This rendering shows what the auxiliary flagpole could look like in front of Lathrup Village City Hall.
By: McKenna Golat | Southfield Sun | Published May 6, 2026
LATHRUP VILLAGE — Community members in Lathrup Village are raising money for an auxiliary flagpole to be placed in front of Lathrup Village City Hall, opening up the ability for the city to raise more flags throughout the year.
Currently, Lathrup Village only has one flagpole in front of City Hall. The effort to raise funds for a second flagpole is entirely community-based. One of the organizers, Tim Hillman, said that he’s lived in various communities throughout his life, and each one had an auxiliary flagpole that flew different commemorative flags, such as the Juneteenth or Pride flags. He said that an auxiliary flagpole will give flexibility and visibility to different celebrations throughout the year.
Hillman said this flagpole is a way for the city to showcase pride in its different populations, especially its Black and LGBTQ+ communities.
“I think it’s due time for the city to be visible in its declarations of things like Black History Month, Juneteenth or Pride,” Hillman said. “It’s simply reflective of the community.”
Bob Beras created a GoFundMe page for the effort, and it had raised $2,030 of its $5,100 goal as of May 5. The GoFundMe can be found at www.gofundme.com/f/raise-the-flag-lathrup-village.
The funds will go directly to the purchase and installation of the 40-foot flagpole and will be a gift to the city. Any flags flown on this flagpole will be provided by community members or organizations. The City Council would then discuss and vote on adopting the flag as an expression of government speech, thus allowing it to be flown in front of City Hall.
Hillman said he hopes to have the flagpole installed by June so that the Pride and Juneteenth flags can be flown.
Lathrup Village Mayor Bruce Kantor said he thinks it is a good community effort.
“It’s an example of our residents coming together to get something they want and feel strongly about,” he said.
Lathrup Village has a flag-flying policy in place, which was discussed at the city council’s May 5 study session. The council discussed the possible addition of requiring requests and a deadline for requests for unique flags to be flown.
The policy comes from a resolution the council passed in July, and goes as follows:
“Whereas, the City of Lathrup Village owns and maintains flagpoles on city property, including but not limited to City Hall, for the purpose of displaying flags that convey the City’s official messages and expressions. Whereas, the City intends to designate its flagpoles as nonpublic forums and platforms for government speech, reserving them for the City’s own expressive purpose and limiting their use to specific flags that align with the City’s official messages. Whereas, the City seeks to establish a clear and consistent policy governing the display of flags on city flagpoles to avoid creating a public forum and to ensure that all flags flown represent the City’s endorsed messages. Whereas, the City recognizes the importance of maintaining control over its flagpoles to communicate messages of civic pride, historical significance and governmental purpose, while allowing limited flexibility to adopt additional flags as governmental speech on a temporary basis. Whereas, this resolution is intended to comply with applicable First Amendment principles, including those articulated in “Pleasant Grove City v. Summum” and “Shurtleff v. City of Boston,” by clearly designating the flagpoles’ status and establishing a policy for flag displays.”