lansing city council

Lansing city council approves "unenforceable" resolution on city computer use

Steve Carmody — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 03:34:31 +0000

Last night, the Lansing city council took the unusual step of passing a resolution that the city attorney says is “unenforceable”.

The resolution is intended to define how city council members themselves can use their city issued lap top computers. The resolution came about in the wake of allegations that one of the city council members had misused their laptop.

A’Lynne Boles-Robinson is the council vice president.

Lansing's mayor wants city utility customers to help close the city's projected budget deficit

Steve Carmody — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 02:59:22 +0000

Lansing’s mayor is proposing its municipal utility customers pay more to balance the city’s budget next year.

Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero outlined his budget plan to the city council last night. Bernero says the city’s budget problems are not quite as serious as expected. The mayor says better than expected property tax collections and lower than expected city employee health care costs had cut the project budget deficit in half.

Still, Bernero says the city needs to close about a five million dollar budget gap.

The Lansing City Council will select its leadership on Thursday

Steve Carmody — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 18:51:33 +0000

The Lansing City Council picks a new council president tomorrow.

It’s a selection process that has proved contentious in the past.

Last year, it took a deadlocked Lansing City Council more than a dozen votes to break a four to four stalemate to select a city council president.

The deadlock summed up the even political split on the city council.

Lansing city council irked by mayor's trip to Italy

Steve Carmody — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 18:43:53 +0000

Lansing city council members are upset that the city’s mayor left last week on a trip to Europe and didn’t bother to tell them.

Mayor Virg Bernero is on a week-long ‘economic mission’ in Italy. But city council members first heard the mayor was gone from news reports.

The mayor’s spokesman says Bernero remains in contact with the city by phone and email.

Councilwoman Carol Wood says that's not good enough if there is a sudden crisis.

Voters to decide how often the Lansing City Council should meet

Steve Carmody — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 12:11:50 +0000

Lansing voters will decide Tuesday how often they want their city council to meet.

The Lansing city council is required to meet 50 times a year. That’s far more often than most councils.

Lansing mayor uses his veto pen, city council president "disappointed"

Steve Carmody — Thu, 24 May 2012 21:16:40 +0000

Mayor Virg Bernero today vetoed a portion of the city budget plan approved by the Lansing City Council Monday night.

The city council now has two weeks to see if it can override the veto.

Lansing City Council passes budget, mayor's veto looms

Steve Carmody — Tue, 22 May 2012 03:06:19 +0000

In the next few days, Lansing mayor Virg Bernero is expected to veto all or part of the budget plan the city council passed.

Bernero indicated his intention to veto the budget during a sometimes contentious city council meeting last night. He did little, if anything, to conceal his contempt for the changes the city council made to the budget plan he submitted two months ago.

Lansing City Council votes on budget plan tonight

Steve Carmody — Mon, 21 May 2012 05:01:01 +0000

The Lansing City Council will vote this evening on the city’s budget plan for next year.

The vote may set up a veto fight with Lansing’s mayor.

Back in March, Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero told the city council how he thought the city should try to deal with a projected $4.7 million budget deficit next year.

Tonight, it’s the city council’s turn.

Rising pension costs may sink plans to hire more cops in Lansing

Steve Carmody — Tue, 15 May 2012 01:34:29 +0000

Rising pension costs may throw a monkey wrench into the city of Lansing’s plans to hire police officers next year.

Lansing’s mayor proposed using money from a special public safety millage to rehire nine laid off police officers. But the mayor’s office released a draft report Monday which says the city will have to come up with nearly two million dollars next year to cover rising police and fire pension costs.

Lansing City Council delays budget vote

Steve Carmody — Tue, 08 May 2012 16:38:57 +0000

The Lansing City Council is taking more time to review next year’s budget plan.

Council has delayed its vote on the budget from May 14th to May 21st.

Councilwoman Carol Wood says there are “holes” in the mayor’s budget plan.

“Those holes have not been plugged. All we’re being told is they might be filled," says Wood, "And I can’t pass in good conscience for the taxpayers of the city of Lansing. I can’t pass a budget that way.”

Lansing park land moves closer to getting a 'For Sale' sign

Steve Carmody — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 22:51:32 +0000

The Waverly golf course in Lansing could be a developer’s dream.

City council president Brian Jeffries calls the 120 acre parcel of parkland ‘prime development property.’

Still, the city council has been waffling on whether to ask voters for permission to sell the property.

But now…it appears likely the council will put the issue on the August ballot when it meets on Monday.

Lansing medical marijuana clinic owner found not guilty of trying to influence voters

Steve Carmody — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:13:17 +0000

A Lansing medical marijuana clinic owner was found not guilty today of trying to influence voters in last year’s city council elections.

Lansing city council FINALLY picks a new leader

Steve Carmody — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 07:09:27 +0000

It took a marathon session Monday night, but the Lansing city council finally has a new council president.

The eight-member council is evenly divided into two factions. But after four hours of closed door talks, Councilman Brian Jeffries emerged as the next Lansing city council president. Councilwoman Kathie Dunbar agreed to drop her bid for the president's gavel, after receiving assurances that she will have support for council president next year.

After the council voted to confirm him as president, Jeffries admitted the process did take a toll.

“Tonight was something we had to work through. I think we did….we got to a place where everyone felt comfortable…and I think we can go from there," said Jeffries.

Jeffries admits work on the city budget may test the Lansing city council’s strained relations. Lansing may face a $12 to 15 million budget deficit next year.

Divided Lansing City Council can't agree on new leader

Steve Carmody — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 21:11:44 +0000

A sharp division among Lansing city council members kept the council from taking its first required step this year during a meeting today. The division threatens to keep the capital city’s governing body from functioning.

The Lansing city council is so divded it can’t even agree on who should chair its’ meetings. The council talked for nearly 90 minutes, mainly in sometimes animated one on one discussions, and still deadlocked 4 to 4 over who should be the council president.

Lansing voters will decide if their city council meets too often

Steve Carmody — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 05:09:54 +0000

Lansing voters will decide next year if their city council should meet less often.

The city council approved putting a charter change question on the ballot. It would cut in half the number of times the council is required to meet. Currently the council is required to formally meet 50 times a year, or almost once a week.

The vote won’t happen until August. Council members worried there wouldn’t be enough Lansing voters turning out for February’s Republican presidential primary to weigh in on the question.

Lansing City Clerk Chris Swope has been pushing the reduced council meeting schedule. Swope says he’s fine with waiting until August for the vote.

“So it will be a while…but it’s been kind of a long term thing that I’ve worked on …I’m just glad to have it be moving forward," says Swope.

Swope hopes by meeting less often Lansing city council members will be more efficient in how they handle the city’s business.

If it’s approved, the charter change would take effect in 2013.

In other Lansing city council business:

The council shot down other proposed ballot questions that would have allowed the sale of Waverly Golf Course and the Vector building. The council did approve an ordinance authorizing an historic district designation for the old Knapps building downtown. The ordinance will help with the planned renovation of the former department store site.