and committees
As Written
Sec. 6-1(f): “Except as otherwise provided by law, each member of a board, commission, or committee appointed by the city commission shall have been a resident of the city for at least one year immediately prior to the day of appointment and shall also be a qualified and registered elector of the city on such day and throughout the member's tenure of office. No person shall be eligible for membership on any such board, commission, or committee if the person will have served at the time of taking office for six or more consecutive years as a member of such board, commission, or committee unless at least two years has elapsed after the termination of such membership. Consecutive years shall be measured from the last date at which the person took office as a member of such board, commission, or committee following a period of at least one year without so being a member.”
As Proposed
Remove the last two (red) sentences.
Detail
The city often faces challenges filling vacancies on its boards and committees. Removing term limits allows experienced, willing volunteers to continue serving the community without interruption, helping to maintain continuity and expertise in important city functions. This amendment would not alter the appointment and reappointment process; Interested parties would still be required to apply to the City Commission for appointment for a set term and would have to apply for re-appointment to subsequent terms.
Purpose
Remove local primary elections for city offices and clarify all regular city election be held at the time provide by State law.
As Written
Sec. 4-2 states that “a regular city election shall be held each year on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November.”
Sec. 4-7:
- Establishes local primary date for August
- Due to state law, the August primary date means that candidates for local office must file by late April
- Sets a process whereby a primary is triggered if there are filings from more than twice the number of candidates as there are open seats
As Proposed
Sec. 4-2: “A regular city election shall be held at the time provided by State law.”
Sec. 4-7: “There shall not be a primary election for city elective offices."
Detail
By removing the date references, this amendment ensures that local election dates remain in sync with any future changes in state election law, avoiding confusion and potential scheduling conflicts.
By removing the requirement to hold a local primary, the amendment would eliminate the need for a primary for City Commission and Board of Light and Power races and would eliminate the potential cost of running an additional election simply to conduct a local primary. This shift would also provide prospective candidates with more time to file for office, as the filing deadline for those offices would move from April to late July.
Purpose
Remove the need to publish full ordinances
As Written
Sec. 3-3(a) requires that all adopted ordinances be published in the newspaper.
- If the ordinance is 500+ words, a digest, a summary or statement of purpose may be used.
- If the ordinance is shorter than 500 words, the full text of the ordinance must be published.
As Proposed
Sec. 3-3.—Publication and recording of ordinances
(a) Within 20 days after the enactment of any ordinance, a digest, summary or statement of the purpose of the ordinance, approved by the Commission, shall be published in a newspaper as defined in section 1-7, including with such newspaper publication a notice that printed copies of the full text of the ordinance are available for inspections by and distribution to the public at the office of the city clerk and at least one other public place in the city.
Detail
Newspaper publication costs continue to rise, and this amendment would save money while still ensuring that ordinances are accessible to the public through summaries and full copies available at city offices.
City Charter Study Group History and Timeline
History
The Marquette City Charter, originally approved by the voters of Marquette in 2012, establishes the expectation of a regular review process for the City Charter.
Specifically, Sec. 13-7 states that "Every ten years the city commission shall appoint a charter study group. The charter study group shall review this charter and make recommendations for changes in this charter. The charter study group shall make its recommendations within one year after appointment."
In December of 2022, the City Commission established a Charter Study Group, appointing the City Manager, City Attorney and City Clerk to the group, which was tasked with reviewing the charter and returning to the City Commission with any recommendations. The group met weekly throughout the next several months in order to review the Charter and discuss potential changes.
In the fall of 2023, the Charter Study Group returned to the City Commission, and recommended a number of Charter amendments aimed at streamilning, clarifying or improving City processes.
The Commission approved these proposed amendments, which were then reviewed and approved by the offices of the Michigan Governor and Attorney General.
Voters in the City of Marquette will now have the opportunity to decide on the proposed amendments, which will appear on the November 5, 2024 ballot.
To the right is a timeline of this process, along with links to the meeting videos and relevant documents for the various steps along the way.
Timeline
Charter Study Group Presentation to the City Commission
Charter Amendment Resolutions
The ballot language resolutions were adopted by the City Commission and approved by the Attorney General and Governor.
Amendment 1 - Resolution
Amendment 2 - Resolution
Amendment 3 - Resolution
Amendment 4 - Resolution
Amendment 5 - Resolution
