5 Proposals Before Royal Oak Voters Nov. 3

Royal Oak voters will decide a four-way race for three seats on the City Commission, plus decide five questions when they go to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Mayor Jim Ellison is unopposed in his election bid.

The City Commission candidates are newcomer Kim Gibbs and incumbents Kyle DuBuc, Mike Fournier and Patricia Paruch, who was appointed in 2014 and is seeking election to a four-year term.

[RECIRC}Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Find your polling place here.

Here’s a rundown of the questions before Royal Oak voters.

Proposal 1 would allow the library board to spend up to $10,000 per invoice without approval from the City Commission. Currently, the charter allows the library board to spend up to $500 per invoice without commission approval. The proposal doesn’t change the requirement that the library budget be approved by the City Commission.

Proposal 2 would raise the amount of the performance bond that a contractor must provide to the city from $3,000 to $50,000. Surety bonds are a contractor’s pledge that work will be performed under the terms of the contract.

Proposal 3 would remove obsolete provisions from the city charter.

Proposal 4 clarifies the city manager position, making it clear that the city manager serves at the will of the City Commission and placing certain restrictions on the terms of the city manager’s contract.

The proposed language for Section 19 is:

“Notwithstanding any other charter provision, the City Commission shall appoint the City Manager who shall be the head of the administrative branch of the city government. The City Manager shall serve at the pleasure of the City Commission. The City Commission may provide the terms of employment for the City Manager in a written contract which may provide for such things as salary, notice of termination, severance pay, vacation, pension benefits, retirement benefits and related conditions of employment. However, no contract with the City Manager shall have a term of more than two years following the date of its approval by the City Commission, nor shall it provide for severance pay in excess of one year’s pay at the rate provided in the contract, or for a continuation for a period no longer than one-hundred eighty days following termination of employment of the City Manager by the City Commission, of reasonable fringe benefits consistent with that provided to department heads of the City at the time of termination.”

Finally, Proposal 5 would eliminate all gender-based language in the charter, such as “he” and “his,” and replace those words with gender-neutral language.

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