Lansing Councilmembers could soon face fines if they miss meetings

In her day job, missing three days of work with no excuse would likely get Trini Pehlivanoglu fired, she said. As a City Councilmember, she would face no consequences at all.

That’s because, despite Lansing’s City Charter’s allowing City Council to regulate its own attendance, it never has. That has led to problems, such as when Councilmember Brian Jackson “forgot” to attend 11 out of 12 Ways and Means Committee meetings in 2020.

An ordinance proposed by Pehlivanoglu and Council President Ryan Kost would set definitions — and consequences — for missing Council and committee meetings.

They would include a written warning for a first unexcused absence and censure by Council after a second. Missing a third and subsequent Council meeting would cost 1/26 of salary per unexcused absence For committees, members would be fined $100 per meeting. Five subsequently missed Council meetings would get an unexcused member booted.

Pehlivanoglu said the ordinance’s main purpose is setting limits for “excused” absences. Councilmembers would have to request an excused absence at least an hour before a meeting, excepting extraordinary circumstances.

“If I am calling in sick at work, there are parameters around that in my day job,” she said. “It is common sense to have some of those parameters spelled out for council members.”

Adam Hussain, who is the Council’s longest-serving member at nearly 10 years, said “there has really been no protocol in place for request and approval of absences.”

“Any time someone notified the chair of a committee that they weren’t going to be there, they were given an automatic excused absence,” he said.

Hussain agrees that defining parameters for excused absences is the most essential part of the ordinance. He estimated that 75% of excused absences in his tenure would have been unexcused under the proposed ordinance.

He said he hoped the ordinance would help would-be councilmembers know whether the job was right for them.

“Folks need to know what’s on their plate, and that they have an absolute responsibility to attend,” he said.

 — LEO V. KAPLAN