The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Kristina C. during the 2009-2010 League.
Mission: Observe - Local Meeting
On September 22, 2009, I attended my first city council meeting in Oxford, MI. It was an extremely interesting process to watch, and I no longer take advantage of our libraries, water systems, and roads. Though Oxford is a fairly small town, there is so much to take care of to guarantee efficiency. There were a total of five council persons: Maureen Helmuth, Tony Albensi, Teri Stiles, Tom Benner, and David Bailey. There was also a manager of the council, K. Joe Young, who also played the role of finance director. Basically, his job was to make sure everything was running smoothly, and he also kept track of what motions were to be discussed. Daniel Luick, the clerk and town treasurer, kept track of the money that was being spent and the bills that needed to be paid.
In the beginning of the council meeting, they discussed the motions that should be passed according to complaints of the public. One complaint was about the amount of chlorine in the water. Supposedly, many people were complaining that they had too much chlorine in their water because they lived close to the water plant. This was researched thoroughly, and they concluded that there is about twenty times more in certain areas then there should be. Due to health concerns, a motion was passed that water plant needs to cut down on the chlorine amount and clean out the water pipes to provide safe drinking water for the whole Village of Oxford. Also, the council passed two motions concerning a sidewalk sign change, and a fire-damaged bridge with graffiti on the Poly-Ann Trail.
After discussing the complaints, the council acknowledged a bill proposed by Governor Granholm. In summary, this bill would cut down funding for libraries including MELcat. The goal of this bill is to save money while still providing minimal wage for workers. Also, the bill strives to provide the same services for the public. The main issue that was debated by the council was that the services for the public probably would be decreased. Everyone agreed that the library is crucial to school-going children as well as for adults. They argued that the state should not deprive the people of this. Also, Tom Benner believed that this bill was in violation of state law which requires libraries to receive at least 10 million dollars annually. The proposed bill is to cut the budget from 15 million to 7.5 million. Before the council was able to vote on this, a resident of Oxford argued that the bill needs to be voted on by the public since it is technically a state issue. He stated that the whole village of Oxford needed to have a say. Not all of the members of the council agreed with this, so they passed an amendment to wait for a representative of the bill.
At the end of the council meeting, after discussing several other issues which I have not mentioned here, Teri Stiles was sworn in as president of the Oxford City Council. Shortly afterward, Tom Benner was sworn in as vice president of the Oxford City Council. Both swore to uphold their duties and serve the residents of Oxford. After seeing this council meeting, I was very surprised about how the process worked. I never truly understood how individual cities worked, but now I do. This council was a great experience and I would recommend everyone to attend one. It is a really good eye-opener to the issues present on in our economy and in America. Attending a council meeting is a great way to become more involved in your community!
