Item Coversheet

Resolution

NO. 234

A Resolution Authorizing Submission of a Charter Amendment Ballot Proposal to Electors proposing to provide for ungendered charter language.

BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN - 9/17/2019

Resolved by the Commission of the City of Battle Creek:

 

Pursuant to Act No. 279, of the Public Acts of Michigan, of 1909, as amended, The Home Rule City Act, an amendment to the City Charter may be proposed by the legislative body of the City on three fifths (3/5) vote of its members-elect; and

 

The City Commission has determined that it is appropriate to submit a Charter Amendment to the electors of the City at a Special Election to be held on March 10, 2020, to coincide with the Presidential Primary election.

 

THEREFORE, IT IS FURTHER RESOLVED by the Battle Creek City Commission as follows:

 

    1.     The following proposal shall be submitted to the electors of the City of Battle Creek at a Special Election to be held in the City of Battle Creek on Tuesday, March 10, 2020, to coincide with the Presidential Primary:

 

CHARTER AMENDMENT PROPOSAL 1

Statement of Purpose

The City Charter currently uses, throughout its text, the words, “he,” “him,” and “his” when referring to City officers, officials, and employees. The proposed amendment would revise the full text to refer to such individuals in ungendered terms.

Question

Shall the Battle Creek Charter be amended to restate the entire Charter in ungendered terms?

     2.     Upon adoption of the above proposed amendment, the affected provisions of the City Charter would read as set forth in the Attachment A with regard to Charter Amendment Proposal No. 1, which is attached hereto, with the present Charter language to be retained being indicated by regular type, the present Charter language to be eliminated indicated by strikethrough, and proposed additional Charter language indicated in bold type, and made a part hereof.

     3.     The City Clerk is hereby directed to do all things necessary to provide for the submission of the aforesaid proposition to the electors of the City of Battle Creek at a Special Election on Tuesday, March 10, 2020, being more than 60 days after the date of the adoption of this Resolution.

    4.     The City Clerk shall transmit a copy of the proposed amendment to the Governor of the State of Michigan for approval, and transmit a copy of the above Statement of Purpose and Question of the proposed amendment to the Attorney General of the State of Michigan for approval, as required by law.

    5.     The City Clerk is directed to give notice of the Special Election and notice of registration and all other things necessary in the manner prescribed by law to provide for the submission of the aforesaid proposition to the electors of the City of Battle Creek at a Special Election on Tuesday, March 10, 2020.    









I, Victoria Houser, City Clerk of the City of Battle Creek, hereby certify the above and foregoing is a true and correct copy of a Resolution adopted by the Battle Creek City Commission at a Regular meeting held on September 17, 2019.


Victoria Houser

Battle Creek City Commission
9/17/2019
Action Summary

Staff Member: Jill Humphreys Steele, City Attorney 
Department:City Attorney 
SUMMARY 
A Resolution Authorizing Submission of a Charter Amendment Ballot Proposal to Electors proposing to provide for ungendered charter language.
BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
If this Resolution is passed, the City will incur costs of required publication of the proposed amendment as well as a programming charge and the cost of printing approximately 30 separate ballots per precinct.  The total cost of publication is not yet determined, and the cost of programming and printing separate ballots is estimated to be $600.  

HISTORY, BACKGROUND and  DISCUSSION

The Battle Creek City Commission and/or Battle Creek residents have had numerous discussions over the years regarding whether to propose a charter amendment to allow the voters to select the Mayor. 

 

After the 2014 organizational meeting when commissioners were deadlocked for nearly four hours in attempting to select Mayor, commissioners began discussing appointing another Blue Ribbon Advisory Committee to study certain issues and make a recommendation as to whether any proposals should be put to the voters for amending the charter. In January of 2018, the City Commission created a Blue Ribbon Advisory Committee (BRAC) and appointed 18 City residents to it.

 

The BRAC met a number of times throughout the first half of 2018, considered public input, and studied data prepared by the City Attorney setting out the size of the Council/Commission in other Michigan municipalities, the number of wards, the length of terms and the method of selection of Mayor. BRAC members also spoke with neighbors and other City voters and considered data from staff in the form of surveys. The BRAC also engaged in numerous discussions and considered information and perspectives presented by other BRAC members.

 

One of the first issues discussed by the BRAC was the frequent gender specific language contained within the City Charter.  Numerous sections of the City Charter make a presumption that various city officials, particularly the City Manager, City Attorney and City Clerk are male and refer to them as such throughout the Charter. Committee chairs are also referred to as "Chairman."

 

The BRAC members ultimately recommended three charter amendments be put to voters.

 

The first, which was a unanimous vote, was that the charter language be universally made ungendered. That proposal is the subject of this resolution.

 

STAFF DIRECTION FROM WORKSHOP:

 

At a recent Workshop, City Commissioners discussed the BRAC recommendations. The majority of commissioners agreed the time has come to update the City Charter to make it ungendered throughout. That proposed charter amendment is the subject of this resolution.


DISCUSSION OF THE ISSUE

POSITIONS
The members of the BRAC unanimously support approval of this resolution.
ATTACHMENTS:
File NameDescription
Attachment_A_Amendments_for_Ungendered_Charter_Language_Sept_2019.pdfAttachment A Ungendered Charter Language changes
Blue_Ribbon_Advisory_Report_July_17_2018_City_Commission_meeting.pdfBRAC Final Report and Recommendation July 2018