Being married to the president may have its privileges, but apparently serving on the Zoning Board of Appeals is not one of them.
The Oxford Village Council last week voted 4-0 to rescind its March 23 appointment of Tracy Miller, husband of village President Renee Donovan, to the ZBA. Donovan abstained from the vote.
Council’s action was based on an anti-nepotism provision in the village charter and an April 5 legal opinion from village attorney Bob Bunting.
The charter provision states, ‘Relatives by blood or marriage of any Councilperson or the Village Manager, within the second degree of consanguinity or affinity, shall be disqualified from holding any appointive office, or from being employed by the village during the term of office of such Councilperson or Village Manager. . .?
‘It is our opinion that the Village of Oxford’s anti-nepotism Charter provision is valid and enforceable. Therefore, Ms. Donovan’s husband may not serve on the Zoning Board of Appeals while Ms. Donovan serves as a member of the Oxford Village Council. The ZBA appointment is therefore invalid,? wrote Bunting.
Prior to council’s action, Miller expressed his concerns over the way issues surrounding his appointment were handled.
At the March 23 meeting, Donovan asked ‘if in the Charter there is any kind of a perceived conflict? with the Miller appointment because he’s her husband.
At that same meeting, Manager Mark Slown told Donovan, ‘I’m not aware of any conflict, but I can inquire with (village attorney) Bob (Bunting) regarding that.?
Miller was bothered by the fact his appointment was on the March 23 agenda, that it wasn’t tabled and that it was acted upon by council.
‘Why wasn’t this issue researched before it was put on the agenda?? Miller said. ‘And if there was a question (regarding it), why was it answered by a member of the administrative branch? Why wasn’t it tabled at that point, when the issue was raised, to be investigated??
Because it required a legal opinion, Miller argued his appointment should have never been acted upon. ‘The issue should have been tabled or pulled from the agenda, but not acted upon,? he said.
‘The thing that bothers me a little bit here is it seems to me the village manager, the chief executive administrator of the village, should well be aware of the charter. . .I don’t believe this appointment should have been on the agenda in the first place because I believe if the administrative branch was doing its job, it would have never been on the agenda.?
Slown said he ‘was totally unaware that you (Miller) were a name being considered for appointment? until it was proposed at the March 23 meeting.
‘I had no prior knowledge of it. So I was caught cold by this,? Slown said.
Councilman Steve Allen was the one who suggested Miller for the ZBA appointment during the March 23 meeting.
‘I have been talking over the last few months with Tracy Miller, who has made a request that he would like to get involved with Planning or Zoning. He has a background on the Pontiac City Council. He thought that would come in handy and he said he would be willing to fill that vacant seat,? said Allen, according to the official meeting minutes.
As far as tabling the issue was concerned, Slown said he agreed that would have been a ‘possibly better action.?
‘However, that is not a manager action. That is a council action,? Slown said. ‘It was not my decision, it was the council’s decision to proceed.?
Slown reiterated that he told council he was unaware of any problems with Miller’s appointment, but he would consult with Bunting. Slown did consult with Bunting as evidenced by the April 5 legal opinion.
Slown said he was aware of the anti-nepotism charter provision, ‘but didn’t feel that was a problem? because of his experiences with previous issues dealing with it.
Miller also expressed concerns over the way the appointment issue was handled once it was learned that he could not serve because of the anti-nepotism charter provision.
Miller stated he contacted on the morning of April 5 and advised by a member of the village administration to not attend the ZBA meeting that evening.
Slown had issued a memo to the ZBA on April 5 stating that Miller’s appointment violated the anti-nepotism provision of the village charter and was therefore ‘deemed invalid.?
‘The village council will provide a replacement appointment as soon as practical,? Slown wrote in the memo.
Miller explained that council is a legislative branch which makes policy and acts through resolution or ordinance, while the village manager represents the administrative branch, which oversees the day-to-day operations of the village.
He asserted that Slown’s actions overstepped his boundaries, based on the separation of powers within government, by acting contrary to the March 23 council resolution appointing him.
‘I don’t know of anybody that can just set aside council resolution other than council,? Miller said. ‘I don’t know of any administrative person that has the right to override or rescind the legislative act of the council.?
Once it was learned that his appointment violated the village charter, Miller said, ‘Council should have convened immediately to rescind that resolution then because it is council and only council that can rescind a resolution passed by council. . That would have been proper procedure.?
‘Council needs to make it clear who has who has what powers and who does what in this village,? Miller said. ‘There has to be a separation of powers. There seems to be a cross-over of powers (in the village).?
Donovan apologized to Miller on behalf of the council and told him the village’s procedures would be looked at.