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Issue Brief

The 1997 Detroit City Charter included a provision for Community Advisory Councils (CACs), tasked with:

1. Communicating to City Council the concerns of groups, agencies, residents and businesses within the district;

2. Assisting groups, agencies, residents and businesses with community problem solving;

3. Disseminate information to groups, agencies, residents and businesses on social and physical plans for the district;

4. Providing advice to City Council and community representatives on:

1. Housing development;

2. Commercial blight;

3. Safety and security;

4. Economic and community development;

5. Employment opportunities;

6. Code enforcement; and

7. Other concerns impacting social, economic, cultural and environmental conditions within the district

5. Familiarizing themselves with the City Charter, with the objective of assisting the community in understanding the intent and relevance of Charter provisions.

6. Familiarizing themselves with the Master Plan for the City of Detroit in relationship to the City generally and the land area within their district generally.

7. Meeting annually with the Mayor and annually with City Council to discuss the challenges confronting the district and the resources required to advance the interest and support the viability of the district.

Keys to implementation of CACs:

• Community Advisory Councils are created by ordinance through a petition of citizens in the district

• City Council must implement the ordinance creating a CAC within 90 days of the effective date of the City Charter

Petitions from citizens must be signed by a number of qualified registered voters who are residents of a district equal to not less than ten (10) percent of the number of persons voting at the last municipal general election in the district.

Departments Involved

• City Council

• District residents

Charter Language

Sec. 9-101. Definition and Purpose.

Community Advisory Councils as used in this chapter are advisory councils established by ordinance upon the petition of city residents. The purpose of these Councils is to improve citizen access to city government. The City Council shall create advisory council districts by ordinance that shall be the same as districts from which council members are elected, exclusive of the at-large district. The ordinance shall be adopted within ninety (90) days after the effective date of this Charter.

Sec. 9-102. Creation and Composition of Advisory Councils.

City Council shall by ordinance establish seven (7) Community Advisory Councils upon receipt of a petition from the residents of districts created under section 9-101. The petitions shall be signed by a number of qualified registered voters who are residents of a district equal to not less than ten (10) percent of the number of persons voting at the last municipal general election in the district.

Each Community Advisory Council shall consist of five (5) members elected from a single non at-large district, who shall be residents and qualified and registered voters of the district; one (1) youth member between the ages of thirteen (13) and seventeen (17); and one (1) member selected as a representative for senior issues. City Council shall establish by ordinance a procedure for the selection and appointment of the high school member and senior issues representative on Community Advisory Councils. After creation of a Community Advisory Council, elected members shall be elected at the next election occurring in the city, if permitted by law, and shall serve until January 1 of the year following the regular city municipal elections. Thereafter, elected Community Advisory Council members shall be elected to four (4) year terms at the regular city municipal elections. Notwithstanding election to an initial term of less than four (4) years, an elected member may not be elected to more than two (2) consecutive four (4) year terms. The senior issues representative selected in accordance with the City ordinance shall serve one (1) four (4) year term, and may be reappointed. The youth member selected in accordance with City ordinance shall serve a one (1) year term and may be reappointed for as long as the person meets the age requirement. Reappointment of the youth member shall be for one (1) year terms. All members shall serve without compensation.

The City Council member elected from the non at-large district in which a Community Advisory Council resides, or their designee, shall attend all official meetings of that Community Advisory Council.

Sec. 9-103. Powers, Duties and Limitations.

City Council shall, by ordinance, prescribe uniform procedures, for the exercise of the powers and duties for all Community Advisory Councils. Included in those powers and duties shall be the provision that a community council may require that the City Council representative receive prior consultation from the Community Advisory Council on all issues which relate exclusively to that district.

Community Advisory Councils shall receive no appropriations from city funds, but may accept donations or grants in accordance with state, federal or local law.
A particular Community Advisory Council shall be dissolved only by a petition signed by the same number of qualified voters residing in the Community Advisory Council district required above, and an ordinance adopted after public hearing by City Council with public notice to the Community Advisory Council district in question.

Each Community Advisory Council shall hold public meetings not less than four (4) times each year. The meetings will be held within the respective districts and will be held in donated facilities with an attempt to provide as broad of a geographical distribution for the meetings as possible. The meetings shall be held in accordance with the Michigan Open Meetings Act and the Community Advisory Councils shall comply with the Michigan Freedom of Information Act.

The powers and duties of each Community Advisory Council shall include:

1. Communicating to City Council the concerns of groups, agencies, businesses and residents within its districts with respect to the delivery of programs and services.

2. Assisting groups, agencies, businesses and residents in community problem solving by meeting with groups to:

   1. Clarify issues; and

   2. Demonstrate proper procedural approaches to accessing city government.

3. Disseminating information to groups, agencies, businesses and residents on social and physical plans for the districts areas.

4. Providing advice to community representatives and City Council on major issues within the council district which may include:

   1. Housing development;

   2. Commercial blight;

   3. Safety and security;

   4. Economic and community development;

   5. Employment opportunities;

   6. Code enforcement; and

   7. Other concerns impacting social, economic, cultural and environmental conditions within the district.

5. Familiarizing themselves with the City Charter, with the objective of assisting the community in understanding the intent and relevance of Charter provisions.

6. Familiarizing themselves with the Master Plan for the City of Detroit in relationship to the City generally and the land area within their district generally.

7. Meeting annually with the Mayor and annually with City Council to discuss the challenges confronting the district and the resources required to advance the interest and support the viability of the district.

Resources

DetCharter Resources

• San Luis Opispo Community Advisory Council Handbook

• San Luis Opispo CAC Training Manual

• Contra Costa, California Citizen Advisory Boards

• Portland, Oregon Citizen Participation in Planning

• New York City Community Advisory Unit

• Raleigh, NC Citizen Advisory Councils, January 2011

• Huffington Post: Detroit Community Advisory Councils Could Increase Input In Local Government

User Generated Resources

• If you have any information relevent to this topic please mail it to info@detcharter.com and we will include it in our list of resources.