Lake Orion residents will decide the future of their village in November.
The village council did not take any action at a special meeting on Wednesday on a petition submitted by residents asking that the village disincorporate – or dissolve – and join Orion Township.
A motion by councilmember Michael Lamb to take no action on the petition, which was verified by village Clerk/Treasurer Sonja Stout on July 15, passed by a 7-0 vote.
In taking no action the county will place the question of Lake Orion’s future on the ballot in November, if approved by the county clerk’s office.
The village could have voted to appoint a six-member disincorporation commission, which is set out within the state General Law Village Act.
To do that, the village would appoint three people to a commission, Orion Township would appoint the other three, and the group would be charged with creating a plan for the disincorporation, including the distribution of assets, accounting of debt, transfer of employees and other items.
The village council’s choice between the two options was significant.
A final plan from a commission could take anywhere from six to 18 months and voters of both the village and the township would decide its fate. The plan would have to be approved by a 50% majority by voters in both entities for approval.
By moving forward without the commission, the question on the November ballot is village voters only and requires a two-thirds approval to pass.
Village attorney Anthony Chubb explained another difference between the two paths.
“If we decide to let this go to the November ballot, the way I read the law, we would end up turning everything over to the county, and probably, therefore, the township, and it would be determined for us how the transition would take place,” he told the council. “If we go the commission route, then the law is very specific as to the things that need to be addressed in a transition plan. It’s very specific on what has to be determined and how all of the things that have to be worked out between the township and the village.”
Village resident Rob Reighard circulated petitions to disincorporate the village and gathered enough signatures – 15% of the 2,177 active voters in the village – to place the question on the ballot.
Lake Orion voters will have to approve dissolving the village by at least a 2/3 margin.
Photo Lake Orion DDA
Several village residents spoke out in favor of joining the township.
“I think the people have spoken by getting required signatures on the petition. We don’t need another delay so you can appoint another committee to discuss this,” said resident Nick Christy. “We have spoken, we have the required signatures. Put it on the ballot.”
“The Village of Lake Orion is no longer a sustainable community, and I don’t think any of you (the council) can argue that fact,” said resident Jim Cummins. “And of course, we all know it out here. The problem is not all of you seem to know it. This ship is sinking rapidly. There are no lifeboats, and there’s no safety net.”
He added, “Nothing’s really going to change here that’s noticeable to anybody’s eyes except that we will become sustainable again. We will get brought into the township, which is competent. Our village isn’t going to change. The difference is we’ll be able to afford it. We won’t be struggling all the time. Things will get done. And that’s the basis of this.”
“It might be time now to kind of join forces,” said resident Ann Merriett. “We need to reduce overheads so we can have things reduced, costs reduced, police reduced. The cost for the police, cost for property taxes, cost for water. So, combining forces, I think, would just answer everybody’s concerns.”
The history of villages seeking to disincorporate has not been very successful over the past 25 years.
According to the Michigan Municipal League, a number of villages have dealt with this issue, including Roscommon and Caledonia.
More recently, Breedsville (2022) and Spring Lake (2017) had ballot proposals on disincorporation. In 2005, the villages of New Haven and Fruitport also had measures on the ballot. These attempts at disincorporation all failed.
In May, a proposal to disincorporate Sand Lake was denied by voters in a special election after it failed to reach a two-thirds majority required for passage.
The proposal received 499 yes votes (55.14%) and 406 no votes (44.86%), according to unofficial election results from the Kent County clerk’s office.
Members of the village council that spoke at Wednesday’s meeting favored putting the matter to a vote.
“It comes down to, in my mind, the timing of that vote, as well as the amount of information that we have when we make that vote,” said George Dandalides. “So, if we go to November, there’s limited information that we’ll have when we make that vote, and the village will have limited input as to what happens.”
“I feel the people have spoken; the petitions tell the story” said Nancy Moshier. “And this is something that the people, at least that signed the petition, and there were quite a few, want. So, my feeling is also to go to the ballot, because this is what the people want.”
“I had zero intention of going the route of a dissolution commission and dragging it on. For me, that process can take a year, it can take two years, and that’s really a really hard place to put our village in,” said council President Teresa Rutt. “I have a desire to let the people speak on this issue and not drag this out for a long time, because that doesn’t benefit anybody.”