Beier Will Juggle Council Meetings and Class This Semester

Above: Mayor Mark Meadows and Council Member Ruth Beier at City Council meeting.

East Lansing Council Member Ruth Beier, who had recently requested a leave of absence from Council through December, expects to attend both City Council meetings and an MSU class on some Tuesday evenings this fall.

As ELi reported, on August 14, the Council voted to approve excused absences from Council meetings for both Beier and Meadows. Meadows’ absence extends from mid-August through October 1. Beier’s absence extends from mid-August to the end of 2018. According to the City Charter, a Council member loses her or his seat after four consecutive unexcused absences. The vote by the Council prevents that from happening for Beier.

Beier had hoped her Tuesday night class, which she needs to prepare for a new career in teaching, might be rescheduled to avoid or reduce the scheduling conflict with Council’s regular meeting time. However, she told ELi on August 30 that the class time was not changed, so “my plan is to leave class early and get to Council for any important votes.”

Beier said she is fulfilling her roles as a member of Council at times other than Tuesday nights.

She told ELi, “I continue to perform all of my functions including studying all items on the agenda and sending my input to the city manager, responding to requests, questions, concerns from constituents, monitoring my commissions – historic and housing, monitoring legal issues, attending special meetings, negotiating – basically everything other than Tuesday night meetings.”

Beier attended the entire City Council discussion-only meeting on August 21 and the meeting of the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) on August 23 when the DDA reviewed the Brownfield Tax Increment Financing (TIF) plan and Development Agreement for DRW/Convexity’s proposed project. (That's the project sometimes called "The Park District," a redevelopment proposed for the area just northwest of the corner of Grand River Avenue and Abbot Road.)

The City Council has scheduled a public hearing on the TIF plan for the DRW/Convexity project  at its September 18 meeting. The developer and the City are still negotiating a few aspects of the Development Agreement, and the DDA and Brownfield Redevelopment Authority (BRA) will hold a second special meeting on September 6, in the hope that both these documents might be ready for their action.

The September 18 Council meeting could be an example of a Tuesday Council meeting Beier will try to attend, at least in part, especially if the DRW/Convexity deal is ready for action. The DRW/Convexity project has been a high priority for the Council, and Beier told ELi that she has been involved in negotiations with the developer.

Both TIF plans and Development Agreements require only a regular majority of three of five Council votes for passage. If Mayor Pro Tem Erik Altmann and Council Members Shanna Draheim and Aaron Stephens are all in agreement, they could approve these aspects of the deal even without Beier or Meadows being present.

Relaying a question from a reader, ELi asked Beier if she plans to forego any of her pay. Beier replied, “I won’t be asking for a reduction in my stipend.”

Council members receive $8,171.92 in annual pay, with no retirement or healthcare benefits. The Mayor receives $9,634.00 in annual pay with no retirement or healthcare benefits. (Council members do get free parking in City lots and the loan of a City-owned tablet computer for use while serving on Council.) The City has no policy for reducing this compensation due to a leave of absence.

ELi also asked Mayor Meadows if he would reduce his stipend because of his six-week leave of absence; he did not respond. Meadows is hiking and bicycling in Spain during his leave.