.. ,) , Pa 6 MICInGAN CITIZEN DETROIT EDITION OCTOBER 31, 1 o TB LLOT L ITY CHARTER REVISIO 3 b Ilot. The ball pre rued to the vot r as follow : H LL THEREB P OPO AL" " GE ER L REVI 10 OF TH CHARTER OF THE ITY OF DETROIT? YES 0 city ch rter? The chan r i the city' con titution, it' most b ic I w. The Michigan n tituti n and the Home Rule itie Act provide that the citizen of a city can exerci local self-g vernrnent by framing. d pting. and amending a home rule charter. Th h rter e tabli h th form g vemrnent. it office ,how those officers are lected, th ir term . and the dutie and powe f the officers. It pre ribe procedure to be followed in peratin th government of the city and e tabli he afeguard which protect the citizen again t mi use of municip I authority. hange in the city charter can be a cornpli hed by mglei ue charter amendmen pi ed n the ballot by eith r a two third vote of th nine-member council, or attainin pproximately 2 • ignature: or. by a gen ral charter revi ion pproved by the voters. What i charter revi ion? The ch rter revi ion que tion provide the community an opportu­ nity to determi how well the form and tructure of the city e tabli hed by the charter meet th ne ds of the citizen today and for the future. A charter revi ion commis ion can recommend for con ideration by the voters a revi ed charter that it believe would m e government more effective and re pon ive to changing community need . harter HI tory Detroit' fir t three charters were written by the tate legi lature. in cordance with th law of the time. The Michigan con titution of 1908 authorized home rule, and the Hom Rule Citie Act(P.A. 279 of 1909 a amended)e tabli he theproce for electing a charter commi ion to write a charter. It Ii t what th charter can and cannot include, and dictate how the charter i put on the ballot for vote to adopt or reject. Even though the charter h to tay within the provi ion of the tate con titution and tate law ,th power to develop, adopt. revise, or amend the city charter i broad and important. In 191 .the citizen of Detroit adopted home rule charter that instituted Jhe trong mayor­ council form of government, reduced the ize of the council from 42 to nine, and changed the m nner of electing council rnem from election from wards on a panisan i to election at large on nonpani an ba i . That charter , rved Detroit' con titution for S6 years, during which time it wa amended over 200 time . By the late 1960' ,there w concern that the 1918 ch rrer w hampering (he dmini tration of urban renewal. ial program ,affirmative action, and other progr ms. A charter tudy committee ppointed in 1968 by Mayor C van ugh recommended that th city ch rter be completely rewritten, not to change the fonn of overnment, but rather to elimin te many of the legal re traints in the old document. Detroit voters approved calling a charter commi ion in Au u t 1970 and elected a charter comrnis ion in November of that year. At the November 1972 election, the proposed new charter w narrow Iy defeat d. but two parate proposal ubmitted to the voters were decided! 67,percent wanted to retain t-Iarge election rather th n return to a ward y tern, and 63 percent oppo d chan ing from nonpani election. In November 1973, voter pprovcd a revised pr po. d charter th t retained th trong mayor-council form which clearly define !he powers of the exe utive and legi lative branche and incorpor ed the two proposal and other modific ti n . That charter al provided th t in 1993 and every 16 years hereafter, voters hould decid wh th r to undertake a general revi i n of the charter. T.M urrent harter There have been 17 proposed amendmenu to the 1974 charter; 13 of tho h ve p d. Arnendmen m y alter or improve within the line of the original charter, but a change that di rupts, cancel ,or m e inoperable the origin I charter i a revi ion. For ex mple, doption of ward el tion of coun i I member could be compli hed by amendment, buuch ngefT mthe trongmayor-councilfomitothewe m yor-councilorcouncil-mana er form of city governm nt would require a revi ion. ' r different depanrnen : require City Ii h QU 10 A H TH H 00 +Tbe Detroit City Charter e tabli he t legi I tive branch, headed by the City Council. which determint' the policie of th city overnment. The Council ordinance • which are municipal re ul tion. d re elution which are formal expre - ion of will, opinion, or intent, in cordance with charter provi ion. While City Council i re pon ible for determining policy. it mu t rely on the M yor to implement th policie . The M yor i empowered to veto t of the City Council: Council may override m yoral vetoe . The City Council i also re pon ible for oversight of the executive branch, and i given inve tigative powers in the depanrn nt of Audit r General and Ombud man to i t in thi important ignrnent. The �haner pecifically re train council from direct involvement in executive branch oper tion by prohibiting Council from givin orde to executive branch employee. The re pon ibility . for oversight and the prohibition from interfering in executive branch operation have also provided the i for conflict between tlle two branche of city government. A new charter commi ion might