Brighton, Michigan
 B-
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
Contents |
The City of Brighton, Michigan is located in the southeastern corner of Livingston County.
[edit] Website evaluation
- Main article: Evaluation of Michigan city websites
[edit] The good
- The city posts its meeting minutes and agendas. These have been archived for two years.[1]
- Easy to add agenda items online to the city council meetings.[2]
- City administrators and their contact information are listed.[3] E-mail is included.
- City council members and their contact information is posted.[4]
- The current budget is posted.[5]
- Personalized tax search is available.[6]
- Building permits and other forms are available online.[7]
- Contract bids are posted on the site.[8]
[edit] The bad
- Audits and an online checkbook register could not be found on the website.
- No information is provide on how to file for a public records.
- Disclosure of membership to taxpayer-funded lobbying associations is not listed on the site.
[edit] Governance
Brighton is governed by a seven-member, part-time city council. These members are elected at bi-annual, odd-year elections. Terms are staggered between serving a two year session and a four year session. The City Council then selects one member to serve as Mayor and one to serve as Mayor Pro Tem for a two year period.[9]
A City Manager is an appointed official who oversees services such as: police, fire, public works, building, planning and zoning and tax collections.[9]
[edit] Annoyance ordinance passed
On December 19, 2008, Brighton passed an ordinance that local news media reported would ban "annoying" behavior. After the AP wire picked up the story, national outlets began to cover the ordinance and questions of its Constitutionality. On December 22, 2008, Michigan transparency activist Chetly Zarko filed a FOIA and complaint with the City asking for a number of actions, and blind copied the message to local media which then published the FOIA itself in full. The City's response to that FOIA was mailed to Zarko on in mid-March 2009, but parts of the response were posted online within 18 hours of the request.[10]
[edit] External links
- Brighton City's official site
- Brighton Chamber of Commerce
- Brighton Area Schools
- Brighton Area District Library
- Livingston Daily, the local newspaper
- FocusBRIGHTON, community website
- Brighton Area Fire Department
- Brighton City Police Department
[edit] References
- ↑ Meetings
- ↑ Agenda item request
- ↑ Department contact information
- ↑ City Council members
- ↑ Budget 2008-9
- ↑ Tax assessment
- ↑ Forms/Permits/Applications
- ↑ Purchasing/Bids
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 City of Brighton, Government overview
- ↑ Outside Lansing, Teaser: Brighton FOIA on anti-annoyance law worked within 18 hours, March 23, 2009
