Climax Village Council president is also
Lawrence Memorial District Library director
Lawrence Memorial District Library director
An opinion letter provided by the Climax Village Council attorney on a claim of former Council President David Miller that current Village Council President William Lewis is unlawfully holding two “incompatible offices” at the same time was offered to the public and council to review at the March 18 regular Village Council meeting.
Lewis was elected Climax Village Council president in the November 5 election, defeating Miller 213-182. He is currently the Lawrence Memorial District Library director in a paid position. The Village attorney was requested to advise on the matter.
In a five-page letter to the Council, attorney Craig Rolfe states in his opinion, “Mr. Lewis is not holding two ‘incompatible offices’ when he holds Village office as Village Trustee/President and Lawrence Memorial District Library office as the Library Director of that entity, and can therefore hold both of those positions at the same time without violating the Incompatible Public Offices Act.”
Rolfe referred to research he performed on the Incompatible Public Offices Act: MCL 15.181-15.185. He said none of the exceptions “as provided in section 3” of the Act are applicable in the claim, so the general rule of Section 2 can be applied without any concern for those exceptions.
The Village attorney goes on to state in his opinion letter, when applying this general rule of Section 2 of the Act it is initially important to determine if the person at issue is a “public officer or public employee,” because the rule only prohibits holding two or more “offices” that are incompatible. After noting how “public officer” and “public employee” are defined in the Incompatible Public Offices Act, Rolfe adds in the opinion letter:
“Pursuant to those statutory definitions it is easy to conclude Mr. Lewis is holding a ‘public office’ pursuant to his election to the Village Council. It’s also easy to conclude Mr. Lewis is holding a ‘public office’ pursuant to his employment by the Lawrence Memorial District Library as the ‘Library Director.’ In my opinion Mr. Lewis does not hold a ‘public employee’ position as the Library Director, because that employment position results from an ‘appointment’ pursuant to Section 7.1 of the LMDL Bylaws. As noted above, the definition of ‘public employee’ in the Act does not include a person whose employment results from election or appointment.
“Thus, for this first step of a legal analysis under the Incompatible Public Offices Act, I conclude Mr. Lewis is a ‘public officer’ with respect to his elected position with the Village and with respect to his appointed position with respect to the Lawrence Memorial District Library,” Rolfe adds in the letter.
The attorney then turned to whether Lewis is holding at the same time two or more “incompatible offices.”
He first outlined how incompatible offices are defined in the Incompatible Offices Act. Rolfe said when considering the duties of both of the positions Lewis holds, because the Act is violated only if the official’s performance of those duties actually results in the subordination of one of those public offices to the other, the supervision of one public office by the other, or a breach of duty of public office.
“Upon reviewing the statutory duties of Mr. Lewis as a Village of Climax Trustee and Council President, and the duties of Mr. Lewis as the Library Director of the Lawrence Memorial District Library, I find it easy to conclude there is neither ‘subordination’ of one office to the other or ‘supervision’ of one of by the other,” said Rolfe in the letter.
The Village attorney then reviewed the General Law Village Act, noting various court cases in Michigan articulate a standard for determining when a breach of duty exists.
He notes the bylaws of the Lawrence Memorial District Library, do no authorize the library director to enter into or even negotiate any contractual matters with the Village. The authority is held by the Board of Trustees of the Library.
He concluded the performance by Lewis of the duties of both the Village and Library positions he holds will not result in a breach of duty of public office, based on the facts known to him and pursuant to the analysis he provided with respect to the facts.
“Accordingly, in my opinion Mr. Lewis is not holding two ‘incompatible offices’ when he holds Village office as Village Trustee/President and Lawrence Memorial District Library office as the Library Director of that entity, and can therefore hold both of those positions at the same time without violating the Incompatible Public Offices Act,” Rolfe said in his opinion letter.
Rolfe also considered whether the positions Lewis holds with the Village of Climax and Lawrence Memorial District Library create any issue under another statute known as the
Standards of Conduct for Public Officers and Employees Act. He felt comfortable advising there is no apparent violation of the Standards of Conduct for Public Officers and Employees Act arising from the facts discussed involving the duties of Lewis as the Library Director of the Lawrence Memorial District Library and his statutory duties as a Trustee and President of the Climax Village Council.
Rolfe said he was intentionally not designating his legal opinion letter as confidential or otherwise protected by the attorney-client privilege, due to the public importance of his advisement on the claim raised by former the Council president, David Miller.
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