Keweenaw Report Your Source for Local News and Sports
Thursday night’s marathon Calumet council session was a topsy-turvy affair that almost resulted in having no budget in place for today. Following a public session, several trustees were upset that the budget had not been part of prior work sessions. That meant the draft was completed almost exclusively by Village Manager Caleb Katz and President Brian Abramson.
Andrew Ranville, Lori Weir, and Roxanne King originally voted to delay the acceptance of any budget until further deliberations could take place. That would have meant the village would be operating without one in place for the fiscal year that began this morning. A new meeting would have required proper public notice, pushing adoption to later this week, opening up the possibility of Attorney General Dana Nessel levying penalties against the municipality. King withdrew and changed her vote, allowing for a debate on the budget. It can be modified going forward, but Weir said that is a disservice to the public since they have no opportunity for input.
After two hours of discussion where the body went line-by-line through the proposed budget, the Village Council voted 4-1 in favor. There was significant debate over how many votes were needed to pass a budget. Virginia Dwyer said a two-thirds supermajority was required for a budget. Lori Weir agreed.
Katz said he had spoken with village attorney Pat Greeley of Kendricks and Bordeau, with Greeley advising that a majority of the council’s full seven seats (four votes) was needed. The Michigan Municipal League had said a majority of the seated council members would suffice (three votes). Keweenaw Report reached out to both Greeley and the MML for this story. Neither responded.
