The following regulations shall apply to all
Township commissions:
A.
Relationship to Township Board.
(1)
Each Township commission is a part of the administration
of the Township, not an independent agency. In making decisions, commissions
have only those powers and authorities delegated to them by the Board.
A commission shall make its decisions within such authority granted
to it by the Township Board. The existence of potential lawsuits with
respect to commission conduct or action shall be reported to the Township
Board when the matter first comes to the attention of the commission.
(2)
There shall be a commission chairperson who shall
be appointed annually by the Township Board from among the members
of the commission; provided, however, that the Planning Commission
Chairperson shall be selected in accordance with MCL § 125.325.
No member of the Township Board shall serve as permanent commission
chairperson. A commission may select a vice chairperson, secretary,
and/or such other officers from its membership as it deems necessary
for its proper operation.
[Amended 9-27-2004 by Ord. No. 04-03, 1-23-2006 by Ord. No.
06-01]
(3)
The commission chairman shall be the chief executive
officer of the commission and shall preside over all commission meetings.
The vice chairman shall assist the chairman and shall preside over
commission meetings in the absence of the chairman. The secretary
shall record the minutes of all commission meetings and shall have
charge of commission records. The minutes of each meeting shall, as
a minimum, show the date, time, place, members present, members absent,
any decisions made at a meeting open to the public and the purpose
or purposes for which a closed session was held. The minutes shall
include all roll call votes taken at the meeting. Proposed minutes
shall be available for public inspection not more than eight business
days after the meeting to which the minutes refer and approved minutes
shall be available for public inspection not later than five business
days after the meeting at which the minutes are approved. The minutes
shall, in all regards, comply with the Open Meetings Act, being MCLA
§ 15.261 et seq.
(4)
Each commission shall have as one of its members a
member of the Township Board. The Board member shall be a voting member
of the commission unless it is otherwise specifically provided in
this Code that such representative with respect to a particular commission
is a nonvoting member. The Board representative shall be extended
all privileges, courtesies, and rights and shall receive copies of
all items forwarded to regular commissioners. In addition to the normal
responsibility of a member of a commission, the Board member shall
have the responsibility of maintaining the line of communication between
the commission and the Township Board.
[Amended 7-22-2002]
(5)
Each commission chairman or representative (not an
employee) shall attend special meetings with the Township Board to
discuss commission and intercommission activities as required by the
Board. The Board shall give 24 hours' notice before such a meeting
occurs except in emergency situations.
(6)
Each commission shall send its department head or
other representative to the regular board meetings when requested
by the Township Board.
(7)
Commission members serve at the pleasure of the Township
Board and may be removed at any time by majority action of the Township
Board, except as otherwise provided by law. Public policy dictates
that the Township Board give serious consideration to the removal
of any commission member who substantially fails, neglects, or refuses
to perform his duties or discharge his responsibilities as a commission
member without sufficient excuse for such action on the part of the
commission member. Township policy further dictates that the Township
Board seriously consider the removal from office of any commission
member who has knowingly and willfully violated Township policies
or who has knowingly and willfully engaged in any act or conduct which
has a detrimental effect on the successful functioning of the commission
of which he is a member or who cannot work in cooperation with the
Township Board and its general policy guidelines.
(8)
Any member of a Township commission who is absent
at more than three consecutive meetings or is absent in excess of
25% or more of the official meetings of the commission in any one
fiscal year may be dismissed from membership on the commission at
the discretion of the Township Board or as otherwise provided by law.
(9)
Commissions shall submit to the Township Budget Director
an annual report of the financial and other activities of the commission
during the prior fiscal year in sufficient time for inclusion in the
annual report of the Township and as otherwise necessary to comply
with and satisfy the requirements of the Michigan Uniform Budgeting
and Accounting Act (MCLA § 141.421 et seq.)
B.
Relationship to the public.
(1)
All meetings of commissions shall be open to the public
and shall in all respects comply with the Michigan Open Meetings Act
(MCLA § 15.621 et seq.). At the beginning of each fiscal
year of the Township each commission shall notify the Township Administrator
of the dates and times of their regular meetings for the ensuing year.
The Township Administrator shall prominently post in the Township
Hall and in the public building in which the commission meetings are
to be held and shall publish once for the fiscal year in the official
newspaper a public notice of the schedule of regular meetings of the
commission including the dates, the time, and place of such meetings.
Commissions shall hold at least one regular meeting each quarter.
Notice of any meeting giving the date, time and place of such meeting,
whether a special, regular or rescheduled meeting, shall be posted
prominently in the Township Hall and in the public building in which
such meeting is to be held at least 18 hours prior to the time of
the proposed meeting. It shall be the responsibility of the commission
chairman to notify the Township Administrator of any special, rescheduled
or emergency meetings in sufficient time to allow the Administrator
to comply with the Michigan Open Meetings Act. A majority of the membership
of a commission present at a commission meeting shall constitute a
quorum for the conducting of the commission's business.
[Amended 7-22-2002]
(2)
Closed or emergency meetings may be held only for
the purposes and in the manner provided for under the Michigan Open
Meetings Act of 1976 (1976 P.A. 276). Copies of the Act have been
provided to commissions and are available at the Township Attorney
for opinion.
(3)
Special meetings may be called by the chairman or
by three members of the commission. Written notice of a special meeting
must be given to each commission member at least 18 hours prior to
the meeting and must state the purposes of such meeting. Any matter
not included in such notice may not be acted upon at any special meeting
unless all commission members are present at the meeting and unanimously
consent to such matter being acted upon at the meeting.
(4)
Agenda shall be posted for the public at least 18
hours prior to meetings and copies shall be delivered to the Township
Clerk.
C.
Conflict of interest.
(1)
A member of a commission who deems that he has a pecuniary
interest in any matter brought before the commission shall disclose
his interest to the commission prior to the commission taking a vote,
if any, with respect to the matter. Such commission member shall not
vote on any such matter in which he has deemed himself to have a pecuniary
interest after disclosure of such fact.
(2)
Commissioners shall not accept favors, the purpose
of which could be considered as directly or indirectly influencing
a commission decision.
D.
Personnel.
(1)
All commission employees are employees of Grosse Ile
Township. The Township Board has established overall comprehensive
personnel policies which include wage and fringe benefits and which
apply to all Township employees, including personnel hired and who
work for commissions. Personnel hired and who work for commissions
shall follow the comprehensive personnel policies established by the
Township Board with respect to commission employees and personnel.
The Township Board shall establish wages, hours and all other conditions
of employment with respect to all personnel hired by commissions.
Collective bargaining, where applicable, will be conducted through
representatives appointed by the Township Board. Commissions shall
make recommendations to the Township Board as to wages, hours, and
conditions of employment of commission employees and personnel and
with respect to the contents of proposed collective bargaining agreements,
where applicable.
[Amended 7-22-2002]
(2)
Individuals to be hired by commissions do not have
to have prior Township Board approval unless specifically provided
otherwise in the Grosse Ile Township Code, provided, however, that
the hiring of a department head shall always require prior approval
by the Township Board.
(3)
Nepotism within a department shall be avoided unless
the Township Board gives prior approval.
(4)
In case of an emergency, the Township Supervisor may
order any or all commission employees, personnel and equipment to
assist for whatever time period the Supervisor deems necessary. A
complete log of this activity will be kept and the Township Board
shall rule on compensation to the Commission, if any.
(5)
Hiring and termination of commission personnel and
employees shall be in accordance with comprehensive personnel policies
established by the Township Board.
The following purchasing regulations shall apply
to all Township commissions:
A.
Joint purchases with the general Township and/or commissions
shall be considered where economically feasible and practical.
B.
Bid procedure.
(1)
Zero to $2,500. A commission shall have the right
to make such purchases and to obtain such work to be done as is necessary
for the proper operation, maintenance, repair, and to obtain necessary
improvements for the departments, facilities, and areas placed under
their supervision. Where the amount contemplated to be spent is $2,500
or less, the commission may expend such funds without the necessity
of soliciting competitive bids or obtaining public bids prior to expenditure
of those funds. The commission, if it desires, may delegate this responsibility
to the department head or retain that responsibility within the commission
itself. With respect to the expenditures of funds falling within this
category, it is still the responsibility of the commission or department
head making such purchase or expending such funds to be reasonably
assured that the purchase price to be paid is reasonable in relationship
to the item to be purchased or the services to be secured.
(2)
Two thousand five hundred dollars to $5,000:
(a)
Whenever the amount proposed to be expended exceeds
$2,500 up to and including the sum of $5,000, written competitive
bids shall be obtained prior to expenditure of those funds. "Written
competitive bids" does not mean that there has to be an advertisement
placed in a newspaper soliciting bids. The obtaining of written bids
of various parties who would reasonably be expected to be interested
in submitting such bids with respect to the proposed expenditures
is sufficient to meet the competitive bid requirement. It is recognized
that oftentimes the services sought or the product proposed to be
purchased is of a specialized nature so that the seeking of written
competitive bids is an unnecessary or useless act. In such event a
written bid should be sought from that person or persons who can reasonably
be expected to provide the specialized service or product sought.
(b)
Caution is urged in reducing or restricting the seeking
of competitive bids under the theory that the items or service sought
is specialized. Wherever possible, written competitive bids are to
be actively sought especially where the amount involved moves closer
to the $5,000 limit.
(c)
The commission may retain this right within itself
or delegate all or any portion thereof to its department head. Because
the majority of purchases will probably fall within this category,
the commission, if it decides to delegate this responsibility to the
department head, should set up internal guidelines for the department
heads to operate under with respect to seeking written bids within
this category.
(3)
Where any purchase or contract is contemplated to
exceed the sum of $5,000, formal public bids shall be solicited. In
this situation, an advertisement should be placed in the Township's
official newspaper soliciting formal sealed bids for the proposed
item to be purchased or services to be performed. Bids will be opened
in public at the time and place established in the invitation to bid.
Record of all bids will be maintained and a resume of the bids will
be available on request.
(4)
No contract or purchase shall be subdivided to avoid
the requirements of this section.
(5)
It is recognized that there may occur an emergency
situation where to follow the foregoing bid procedure would either
cause or increase the potentiality of damage to Township properties
or facilities or would cause or would increase the danger to Township
personnel or to the public at large or would in general cause or maintain
a situation which would be injurious to the public health, safety
and general welfare. Under such situations, the commission could bypass
the bid procedure in order to secure services or such other items
needed to eliminate or arrest the situation. The commission can delegate
by internal policy this power to the commission chairman for purposes
of expediency in meeting the particular situation. Great caution is
urged in making a decision to bypass the bidding procedures and such
bypass should only be used when to follow the bid procedure would
result in the creation or the increasing of the situations described
previously herein. This bypass procedure ought to be used only in
cases of true emergencies and not for purposes of convenience.
(6)
Whenever written competitive bids are to be obtained
or whenever there is an advertisement for the submission of formal
bids, the parties from whom the bids are to be sought ought to be
informed that the commission at all times reserves the right to reject
any and all bids and to accept or adopt any bids which it finds to
be in the best interests of the commission and the Township even if
that bid is not the lowest bid submitted. The requiring of a bid bond
to be submitted or a certified check with the bid is a matter of discretion
and most certainly it ought to be considered when formal bids are
sought through published advertisements inviting or soliciting bids
for a particular project.
(7)
Michigan statutes (P.A. 351 of the Public Acts of
1972) require that before any contract exceeding $50,000 for the construction,
alteration, or repair of any public building or public work or improvement
of the Township is awarded, the proposed contractor has to furnish,
at his own cost, to the Township a performance bond with respect to
the project and a material and labor bond which basically covers materials
furnished and subcontractor work performed on the job, such bonds
to be in the full amount of the project cost. This provision is mandatory
with respect to projects which are $50,000 or in excess thereof and
bid solicitation advertisements should indicate that such bonds will
be required. While such provisions are not mandatory for projects
under $50,000, the commission should consider whether or not in a
particular situation a performance and material labor bond ought to
be required or not.
(8)
Professional services need not be bid. Unless prior
approval of the Township Board to the contrary is obtained, commissions
shall utilize, when necessary, the duly appointed Township attorney,
planner, engineer, architect, bond counsel, and certified public accountant.
The following fiscal regulations shall apply
to all Township Commissions:
A.
When a commission budget has been adopted by the Township
Board, a commission shall make no amendments or expenditures which
would cause a deficit in that budget unless prior approval of any
such proposed action is obtained first from the Township Board. Any
capital expenditures by a commission of $25,000 or more must be approved
prior to the expenditure by the Township Board.
B.
All commissions shall use the State of Michigan Chart
of Accounts. Follow and otherwise comply with the Uniform Budgeting
and Accounting Act (P.A. 1978, No. 621).
C.
Fiscal years of commissions shall coincide with the
Township's fiscal year. Annual audits of the financial affairs of
the commissions shall be made by the Township.
D.
Commissions shall notify the Township Treasurer of
funds they desire to invest, who shall invest such funds on behalf
of such commissions.
E.
Commissions shall work directly with the Township
Budget Director with regard to their respective budgets in sufficient
manner to comply with the requirements of the Uniform Budgeting and
Accounting Act (P.A. 1978, No. 621), as amended from time to time.
F.
Issuance of commission checks, disbursement of funds,
bank deposits and withdrawals, and, in general, the conducting of
the financial affairs of the commissions shall be in accordance with
rules of procedure established by the Township Treasurer as to manner,
form and content.
G.
Commissions in themselves have no authority to borrow
monies or to issue any notes or other instruments of obligation. Commissions
have no authority to mortgage, sell, pledge, encumber or otherwise
dispose of Township or commission property. Commissions have no authority
to purchase real property. Prior approval of the Township Board must
be obtained for any such commission action.
