In July 2023, several plaintiffs, including Councilwoman Tonya Burns and the late Councilman Eric Mays, sued the City of Flint and Mayor Sheldon Neeley, alleging that Neeley unilaterally created the American Rescue Plan Act Advisory Committee without seeking the enactment of an ordinance or the passage of a resolution, that Mayor Neeley failed to seek the approval of the Flint City Council concerning the appointment of individual members of the ARPA committee, and that the ARPA committee was meeting in closed session.
The Genesee County Circuit Court dismissed the plaintiffs’ complaint. The plaintiffs who filed the lawsuit appealed.
On July 9, a split decision was issued.
Lawrence A. Katz of the Lento Law Group stated the following regarding the ruling: “We are extremely pleased that the Court of Appeals recognized that Mayor Neeley acted illegally when he circumvented Flint City Council and unilaterally created the ARPA Advisory Committee, a Multi-Member Board. Sadly, despite the clear language of Flint’s City Charter, the Mayor ignored it and required a lawsuit to compel him to comply with the City Charter. We hope this court decision discourages the Mayor from attempting to illegally form such entities in the future.”
The City of Flint stated: “Regarding the Court of Appeals’ decision, the Court ruled that the ARPA Committee was not a public body that violated the Open Meetings Act. As to the claim made by plaintiffs alleging that the Flint City Charter was violated, the Court returned the case to the Genesee County Circuit Court for additional fact-finding to determine if that may be the case. The City continues to assert that there was no such violation.
The fact remains: the Flint City Council, as the City’s legislative body, approved an ARPA budget during public meetings—held transparently and before the community—to allocate these federal dollars.
“As we continue to place the City of Flint on the correct trajectory, I’m very proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish…” said Chief of Staff Ed Taylor.
“We will remain focused and dedicated to providing a high level of service for this great community,” added Mayor Sheldon Neeley.
