State Supreme Court rules on county charter cases

MACOMB COUNTY/LANSING — On June 16, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled against Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel in two cases about the powers of the county executive under the Macomb County charter.

First, the court ruled in favor of the Macomb County Board of Commissioners, requiring Hackel to grant the commission’s director of legislative affairs real-time, read-only access to the county’s financial management software for budgeting purposes. Access was first requested in 2017 and written into the general appropriations ordinance for fiscal year 2018, though Hackel never granted this access.

Penned by Justice Elizabeth Welch, the court found Hackel must grant the access based on “the plain language” of the fiscal year 2018 budget and remanded the case back to the circuit court.

The court found Hackel must grant the access based on “the plain language” of the fiscal year 2018 budget and remanded the case back to the circuit court.

“We thank the Supreme Court for its thorough opinion and respect its decision,” Board Chair Joe Sabatini said in a press release.  “The Supreme Court recognized the Board’s valid ordinance requirement that the Board be provided accurate and timely financial information. With that information, the Board looks forward to working together with the County Executive for the common goal of accountable and efficient government for the citizens of Macomb County.”

The court ruled in favor of Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido regarding his desire to have external counsel. The Macomb County Board of Commissioners appropriated $42,500 to the Prosecutor’s Office in the fiscal year 2024 budget for “contract services,” which Hackel vetoed on Dec. 8, 2023, and the board overrode on Dec. 14, 2023. After attempting to contract with five law firms in January 2024, Lucido began proceedings against Hackel. The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Lucido, and Welch wrote the order concurring with the appellate court on the grounds that the county charter “does not impose any limits on the purpose for which independent legal counsel can be retained using public funds.”

“The Court has again sent Mr. Hackel a clear message that he cannot rule like a king, and his abuse of power must end,” Lucido said in a press release. “These are historic decisions that protect Macomb County taxpayers and the integrity of justice in our county.”

Andrew McKinnon, deputy Macomb County executive, said the rulings were a matter of seeking clarification about the executive’s limits in the county charter.

“(The court cases were) an avenue to clarify what the charter means and to give us clear direction on how we move forward with the charter and with our responsibilities and what the board’s responsibilities are,” McKinnon said.