Houghton City Council to Discuss Term Limits

The Houghton City Council will discuss the possibility of implementing term limits for councilors and city committee members at its meeting this evening. 

A memo from City Manager Eric Waara in response to the recent suggestion recommends that such limits would be best addressed by amending the city charter. A five-member charter review commission would need to be established to pursue that process. The last city charter review was 10 years ago. Waara also cautioned against applying term limits to volunteer committee positions, noting that the city often has trouble recruiting citizens to serve on some committees.

The council is also expected to continue its discussion about a formal process to apply to the sale of real property owned by the city. The city charter already requires that real property be offered through a public bidding process, and mandates that it cannot be sold for less than fair market value, with some exceptions for transfer to other governmental units.

Councilors will appoint two members to the city planning commission. The terms of Brad Baltensperger and Jennifer Julien are expiring. Both have expressed an interest in continuing. Norma Veurink and Ben Ciavola have also applied. Several other committee vacancies also need to be filled.

Tonight’s session begins at 5:30 at the City Center. See the agenda and related documents here. Get online access details here.