Charter amendment on ballot for Grosse Pointe Woods voters

GROSSE POINTE WOODS — To paraphrase a colloquial expression, what’s in a title? A lot, it turns out, in the case of a proposal in front of Grosse Pointe Woods voters this November.

If a charter amendment is approved by voters, Grosse Pointe Woods’ city administrator will be renamed a city manager.

Woods officials say the city administrator is already performing the functions of a city manager, even though the city’s charter still refers to the position as the former. Voter approval of the charter amendment would change all references in the charter from city administrator to city manager.

“It’ll be consistent with the way we’re operating and the way all of the other Grosse Pointes operate,” Mayor Arthur Bryant said.

All the other Grosse Pointes, Harper Woods, St. Clair Shores and many other cities across Michigan are run by a city manager, who is appointed to this position by the city council.

The change would align with two charter amendment ballot proposals approved by Woods voters in November 2021 that placed the city clerk and treasurer under the supervision of the city administrator. Prior to that, the clerk, treasurer and city administrator were all under the supervision of the City Council and could be hired or fired at the council’s discretion. Because the Woods’ council and mayor aren’t full-time city employees, officials said this was challenging, as they couldn’t be present for the day-to-day management of operations at City Hall.

Bryant said at that time, the state wouldn’t allow the Woods to change “city administrator” to “city manager” in its charter.

Bruce Smith was the Woods city administrator in November 2021, and he expressed support then for the charter amendments. Similarly, his successor, current City Administrator Frank Schulte, believes this charter amendment makes sense.

“After reorganizing the structure of Grosse Pointe Woods, the three independent departments — administration, finance, and the (city) Clerk’s office — now report to the city administrator,” Schulte said by email. “It would be appropriate to change the title to ‘City Manager’ to align with these new responsibilities and to maintain consistency with the titles used in surrounding communities.”

Bryant voiced support for the charter amendment.

“The ballot proposal absolutely should be passed,” Bryant said. “It will put things in the proper order that they should be.”

The more substantial changes already occurred when voters approved the previous charter amendments in 2021. This one is largely a change in wording.