Goodrich- Recent action by the Goodrich Village Council will delay a ballot vote to dissolve the village, but may provide information to residents clamoring for more information.
The process of collecting nearly 400 petition signatures went quickly for Vacate the Village members, but according to the village charter, it’s up to the council to decide to put the issue to the voters.
The council went into a lengthy closed session with village attorney Tom McKenney Monday evening before council president Keith Walworth addressed the audience.
‘According to our charter the only way to disincorporate the village is a majority vote by the village council to do so,? said Walworth.
‘Personally, I’m not ready to do that, but the reasons are not what you think. The problem is the charter doesn’t provide for incorporating the township in the vote. There’s no procedure in place as to how the township would take over.?
Walworth recommended amending the village charter to include the language of general law villages, which would specifically detail a process whereby the village could be dissolved.
The announcement was met with outbursts accusing Walworth of wanting to ‘keep his job?, complaints about the process? time frame and the word ‘recall? as committee members filed out of the room.
Charter villages–also called home rule villages–operate much like a city, being lawfully organized and operated.
A general law village, by contrast, is a village that never took steps necessary to organize and draft a charter. General law villages are subject to the general law set out in state statute and constitution.
Goodrich incorporated as a village in 1957. Although the charter has been amended since then, most recently to address council compensation in 2002, changes to general law could benefit home rule villages as well, allowing a means for residents to set in place a dissolution vote (see process, below).
If, after the governor’s office approves the language, and Goodrich residents vote to amend the charter, committee members could collect petition signatures in the village that would eventually initiate a ballot vote for both Goodrich and Atlas Township residents, said McKenney, in an interview this week with The Citizen.
As McKenney represents both village residents and the council, his research was thorough and well-documented, he asserts.
‘It wasn’t born of any political caucus. I was assigned a job and did it to the best of my ability,? he said.
As a Holly resident, McKenney is no stranger to dissolution efforts. He also researched the matter prior to the previous 1996 attempt to dissolve the village.
‘This case begged for very thorough research. I’ve researched it with the knowledge and understanding that it’s very important and with the knowledge that it would be subject to public scrutiny.?
The council directed McKenney to work with village administrator Jakki Sidge to draft a charter amendment using excerpts from general law providing a method for dissolution.
It’s not a quick process, said McKenney at the meeting, and would likely take months to get the charter amendment proposal approved by the state.
If residents vote to amend the charter and decide to initiate dissolution, Walworth favors forming a disincorporation commission involving Goodrich and
Atlas residents to form a written plan to handle assets, liabilities, and obligations.
The process is involved, but if the charter is first amended and residents choose to initiate village dissolution, the ‘issue of whether or not there’s a vote is failsafe,? McKenney said.
Coming up with a plan that’s acceptable to both village and township
residents will require a ‘lot of inertia, and a lot of cooperation,? says McKenney.