By Elena Durnbaugh
Gongwer News Service
The Michigan Supreme Court reversed a decision made by the Court of Appeals that members of the Macomb County Commission be given real-time, read-only access to the county’s financial management software.
The Court ruled in a unanimous decision written by Judge Elizabeth Welch that the county charter grants the Macomb County Executive broad management, administrative and enforcement powers and the Commission broad legislative authority. Judge Noah Hood did not participate in the decision because it was made before he assumed office.
The case, Docket No. 166363, Hackel v. Macomb County Board of Commissioners, was decided Monday.
Real-time access to the county’s financial management software, as it relates to the budget, affects the finance and the information technology departments of Macomb County, given the nature of their duties, and those departments are not headed by elected officials and therefore operate under the county executive’s supervision.
The Court of Appeals majority ruled that the charter did not authorize the Commission to impose limitations on the county executive’s control or management authority, absent express authorization by a statute or the state Constitution, even if the county adopted and ordinance to do so. The Supreme Court disagreed, ruling that local ordinances held as much authority as a law, absent a state law on a particular matter.
“This provision implies that the Commission can impose legal duties on the county executive through a validly enacted ordinance, in addition to duties that are imposed by the charter or some other form of law,” the opinion said. “We conclude that the most rational way to harmonize the use of law… is to read the term as including validly enacted county ordinance unless surrounding context or textual modifier clearly provides for a narrower meaning.”
The court took no position regarding whether there were other issues that needed to be resolved.
The case was remanded to the circuit court for further proceedings.
Gongwer News Service
The Michigan Supreme Court reversed a decision made by the Court of Appeals that members of the Macomb County Commission be given real-time, read-only access to the county’s financial management software.
The Court ruled in a unanimous decision written by Judge Elizabeth Welch that the county charter grants the Macomb County Executive broad management, administrative and enforcement powers and the Commission broad legislative authority. Judge Noah Hood did not participate in the decision because it was made before he assumed office.
The case, Docket No. 166363, Hackel v. Macomb County Board of Commissioners, was decided Monday.
Real-time access to the county’s financial management software, as it relates to the budget, affects the finance and the information technology departments of Macomb County, given the nature of their duties, and those departments are not headed by elected officials and therefore operate under the county executive’s supervision.
The Court of Appeals majority ruled that the charter did not authorize the Commission to impose limitations on the county executive’s control or management authority, absent express authorization by a statute or the state Constitution, even if the county adopted and ordinance to do so. The Supreme Court disagreed, ruling that local ordinances held as much authority as a law, absent a state law on a particular matter.
“This provision implies that the Commission can impose legal duties on the county executive through a validly enacted ordinance, in addition to duties that are imposed by the charter or some other form of law,” the opinion said. “We conclude that the most rational way to harmonize the use of law… is to read the term as including validly enacted county ordinance unless surrounding context or textual modifier clearly provides for a narrower meaning.”
The court took no position regarding whether there were other issues that needed to be resolved.
The case was remanded to the circuit court for further proceedings.
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