[{"_1":2,"_110":-5,"_111":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,74,86,98],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":56,"_73":56},"mediaId",6344492,"mediaKeyId","2250820-349902ba95f67a6997135ccbe7b39e63","parentId",2250820,"title","Interim finance director outlines income-tax revenue, spending priorities and pension progress","audioSeconds",1462,"startMs",756000,"endMs",2218000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2250820-349902ba95f67a6997135ccbe7b39e63&start=756&end=2218","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2250820-349902ba95f67a6997135ccbe7b39e63/thumbnail_756000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6344492/East-Lansing/Ingham-County/Michigan/Interim-finance-director-outlines-income-tax-revenue-spending-priorities-and-pension-progress","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6344492-403952eb22eb48f943f7ce4a5772c561/orig.mp4?Expires=1770599966&Signature=dM8S8690QNspHT6wk5nT0dE-yDzoKQVoi54n9ZNy4-K1~7KVN0L5TMuDrx0hbown663Gd77c-9Ud1oYa1~3nklVPUvXAqjScB3jGSvDsLDidoRL0L3~pW5oMexxEtlSqc0cOkqs-ptyNgt1a8RPLyvddn~E5VuaA5aCugi8XCE8p80YfKpxPssLIYW~ZBo82UH2s5rdM9FdbZW1H6jZjGO9TpxkP8HIj3xc-HzNelvPmQBtavHsfyC5MUe6LUR7~JQWpfCLS0aI4UnS2fulfSm2q4EN9Vui01hYSCuEGGA2lYpaU4O9JaWBYpnC5RrFbjMkLck2NHvdUFgVEe~43Fg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","","date","2025-02-09T03:31:42.823Z","article","Andrea Smith, the city’s interim finance director, briefed the East Lansing City Charter Review Committee on the city income tax during the committee’s Feb. 6 meeting.

Smith said the tax was voter-approved and took effect in February of the year it was passed. East Lansing residents pay 1 percent and nonresidents pay 0.5 percent. The charter directs that income-tax revenue be split 60 percent to unfunded pension liabilities, 20 percent to public safety and 20 percent to infrastructure. Smith said the tax is approved for a limited period and will expire on July 30, 2030, unless reauthorized by voters.

The briefing mattered because the income tax supplies the city’s supplemental revenue for pensions, public-safety training and infrastructure projects — areas highlighted repeatedly in the presentation.

Smith gave a multi-year revenue summary, saying early collection years showed low compliance but that later years grew as the city used state “tape” data to identify taxpayers who filed with Michigan but had not filed the city return. She told the committee that the fiscal-year accounting (city fiscal year is July 1–June 30) means some calendar-year tax figures do not line up exactly with fiscal-year revenue totals.

On pension funding, Smith said East Lansing’s funded ratio has risen from about 49.5 percent before the income tax to roughly 64.5 percent now. She said that improvement is attributable in part to the income tax and a state pension grant; city projections she described in the meeting suggested funding could reach the low‑to‑mid 80s (percent funded) by the end of the income-tax period, though she cautioned projections depend on investment returns and other variables.

Smith also described how infrastructure and parks used income-tax funds. Department of Public Works projects — milling, repaving and related street work — and Parks & Recreation improvements were highlighted on maps and lists Smith provided. Examples she named included theater sound and lighting upgrades at the Hannah Center, roof work, aquatic-center repairs and parking-lot repaving, Bailey Park outdoor fitness equipment, tennis and pickleball courts at Patriot Park, trail extensions and bridge replacements, playground equipment, dog-run and accessibility work at Stoddard Park, and a historical marker for Dr. Robert L. Green.

Smith said parks projects used state grant funding in many cases and that income-tax dollars frequently served as the local match required to secure those grants. She added that a new city staffing position approved by City Council will be focused on improving taxpayer compliance, particularly among nonresident filers who are harder to locate and contact than residents.

On operations, Smith announced that e-filing for the city income tax will be available and that a media release with the new link would go out soon.

Committee members asked detailed questions about pension mechanics and funding. Smith said the city’s plan design changes over recent years (including hybrid/defined‑contribution elements for some hires and limits on including overtime in final-average compensation) have reduced future liability growth but that legacy defined-benefit obligations — primarily for public-safety employees — remain the main legacy cost. Smith supplied membership counts during the meeting: she said there were 295 active employees included in the retirement plan and a total plan membership of 819, of whom 524 are retirees.

Several committee members said the committee should wait for more years of performance data before recommending any action on whether to place the income tax back before voters prior to its 2030 expiration. Others noted the charter review’s role in reporting and transparency about how such revenues are used.

The committee did not take formal action on the income tax during the meeting; the presentation was informational and intended to support the committee’s charter-recommendation work.

Ending
Smith provided committee members copies of the materials she used and offered to supply the missing pension detail page that some members said did not print with the packet. Committee members asked staff to consider the tax’s multi-year effects when drafting any charter recommendations about reporting or transparency tied to budget or pension funding.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Feb. 6 Charter Review Committee Meeting","oneSentenceSummary","Andrea Smith, the city’s interim finance director, briefed the Charter Review Committee on the city income tax, explaining that residents pay 1 percent and nonresidents 0.5 percent and that receipts are allocated 60% to pension, 20% to public safety and 20% to infrastructure.","taxTitle","East Lansing, Ingham County, Michigan","taxId",55176,"location","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":75,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":76,"_41":77,"_43":78,"_45":79,"_47":80,"_49":81,"_51":82,"_53":83,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":84,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":85,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":56,"_73":56},6344491,"Charter Review Committee approves multiple section revisions, including board-review and document‑access wording",3732,3126000,6858000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2250820-349902ba95f67a6997135ccbe7b39e63&start=3126&end=6858","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2250820-349902ba95f67a6997135ccbe7b39e63/thumbnail_3126000.jpg","/articles/6344491/East-Lansing/Ingham-County/Michigan/Charter-Review-Committee-approves-multiple-section-revisions-including-board-review-and-documentaccess-wording","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6344491-832a1beabab9f13bc04f33979df61cbc/orig.mp4?Expires=1770599966&Signature=JMdrAtQrxvoiaTS3z4zhkFXnURN7QEp0fDNYNBkl2FW6vxGXCw1B158iaidvDxqKk7UP3mLQMTdmjKLTZuWxLMnF5ZMN72HQbZ7YW9xd4AwftQQC1bFSZ8r1TjHnQEfehO~HmvaNpOlE~q0wLJRBHleCud1s12pE8yLROZCFU96JznsNCNHuEAwDJvQ3ibDnwCcLM5Om9ujKYNbwDUUsgUN~7gCtX4SphB-PXFORJDLuySRBXyPJIGlsRjP2KOvTD0RQVbRMccJYkVJcA7vu7oOAbzjYCfg01iV3uuFN7MUfG5339ErJiuzCZD-1X~2BjcxXcwG9ntne3L8C7jKtDg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","At its Feb. 6 meeting the East Lansing City Charter Review Committee approved a series of resolutions recommending targeted changes to the city charter and related procedural language.

Votes at a glance
- Section 11.6 (resolution change): Motion moved by “Hank,” seconded by Veronica Wilkerson Johnson; committee recorded the motion as approved by voice vote. (Transcript records mover as “Hank,” seconder Wilkerson Johnson; tally not specified.)
- Section 11.8 (board of review language, appeals): Committee approved an amended text for 11.8 by voice vote; mover/second not specified in the transcript; tally not specified.
- Section 4.9 (charter violation / misdemeanor default penalty language): Motion to approve by Jonathan Forman, seconded by Veronica Wilkerson Johnson; motion approved by voice vote (tally not specified).
- Section 10.9 (annual report language): Motion moved by Weyers; motion approved by voice vote (second and tally not specified in transcript).
- Gender-neutral language resolution (chapter 8 and related references): Committee voted to recommend changing references to individuals in the charter to gender-neutral titles (referencing positions rather than gendered pronouns); motion approved by voice vote; mover/second recorded as motion and second but names in the transcript were partially garbled; tally not specified.

What the votes mean
The approved recommendations are procedural and editorial changes to charter text that the committee will forward to the City Council as recommended amendments or clarifying language. The items approved at this meeting include adjustments to how property-assessment appeals are described (11.6 and 11.8), clarifying that charter violations that do not specify a penalty default to the city code (4.9), and a clarified requirement for the annual reporting language (10.9). The gender-neutral resolution directs that references to persons in charter text be reframed by position/title.

How the committee recorded outcomes
All recorded approvals were taken by voice vote. The meeting transcript records “all those in favor say aye” and subsequent aye responses; the transcript does not include numeric roll-call tallies for these motions. Where the transcript did not identify a mover or seconder for a particular motion, this article marks those fields as not specified rather than inventing attributions.

Next steps
These committee recommendations will be transmitted to City Council for consideration. As with prior charter-review work, Council retains authority to accept, modify or reject recommended language and to determine whether any changes should be placed before voters.

Ending
Committee members and staff noted some editorial follow-up (wording details and cross-references) would be required before packeting the final recommended charter text for Council review.","The Charter Review Committee approved multiple recommended charter-text changes by voice vote on Feb. 6, including edits to sections 11.6, 11.8, 4.9 and 10.9 and a resolution to make charter references gender neutral.",{"_33":87,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":88,"_41":89,"_43":90,"_45":91,"_47":92,"_49":93,"_51":94,"_53":95,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":96,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":97,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":56,"_73":56},6344485,"Committee weighs disclosure of formal legal opinions, clerk records and public access",1953,6972000,8925000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2250820-349902ba95f67a6997135ccbe7b39e63&start=6972&end=8925","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2250820-349902ba95f67a6997135ccbe7b39e63/thumbnail_6972000.jpg","/articles/6344485/East-Lansing/Ingham-County/Michigan/Committee-weighs-disclosure-of-formal-legal-opinions-clerk-records-and-public-access","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6344485-8d06366a3884eddf5cfbfae76b34b304/orig.mp4?Expires=1770599966&Signature=dgynlpa2PjA90APYXNPaejxmc8ZYipbr3PoP16-UC5Z-~uw~mhkc~bEt0xachBedSO4fmqWmeuGa82XPSvei5bSaDV2EqOQUgZ-~h~CJrLelPsxYYFGcDev6z0HiSmqh3W~tqbgUNBuJOqfqDBOr4ztxogrKpN6~nGqAG6V3hXn4kuXc8V58g7PTTSOeXW3SMpYa-sCNU1irhGSIST2OzK-4t1oJAGzIV56lcUR7UHbzKPXjAQPY71kb5LbUPRIovMJZEUsATGANId8Kvh3sJtBtOp9AiReICOl~rFKmWuTpU6ChQxHrUbKZDoV6dkgqMfOf0f95j5MHNVi~beuK-Q__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Charter Review Committee members spent a sustained portion of the Feb. 6 meeting discussing how the charter should treat city‑attorney opinions, attorney‑client privilege and the public availability of written legal advice.

Key points
- Distinction between memo/advice and formal opinion: Committee members and counsel discussed the difference between privileged attorney‑client memorandums prepared for litigation or strategy purposes and formal opinions intended to advise the public or guide citywide policy. Members agreed the charter language should not conflate the two.
- Privilege and waiver: The committee heard that written legal advice provided to the city manager or to the Council at the request of the Council may be protected by attorney‑client privilege; committee members discussed whether the charter should make explicit that privilege remains unless Council waives it.
- Handling of formal opinions in packets: Members noted that many formal written opinions that are intended to inform Council decisions also appear in Council packets and thereby become part of the public record; the committee asked staff and counsel to draft language that distinguishes opinions that remain privileged from opinions placed in the public packet.
- Record retention and the clerk’s role: The group discussed whether a copy of formal opinions that are not privileged should be filed with the city clerk as part of the permanent record and whether charter language should require the clerk to maintain copies of non‑privileged opinions.

Next steps and staff direction
The committee asked the city attorney and staff to propose clearer language that: (1) defines ‘‘written advice’’ versus ‘‘formal opinion’’ for charter purposes; (2) states that attorney‑client privileged communications are protected unless Council explicitly waives privilege; and (3) directs that non‑privileged formal opinions included in Council packets be filed in the clerk’s office and retained as public records. Staff and counsel were asked to supply draft language for the committee’s next meeting.

Ending
Members agreed the policy should balance transparency against the legal protections necessary for privileged advice; staff and counsel will return with recommended charter text that distinguishes categories and sets retention/waiver rules.","The committee debated whether written legal opinions from the city attorney should be treated as public records or remain attorney‑client privileged and discussed where formal opinions should be filed (clerk packet) and how disclosures should be handled in practice.",{"_33":99,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":100,"_41":101,"_43":102,"_45":103,"_47":104,"_49":105,"_51":106,"_53":107,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":108,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":109,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":56,"_73":56},6344489,"Committee debates city-manager residency, succession planning and role of a deputy title",1251,5283000,6534000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2250820-349902ba95f67a6997135ccbe7b39e63&start=5283&end=6534","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2250820-349902ba95f67a6997135ccbe7b39e63/thumbnail_5283000.jpg","/articles/6344489/East-Lansing/Ingham-County/Michigan/Committee-debates-city-manager-residency-succession-planning-and-role-of-a-deputy-title","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6344489-5cef1c67991239119ef59f9b600a6763/orig.mp4?Expires=1770599966&Signature=NE3wRU7GHJ2U00jdH-~qIOPXkmgtg5hhhfpTTQXV63gzloDibjBVkrH0q-bpzKsGW8WkhjafQyo4DpwgxWCB~MI1-L~zln8Yk06ITeAQuicALcPuY34mzaqKE-~P9k3lPd7tQ2bQVqf2Hqb6PZYsnXdn-UBypvhbmwxQGZ5d-QcKh6gNJ2lDfxi~2Mwx1VIjTi6aTBD2T7m8alJDCU4ROUlwDB6xqcQIyZ-8ww1peSihO6zvY78Nc5SjZJiJDfeuyI8SBB6KCeuf18aveifD1bC6uA0HjSWry5S-l6ks3w67L8odNToyWzkQqo6p5TbT-ZA5lpRSh-JLT1DRWpItlg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Charter Review Committee spent substantial time on Feb. 6 discussing language that governs the city manager’s residency requirement, temporary unavailability and succession planning.

Why it matters
Committee members said clear succession language matters for continuity in cases of sudden unavailability or emergencies so someone on-site can make time‑sensitive operational decisions until Council can meet and act.

What was discussed
- Residency language (public act reference): The committee referenced Michigan Public Act 212 of 1999 when discussing a clause that requires the city manager to live within 25 miles of the city boundary; members asked staff to preserve the statutory cross-reference.
- Acting manager vs. deputy title: Members debated two approaches: (a) require the city manager to submit a prioritized list of existing administrative officers or department heads who would serve as acting city manager when the manager is temporarily unavailable; or (b) allow the manager to create a formal deputy‑city‑manager post that would be subject to Council approval and potentially carry budget or contract implications.
- Temporary unavailability wording: The committee preferred wording that triggers acting authority when the city manager is “temporarily unavailable” rather than merely “absent from the city,” to reflect remote work and modern communications.
- Priority list and Council approval: Several members favored a practical middle path: the manager provides Council a prioritized list of administrators (1, 2, 3…) who would serve as acting city manager if the manager is unavailable; Council would review/acknowledge that list in advance so an immediate acting designee is clear during an emergency.

Outcome
Committee members reached a working consensus to remove mandatory “deputy city manager” language and instead require the manager to provide Council with a prioritized list of existing administrative officers or department heads who may serve as acting city manager during periods of temporary unavailability. The committee directed staff to draft precise charter text reflecting that approach (priority list; Council acknowledgement) and to place that language in the packet to be forwarded to Council.

Ending
Committee members asked staff to prepare draft language that captures the prioritized list approach and to put the draft before the committee for a future meeting; staff flagged implementation steps (notice in Council packets and an editorial review by the city attorney).","Committee members discussed requiring the city manager to live within 25 miles of the city boundary, drafting a local succession list of department heads to act if the manager is unavailable, and whether a formal deputy-city-manager title should require Council approval.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Interim finance director outlines income-tax revenue, spending priorities and pension progress

Charter Review Committee approves multiple section revisions, including board-review and document‑access wording

Committee weighs disclosure of formal legal opinions, clerk records and public access

Committee debates city-manager residency, succession planning and role of a deputy title