Hello!

…and thanks for your interest in the City of Dexter and its City Council. Since my election to office in November 2020, I have distributed annotated meeting agendas (see below) prior to each Council meeting. These newsletters are my personal effort to make it as quick and easy as possible for interested parties to know what Council will be discussing and considering at each meeting. For the most part, descriptions of agenda items come straight from the meeting packet. Following each meeting (and as soon as the video links are available), I share links to the video recordings of the discussion of each agenda item. Past meeting agendas, packets, minutes, and video links (when available) can be found here.

Hearing from residents is one of my favorite parts of being on Council! If you have questions, comments, or concerns about upcoming Council business or any other Council or City topic, please feel free to email me at my official City email: jgriffin@dextermi.gov.

Sincerely,

Jamie

Dexter City Council In-Person and Virtual Meeting

Monday, December 27, 2021 @ 7 p.m.

3515 Broad Street, Dexter, MI 48130 and via Zoom

As always, there are two opportunities for non-arranged public participation: one near the beginning of the meeting and one near the end of the meeting. See the agenda for details.

Council will review (1) minutes of its last meeting (12/13/2021) and (2) the upcoming meeting list. We will also hear various updates from staff, including the City Manager, and the Mayor (note that corresponding written reports are included in the meeting packet).

On occasion, council members also submit reports. This week, I have submitted a report (see page 31 of the packet) in which I document some background about past City-sponsored survey efforts and my personal survey efforts (a topic of discussion in early 2021 and again at our last meeting). I also share, for the purposes of documentation, my thoughts about a recent proposal to draft a policy or guideline document describing “the appropriate ways [council members] can reach out to the public.”

I am most excited to share that, in early 2022, I will be proposing a City-sponsored city-wide survey that will provide a long overdue snapshot of resident sentiment (the last such survey was conducted in 2011) and will help us as we set goals, objectives, and funding priorities for the next fiscal year (beginning on July 1, 2022).

Following the presentation and any discussion of these reports, Council will consider the following items as part of the Consent Agenda. Unless Council votes to do otherwise, these items are voted on as a single bundle without Council discussion.

• Bills & Payroll in the amount of: $276,948.66
• Proposal from Carlisle-Wortman Associates for Community Development Department Staffing Assistance for an Amount not to Exceed $6,000
  • The last day for former Assistant Planner, Mike Auerbach, was the end of November 2021. While staff has attempted to fill the Assistant Planner position, staff has been unable to secure a suitable candidate and it is unlikely that a candidate will be hired prior to the start of our Community Development Manager (Michelle Aniol)'s upcoming personal leave. The structure of this leave (one extended leave period or multiple shorter leave periods) is currently unknown and is likely to be circumstantial.
  • Staff contacted Carlisle-Wortman Associates (CWA) to solicit a proposal for temporary staffing support so that community development services for residents and businesses are not interrupted, as a result of the staff leave time. The proposal from CWA to provide as-needed hourly and/or daily temporary staffing assistance includes limited office staffing (up to two days per week), and staffing and technical support to the ZBA and Planning Commission. A copy of the proposal accompanies this report.
  • City administration and staff would work with CWA to minimize costs, however, in the event the City needs their assistance, staff respectfully requests that Council approve the proposal, not to exceed $6,000.

Council is not scheduled to discuss any unfinished or new business.

Meeting Agenda: https://files.dextermi.gov/City_Council/2021/Agendas/2021-12-27-CC-A.pdf

Meeting Packet: https://files.dextermi.gov/City_Council/2021/Packets/2021-12-27-CC-P.pdf

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REMINDER: Video recordings of past Council meetings are now available on the City's website (in addition to the City's YouTube channel): https://www.dextermi.gov/government/cc.php. If there's a particular past discussion you're interested in watching, just let me know and I'll do my best to point you to the relevant excerpt.

**If you would like to receive my personal meeting reminders via email, please visit https://www.griffinfordexter.com/ and scroll to the bottom to enter your email address where directed.