(Photo: Wikimedia)
For Hillsdale resident Joseph Hendee, the devil is in the details.
According to Hendee, the city of Hillsdale is violating Michigan’s Open Meeting Act by not listing phone numbers and an address on public notices for city council meetings, invalidating decisions made within the past 60 days.
He expressed these concerns during the opening public comment section of the March 20 city council meeting.
The section of the OMA to which Hendee referred, states that a public meeting cannot be held unless the public body’s name, telephone number, and address are posted at its principal office and any other locations.
“We should strive for excellence,” he said. “City council and the city attorney should understand these rules — this is wasted time and this is an illegal meeting.”
The meeting continued, despite Hendee’s objections, but, according to City Manager David Mackie, City Clerk Stephen French’s office will update all public notices to meet OMA requirements in the future.
“We just had a Rising Tide meeting,” Hendee said, referencing the economic development initiative introduced to the city. “One of my main concerns there was ethics. And then here they are with this — it looks like they’re breaking the rules.”
Hillsdale resident Penny Swan said she agrees with Hendee.
“Possibly everything that transcribed today would be null and void,” she said.
City Councilman Bill Zeiser said that while Hendee is right to say that the city should strive for excellence in its conduct, the council did not violate the intent of the OMA by not posting an address or phone number on public notices.
Zeiser said Hillsdale residents always have access to city council meetings because of the internet, even if the council forgets to abide by several details within the OMA law.
“Mr. Hendee has not produced anyone who claims that they were unable to attend a meeting, and presumably any such person would have been able to find the location of city hall anyhow, since they would have read the notice on the city’s website in the first place,” he said. “The meetings are even live streamed on the web for residents who are unable to attend in person.”
Zeiser also said that although he believes Hendee meant well, to take his advice would harm the city more than it would help it.
“If Mr. Hendee’s wishes were met, and council meetings of the past 60 days were declared void, that would be the violation of democracy. It takes an extra ten seconds for some hypothetical person to find the phone number for the city.”
A look at the City of Hillsdale’s website revealed that an address and phone number was listed at the bottom of each webpage but not on each public notice for meetings.