Detroit Charter Roundtable Discussions

**DetCharter** · April-25-11, 02:56 PM

Did you know that the City of Detroit is Revising our Charter?

Do you know what the Charter is and how it impacts you?

On May 10th and 11th DetCharter and The McDougall-Hunt Citizens District Council are hosting a series of roundtable discussions to inform citizens of the changes that are in the draft proposal. These forums will focus on citizen participation, documented and submitted to the Commission in a formal report.

The Draft Charter will be on the ballot this November! Make sure you are prepared when you get to the voting booth!

Registration has already begun for the event. SIGN UP NOW!

Get more information about the discussions.

Plus, be sure to stay up to date on the process by visiting www.detcharter.com or their facebook page.

The Charter establishes the ground rules from which the city government operates, details the roles of the executive and legislative branches of local government, enables the election process and mandates the departments, programs and services that we all rely on in our daily lives.

**Detroit Stylin** · April-25-11, 05:34 PM

Originally Posted by DetCharter

Did you know that the City of Detroit is Revising our Charter?

Do you know what the Charter is and how it impacts you?

On May 10th and 11th DetCharter and The McDougall-Hunt Citizens District Council are hosting a series of roundtable discussions to inform citizens of the changes that are in the draft proposal. These forums will focus on citizen participation, documented and submitted to the Commission in a formal report.

The Draft Charter will be on the ballot this November! Make sure you are prepared when you get to the voting booth!

Registration has already begun for the event. SIGN UP NOW!

Get more information about the discussions.

Plus, be sure to stay up to date on the process by visiting www.detcharter.com or their facebook page.

The Charter establishes the ground rules from which the city government operates, details the roles of the executive and legislative branches of local government, enables the election process and mandates the departments, programs and services that we all rely on in our daily lives.

Have they got the districts set up? Is there someplace where I can see them?

**DetCharter** · April-25-11, 07:21 PM

Actually an interesting story....The original proposal that was voted upon by citizens to reformat our legislative branch to council by districts called on the elections commission to draw the district lines. It turns out that this is illegal; says the Michigan attorney general. The District lines will eventually be drawn by our very own City Council but they have not done this yet.

The Charter Revision Commission has voted to retain the 7 district and 2 at large structure that proposal D requested but I don't think you should expect to see Council by Districts by this fall.

**masterblaster** · April-26-11, 08:00 AM

Thanks for posting this information. I plan to register for the roundtable discussions.

**DetCharter** · April-26-11, 08:21 AM

I look forward to seeing you at the Discussion, masterblaster...Help us spread the word about the Event....This is the public's last chance to learn about the proposed draft charter before the commission's public hearings the following week.

**DetCharter** · April-28-11, 09:01 AM

Founders of DetCharter, Alexander Derdelakos and Jacqueline Bejma, will be on WDET Thursday, April 28 @ 11:20. Listen to the show to hear a little more about the upcoming forums... http://www.wdetfm.org/listenlive/

**DetCharter** · April-29-11, 05:11 PM

Originally Posted by DetCharter

Founders of DetCharter, Alexander Derdelakos and Jacqueline Bejma, will be on WDET Thursday, April 28 @ 11:20. Listen to the show to hear a little more about the upcoming forums... http://www.wdetfm.org/listenlive/

If you missed The Craig Fahle Show Yesterday you can still catch the interview @ www.detcharter.com/WDET.php and make sure to register for the Roundtable discussions to learn more about the Draft Charter @ www.detcharter.com/RSVP

**DetCharter** · May-01-11, 09:42 AM

The Detroit Charter Revision Commission officially accepted the Draft Charter for release to the public. We should see a copy by Tuesday or Wednesday this coming week. You can be sure that we will have an annotated copy @ www.detcharter.com

And don't forget to register for the community roundtables; get informed and voice your opinion on the subject! www.detcharter.com/RSVP for info, times and locations.

See you there....the DetCharter team

**maxx** · May-01-11, 10:04 AM

I mentioned on another thread that the Charter Commission's site is not an easy read and requires one to look at the old charter too. If you can't see the conclusions that the commission has reached before the meeting, then it will be very hard to question or counter what they are presenting at these meetings.

**DetCharter** · May-01-11, 11:29 AM

Originally Posted by maxx

I mentioned on another thread that the Charter Commission's site is not an easy read and requires one to look at the old charter too. If you can't see the conclusions that the commission has reached before the meeting, then it will be very hard to question or counter what they are presenting at these meetings.

I agree...it can be like walking into a political science class at the halfway point. The good news is that the Commission is releasing the official draft language this week. This way we can present a one to one comparison of the old and new language. We will also annotate the changes to make it a bit easier to read for those unfamiliar with the charter.
You can see the annotated version of the current charter @ http://www.detcharter.com/resources/...Charter/02.php that will get you to the table of contents and direct you to any chapter of the charter; or you can download a full pdf version @ http://www.detcharter.com/resources/...entCharter.pdf , the light grey italics in each section are the annotations provided by Jacqueline Bejma of DetCharter.
Just to remind you; DetCharter was founded by two citizens. We are not affiliated with the Detroit Charter Commission and we ARE NOT receiving any compensation for our efforts. We just think that this is a very important moment in the history of Detroit and everyone deserves the opportunity to learn about, understand and participate in the Revision of our local constitution.
Enjoy the read.

**maxx** · June-07-11, 03:54 AM

So what's your overall impression of all the meetings? How many people showed up? What was discussed? Did any new ideas for the commission emerge?

**DetCharter** · June-07-11, 05:35 AM

Our meetings went very well. We discussed all the changes to the draft, which you can see in our presentation here: http://www.detcharter.com/draftPres.php. This makes it pretty easy to see the changes, graphically and in writing. We've been out making this presentation to community groups, too, and it seems like there is a lot of misinformation out there, so we're happy to be a nonpartisan resource to help explain things.

**Richard** · June-07-11, 06:40 AM

Interesting rejections,I wonder in who's best interest.

BF 25: Prevent city employees from receiving a salary for serving two positions at one time; rejected 7-0.

BF 16: City must confirm that equipment works before paying contractors; rejected 6-2.

BF 62, BF 55: Consider loopholes in contracts, consequences for contract non-compliance, rejected 6-2.

GDS 66: Zoning enforcement is needed to deal with blighted businesses, rejected 7-1.

GOS 213: Auditor general should review contracts, rejected 6-0.

GOS 179: Prohibit candidates with felony convictions from running for office; Harris moved to reject, passed 8-1.

GOS 31 - Mayor shall not appoint Police Chief. The office of Police Chief shall be filled by citizen election. - Johnson - REJECT - passed 7-1

GOS 77: Disallow use of city-owned vehicles for personal use, rejected 7-1.

GDS103: Remove language that gives protections to property owners needing sidewalk repairs, rejected 4-3.

http://www.detcharter.com/process/status.php

**maxx** · June-07-11, 06:47 AM

Wow, Richard. Someone's got some 'splainin' to do.

**DetCharter** · June-07-11, 06:59 AM

Originally Posted by Richard

Interesting rejections,I wonder in who's best interest.

BF 25: Prevent city employees from receiving a salary for serving two positions at one time; rejected 7-0. This was rejected because it would prevent a person from working two part-time positions for the city, which the commission did not believe was the intention of the proposal.

BF 16: City must confirm that equipment works before paying contractors; rejected 6-2. This was rejected because the Commission felt it was more suited to being a provision in the contract, versus a charter provision that would be difficult to inspect [[through the charter).

BF 62, BF 55: Consider loopholes in contracts, consequences for contract non-compliance, rejected 6-2. These specific proposals were rejected because appropriate language was not provided, however, the Commission did add language that would eliminate loopholes [[like change orders) and provide some serious consequences for contractor non-compliance. See Final Draft sections 2-106, 6-307 & 6-308.

GDS 66: Zoning enforcement is needed to deal with blighted businesses, rejected 7-1. Rejected because it already exists through State law.

GOS 213: Auditor general should review contracts, rejected 6-0. The AG inspects the fiscal operations of departments and agencies. Problems with contracts would be the purview of the newly created Inspector General.

GOS 179: Prohibit candidates with felony convictions from running for office; Harris moved to reject, passed 8-1. Federal law outlines the guidelines for those who run for office - must be 18, must be a citizen.

GOS 31 - Mayor shall not appoint Police Chief. The office of Police Chief shall be filled by citizen election. - Johnson - REJECT - passed 7-1 Commission chose to retain mayoral appointment for Police Chief, but appointee will be selected from a list provided by the ELECTED Board of Police Commissioners.

GOS 77: Disallow use of city-owned vehicles for personal use, rejected 7-1. This is also covered in the new Standards of Conduct, Section 2-106. Personal use will be prohibited.

GDS103: Remove language that gives protections to property owners needing sidewalk repairs, rejected 4-3. This charter language conflicted with State law governing assesments related to sidewalk repairs. No property owner protection was removed in the final draft.

http://www.detcharter.com/process/status.php

Often, specific proposals that were submitted to the Commission were either unclear, had no rationale, or conflicted with state law. Just because one proposal was rejected, it doesn't necessarily mean that the whole idea was rejected - just that another proposal more accurately conformed to law or had proper language.