The Clarkston City Council believes the current election system is not broken, so they decided not to fix it.
At their Nov. 22 meeting, the council opted not to conduct a posted public hearing on potential changes to the current cycle, in which at least part of the city council is up for election each November.
The decision was made during the ‘approval of agenda? portion of the council meeting, with council members essentially discussing the issue while deciding whether to discuss the issue.
Attorney Tom Ryan said last week that the new state law, designed to consolidate and reduce the number of elections each year, did not require a change for city elections.
‘We’re not under the same restraints as townships and villages,? Ryan said. ‘We’re not a village anymore. We’re a city.?
Ryan said he advised City Manager Art Pappas to put the issue on last month’s council agenda to provide the opportunity for discussion if anyone felt a change was desired.
Changes in the election cycle would have required a public hearing, but ‘if you do nothing, everything remains the same.?
‘It hasn’t been a problem so far,? Mayor Sharron Catallo said, expressing satisfaction in the ease of maintaining the current schedule. ‘It’s another good reason to be a city.?
Although the public hearing was scheduled and advertised through a public notice, no one in the audience raised questions concerning the election cycle or the hearing.