On December 6, 2011, Senate Bill 8, a bill that would create the "Municipal Partnership Act" was submitted to Governor Snyder for signature.   This act is tie-barred to Senate Bill 9 and 10 and would allow two or more local governments or one or more local governments and a public agency to enter into a contract with each other to form a joint endeavor to perform or exercise any function, service, power, or privilege that the local government or public agency could exercise separately.

The new joint endeavor could use tax revenue that was previously dedicated to pay for the exercise or performance of any function, service, power, or privilege by that local government or public agency individually, to fund the exercise or performance of that function, service, power, or privilege by the joint endeavor.  Moreover, the joint endeavor could levy a tax up to five mills on all taxable property in the areas it served for the purposes of providing revenue to the joint endeavor, but only if approved by a majority of electors served by the endeavor.

The Municipal Partnership Act also makes various topics prohibited subjects of bargaining between a local government or public agency and the bargaining representative of its employees.  Specifically, the following would be prohibited subjects of bargaining under the Act:

• Whether the local government would enter into a contract for a joint endeavor under the proposed Act for or in connection with one or more functions or services;
• The procedures for obtaining the contract for a joint endeavor;
• The identities of the other parties to the contract;
• The contents or language of the contract; and
• The impact of the contract on individual employees or the bargaining unit.

To learn more about the Municipal Partnership Act please contact Andria Ditschman at (517) 886-7139 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or Mark Koerner at (517) 886-7109 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Pursuant to Michigan's Environmental Indicators Act of 1999, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) worked with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) to produce a new report on the quality of Michigan's environment. Entitled "State of Michigan's Environment 2011," the report is divided into three sections: Environmental Measures, Programmatic Measures, and Emerging Contaminants of Concern in Michigan. The Environmental Measures section presents the ecological, physical, and chemical measures used by the State to track environmental quality. The Programmatic Measures section covers those measures used by the State to fulfill state and federal environmental program requirements. The final Emerging Contaminants section examines recognized contaminants with potential for environmental and public health impacts.

Click here for the full report.

Montcalm County became embroiled in a boundary dispute between neighbors when it obtained an easement to install a main sewer line from property owners within the County.  After obtaining the easement, the adjoining property owners claimed ownership of a narrow strip of land on which the easement was located.

The litigation between neighbors in which the County was named solely because of the easement threatened to tie up the sewer project for years and add several thousands to its cost. In an attempt to save the County and sanitary sewer district both time and money, The Hubbard Law Firm quickly filed a motion seeking dismissal of the County from the lawsuit.

In its Motion, Hubbard argued that even if the south property owners have a valid claim against the north property owners which could proceed to trial, the claims against the County must fail for a number of factual and legal reasons. A hearing on various motions was held on November 29.  At the conclusion of the hearing, the Montcalm County Circuit Court agreed with Hubbard and dismissed the County from the lawsuit, while allowing the boundary dispute between the neighbors to continue.

Save the date for Ingham County Land Bank's Annual Holiday Open House, scheduled for December 8, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m., at 934 Clark Street, Lansing. This is within the Northtown Neighborhood Organization. The renovated building is now home to the Kincaid-Henry offices and the NEO Center (also known as the Center for New Enterprise Opportunity). The NEO Center is a membership-based co-working space and incubation program for new businesses.

This tax foreclosed property was renovated and redeveloped by way of accelerated Brownfield Tax Increment Finance reimbursements through the Land Bank and the Ingham County Brownfield Authority.

The Michigan Municipal League (MML) is, once again, offering training in core topics to newly elected officials, and has opened registration to "seasoned" officials, as well. The topics include:

• Introduction to MML Services
• Overview of Basic Local Government
• Roles and Responsibilities of Elected Officials
• Open Meetings Act (OMA)
• Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

There will also be a panel discussion and time for questions. This training is being offered at locations across the State - Marlette (November 15), Lansing (November 16), Boyne City (November 29), Ferrysburg (December 6), Ann Arbor (December 7), and Mt. Pleasant (December 8). Click here to register.

In the case of Williams v Detroit, the plaintiff fell on a paved walkway and injured his ankle. The walkway is immediately next to the St. Clair River in Detroit, and it runs parallel to Jefferson Avenue, but is separated from the avenue by a wide field and wire fence. The plaintiff brought suit, alleging the highway exception to governmental immunity. In response, the City argued that this river trail does not meet the statutory definition of highway, which is "a public highway, road, or street that is open for public travel and includes bridges, sidewalks, trailways, crosswalks, and culverts on the highway."

After the trial court granted summary disposition to the City, the plaintiff argued on appeal that, under this definition, the term "on the highway" only pertained to "culverts" and it did not matter that the river trail was not adjacent to the highway. The Court of Appeals agreed, and the City appealed to the Supreme Court. In an Order dated October 28, 2011, the Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals, and reinstated summary disposition for the City, stating that the "plaintiff was not injured on a sidewalk or trailway 'on the highway' as required by MCL 691.1401(e) to avoid governmental immunity."

View the Supreme Court's Order here.

On October 20, 2011, the Michigan Court of Appeals published opinion, Hopkins v Township of Duncan answered a question that has long baffled public offices when responding to private citizens' FOIA requests.

The Court held that handwritten notes of a township board member taken for his personal use, not circulated among other board members, not used in the creation of the minutes of any of the meetings, and retained or destroyed at his sole discretion, are not public records subject to disclosure under FOIA.

The case  started after a private citizen asked the Township to release the hand written notes taken by its officers during a public meeting held in accordance with OMA.

Under current Michigan law 1978 PA 566, public officers are prohibited from holding incompatible offices. House Bill 4458 - passed by both the House and Senate and awaiting the Governor's signature - will provide an exception to that law, allowing a public officer in a Michigan city, village, township or county with a population of less than 3,000 to also serve as fire chief in that local unit. The Bill was first introduced by Representative Paul Muxlow (R - 83^rd District, Brown City) on March 22, 2011.

House Bill 4458 was presented to Governor Snyder for signature on Friday, October 14. For more information about public officers and incompatible offices, contact Attorney Andria Ditschman at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The seventh annual MiCorps conference is scheduled to be held on October 24-25, 2011, at the Ralph A. MacMullen Conference Center, on the north shore of Higgins Lake in Roscommon, Michigan.

MiCorps is a network of volunteer monitors who assist the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality with collecting water quality data from lakes and streams around the State. This year's MiCorps conference theme is "Michigan's Clean Water Challenges." Presenters will focus on the following topics:

• Native and invasive species monitoring
• Leading, managing and inspiring volunteerism
• Training regarding monitoring techniques

The charge for the conference is $40, with overnight lodging at the Center available for an additional charge. You must register by October 14. The conference program and registration forms are available at www.micorps.net/conference2011.