Southfield council and library board discuss six-month exit clause, possible 1-mill rate change; council will bring formal amendment back

City officials and council members spent a sustained portion of the meeting clarifying the status of a proposed amendment to the library contract that surfaced in a joint meeting with the library board.

The administrator and treasurer said the library board concurred with council recommendations at a joint meeting and that the city attorney prepared amendment language. The treasurer explained that part of the amendment would permit a six-month exit clause for the library and that a proposed adjustment to the payment rate to 1 mill was discussed to align city payments with a library millage proposed for the November ballot.

Council members questioned whether the 1-mill adjustment had been formally agreed to. One council member said she did not recall agreeing to an adjustment, and another said the amendment language was not yet in the draft the attorney had circulated. "I don't recall us agreeing to any adjustment," one member said on the record. The clerk noted meeting notes that the library's November millage is for one mill dedicated to library services and that the consulting discussion included using the library's mill to set the rate the city would receive, but the timing and duration were not specified in the council packet.

The attorney said she had not yet added the mill adjustment language to the draft amendment she circulated and would follow up with the library attorney. Council members concluded further action was warranted: staff will reconcile the precise amendment language (including whether and when a 1-mill rate adjustment takes effect) and bring the formal amendment to council for approval at a later date.

No formal amendment or vote on the library contract was taken at the June 15 meeting; the council instead moved later to enter closed session for labor negotiation and privileged attorney discussion.