City Council Study Session

City Council Study Session Monday, April 06, 2026, at 6:00 PM 27400 Southfield Road, Lathrup Village, Michigan 48076 1. Call to Order by Mayor Kantor at 6:00 pm Present: Kantor, Sousanis, Hammond, Jennings Absent: Garrett Also Present: City Administrator Greene, Attorney Baker, City Clerk Emanuel 2. Discussion Items A. Council Rules of Order & Procedure - Video/Audio Recording Councilmembers, City Administrator Greene, and Attorney Baker discussed:  Continuation of the discussion with Councilmember Sousanis, discussing his ideas/recommendations regarding some changes to the rules o In part: to allow people to use their phone without a tripod  Asking where the concern of Residents who felt intimidated by recording was in the recommended changes  Enforcing the rule and the workflow  Rules to encourage more participation from the Public (eliminating Public concerns, related to video/audio recording, and making the Public comfortable)  Enforcing when there is a problem, still not intimidating people or getting in their personal space  Handheld devices were a major source of disruptions, versus being on a tripod  Minor adjustments to it, like if someone arrives late, so that they can set up in the back of the room to record  Question of requiring a tripod, Attorney Baker sharing that it is considered a reasonable restriction, the intent is to have them in an area that will minimize disruptions  The State rules and Community rules, and individuals are aware of each Community’s rules  Reasonable person’s standard  In line with the Spirit of the Law  Recognizing that the wording was to recognize the idea behind the Rules and the interest of those in attendance  The recordings taken at Council and used in other ways cannot be controlled by the City Council  If the changes are not working, we can revisit and change them if needed 27400 Southfield Rd | Lathrup Village, MI 48076 | 248.557.2600 | www.lathrupvillage.org  B. City Administrator Evaluation Councilmembers, City Administrator Greene, and Attorney Baker discussed:  The ICMA template is the form that will be used  Adding a comment section after each section/category  Adding verbiage that if one of the scoring points does not make sense/not used, then the denominator will be adjusted for the overall score  Electronically submit the forms  Possibly using a Google Docs form or a fillable PDF, Google Docs can make a Spreadsheet with the Data  Scoring in each section is 5 points  Evaluation is not just a score, but Feedback  Performance Goals and Objectives for CA Greene to work on to achieve the Bonus  During a Closed or Open meeting, what process will be used this year to do the evaluation  Possibly getting feedback from employees, too, anonymous feedback C. DRAFT Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Budget Councilmembers, City Administrator Greene, and Attorney Baker discussed:  No PA 33 or with PA 33 budget options  1 mill PA 33, and lowering the Road millage, Residents would not see a difference in their taxes, one would offset the other  Contribution to the retiree health funding, would we fall behind the State-mandated threshold?  Not backfilling a full-time open position in the Police Department  Background on the Patrol Cars and other Police Cars, and if they are needed this year  Pay freeze for Administrative staff  COLA (Cost of Living Adjustment) freeze seems punitive to City staff  BS&A cost and when we will have to go to the BS&A Cloud platform, being about $80,000 more (1 time approx. $80.000 then approx. $40,000 every year)  Telephone expenditure has gone down, due to the new Phone system  Consulting Plan costs are going down, and DDA Director Colson is doing the work now, and can be adjusted throughout the year based on planning usage. Typically offset with revenue  New Budget Classification system  Utilities – pulled from multiple numbers  Public Services – Lathrup Services amount, including the adjustment/increase  No projects planned for Streets next year except crack sealing  DDA Capture out of the Road Bond 27400 Southfield Rd | Lathrup Village, MI 48076 | 248.557.2600 | www.lathrupvillage.org   Water and Sewer, waiting on rate study, and Evergreen and Farmington to finalize their rates. There are no major projects planned for this year, unless a carryover from the Cured In Place Project, Sewer, is expected to see an increase  Explaining the why behind the Water increase  School being closed brings in less Water revenue  Ready Serve Usage and stand-alone $10.70, portion of the Bond will still be on the Bill  DDA first review at last meeting, no alleyway projects, but some signage projects, and wayfinding signs, looking to make CED Intern Kennedy full-time in their budget  Leaning towards 1 Mill PA 33 and offsetting it, versus 1.5 Mill  Elevator Compliance costs  What happens if the Library Millage fails  Thinking about what it will be like if PA 33 does not pass D. 2026-2031 Capital Improvement Plan Councilmembers, City Administrator Greene, and Attorney Baker discussed:  Completed projects that will be removed  Indicating ones that are “In Progress.”  What triggers us to go forward with the Capital Improvement Project  CIP is like a wish list  A grant can move things forward  The need to get all our ADA Communications into compliance  Power DMS Software Annual renewal  Ranking criteria, and notes more information/background on projects: Maintenance, and compliance versus wish list items  Rankings coming from Department heads  Updating notes/descriptions going forward E. DDA Cost Share Agreement Councilmembers, City Administrator Greene, and Attorney Baker discussed:  Outlines/Clarifies what is covered by DDA and what is covered by the City  Adjust for inflation, liability insurance has gone up  PILOT Ordinance, ability to negotiate an annual Service Charge  Timeline to be able to negotiate with the DDA, if this is approved, possibly in May  Question about DDA Funding, and if we periodically look at/review what it paid for in Services, and if it is actually covering those costs, and if not, can we adjust for that, possibly looking into it next cycle F. Lathrup Services - Request for Adjustment to Schedule of Fees Councilmembers, City Administrator Greene, and Attorney Baker discussed:  Outsourced City Services has asked for an updated contract and cost increase 27400 Southfield Rd | Lathrup Village, MI 48076 | 248.557.2600 | www.lathrupvillage.org   Cost of bringing it back in-house would be about $450-550,000  Related to Sundee Building, who does our Water Mains, and we save costs using Sundee  Looking into other DPW Service providers, as we did not receive other offers last time, and it would be many contracts with different providers to get the same services  Work list is submitted every month  They went from 4 to 3 employees recently, they still have to get the same amount of work done, and we don’t pay them overtime  Standard work list, and we have a work order system submitted to them through Martha  They do Right of Way maintenance and cleaning for City-owned properties 3. Public Comments Christina Schindler, Chairwoman of the Parks and Recreation Committee, expressed in part: thanks to City Clerk Emanuel for cleaning up storage areas for them, and expressed appreciation for City Administrator Greene for being thorough, supportive, and quick to respond to Parks and Recreation Committee requests. Ms. Schindler also expressed disappointment that only one Councilmember, Mayor Kantor, attended the Bunny Day, representing the Council. Jonathan Tara expressed in part: thanks to Martha Bobcean for the improved responsiveness of See, Click, Fix, and to Chief Zang and his quick responsiveness to him. Mr. Tara mentioned finding multiple empty Amazon boxes around the City and by the parking lot of Chase Bank, and thought the Police Department should look into these boxes in case they were taken off of porches, and that See, Click, Fix would be great as an ombudsman. Lauren Fink, Southfield Neighbors Action Committee, a group of residents in Southfield and Lathrup Village, expressed in part: concern about a lease at Town Square used for lawyers for ICE, and that the group has tried to find out more about the lease and asked City Council if they could help or support finding out more information about the lease. Laurie Kunz, expressed in part: that Study Session recordings should not have stopped in the first place, there have been several discussions about the recordings, she also commented on someone that made comments a few weeks ago that she feels is a false narrative, and commented on a situation involving Councilmembers downstairs after the last meeting, and that she comes to the meetings to be heard and not to be made fun of. Kelly Keveney, DXL Clothing Store Regional Sales Manager, expressed in part: past communications, concerns, and questions regarding our window and sign ordinances and the impact on their business, as well as the construction on Southfield and 696, have caused them to have a loss in business, and asked for clarification on the sign and window ordinances in relation to their store. Ms. Keveney also thanked the Lathrup Village Police Department for their great work. 27400 Southfield Rd | Lathrup Village, MI 48076 | 248.557.2600 | www.lathrupvillage.org Rick Wisz expressed in part: pushing the Road Commission to repair damage to Right of Way, they left holes where the crosswalks are, people have tripped, and could get injured. Lauren Beras expressed in part: Police and their Vehicles, part-time and full-time Police are important to us, and hopes cuts will not be made to the Police Department, and that rules for videotaping were changed due to bad behavior. Timothy Hillman, San Quentin, expressed in part: that he is a proponent of recording the meetings, he enjoyed the good creative discussion tonight about PA 33, suggested looking at how Frankenmuth has used their PA 33 and now have more usable cash retained by the City and less by the DDA, Mr. Hillman, mentioned attending three events and that he put on one: No Kings protest, Parks and Recreation Trivia night, and Breakfast with the Bunny, and that the events were a reprieve from rigmarole, and that City Administrator Greene wears many hats including the Food Safety Manager role. 4. Mayor and Council Comments Mayor Kantor’s comments:  To Lauren Beras, he agrees about not cutting the Police, but not filling 1 Officer, so there are cuts to the Police force  To Rick Wisz, he agrees about the crosswalk and sent City Administrator Greene an email  To Laurie Kunz, about the recordings, he has had 5 or 6 people reach out to him who won’t come to the Meetings/Study Sessions because of the intimidation factor, and he heard more similar comments when he went door to door  To Kelly Keveny, we didn’t enforce the 10% before; signage is open for discussion in the Planning Commission meetings, trying to find a way to help businesses, especially during construction, and some changes to the signs, and he suggested adding an Open sign in the window  To Jonathan Tara, the Amazon boxes could be from the apartment complex West of there, and the wind blew them  To Lauren Fink, they are not in our jurisdiction, Attorney Baker said we can’t compel a landowner to come, but we can invite them. The lease is not subject to review from the Municipal government; we can’t compel them to come, we can make a request, host a Public forum, or send a letter asking them Councilmember Sousanis’s comments:  Asked about making a request or Proclamation regarding the Town Square lease, and Attorney Baker replied that we can proclaim for them to attend a meeting that Southfield is holding, looking for transparency on what the agreement is, and what they are setting up to do  Usually do Breakfast with Bunny, missed it this year, intend to support  We have done a couple of Proclamations at the end of the month. Can we look ahead to June and, in the May meeting, do a Proclamation for Juneteenth 27400 Southfield Rd | Lathrup Village, MI 48076 | 248.557.2600 | www.lathrupvillage.org Councilmember Hammond’s comments:  To find out what Southfield is doing first, and try to gauge what Lathrup Village residents think about the Town Square lease, and do something as a body, Council  Have Juneteenth discussion at the April Meeting  Had the intention to be at Breakfast with Bunny, thanks for bringing it up for us to support  To Jonathan Tara, about See, Click, Fix as an Ombudsman, he asked City Administrator Greene if we can look into it, or make comments letting it be known that we have reached out to them  For clarification that it is the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor for Immigration and Customs Enforcement  To Kelly Keveny, the window ordinance of no more than 10% is due to the ability to see if there was a Fire, and since there is a wall, the Planning Commission needs to look into this. Attorney Baker referenced it being treated as a wall sign, something they can look into Councilmember Jenning’s comments:  Seeing if it (Town Square lease) is on Southfield’s Facebook, something representative of the Council  He was out of town during the Breakfast with Bunny event, but hopefully you will come back when I attend an event and give us good kudos 5. Adjourn 8:36 pm 27400 Southfield Rd | Lathrup Village, MI 48076 | 248.557.2600 | www.lathrupvillage.org