Virus crisis means changing city hall business as usual

Challenging times require novel solutions.
With everyone under state orders to stay at home, and to observe social distancing from one another when you do have to go out, the city council decided to temporarily end their meetings in city hall.
And they have the blessing of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who issued a directive allowing public bodies to conduct their meetings via teleconferencing during this coronavirus pandemic.
This will allow meetings to take place, but not violate the Open Meetings Act.
The Hamtramck City Council may have been one of the first public bodies in the state to follow the directive, when it held a special meeting a couple of weeks ago.
That meeting was to allow the city administration to make necessary purchases as they arise – such as public safety equipment that is needed to protect our first responders.
All of that can now be done without prior council approval.
We know this requires a big trust factor with any administration in any city.
But it is the right thing to do.
If the city administration betrays our trust, or makes an erroneous purchase, the council has the ability to undo that.
We have trust in our city administration not to take advantage of this new arrangement.
It is just the smart and safe thing to do in this time of crisis.
Posted April 3, 2020

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