Incorporation; rejection of charter; de facto mayor; duties; resubmission of charter, procedure; effect of nonadoption within 3 years of election to incorporate.
MCL 117.16
in effect117.16. Incorporation; rejection of charter; de facto mayor; duties; resubmission of charter, procedure; effect of nonadoption within 3 years of election to incorporate.
Sec. 16.
(1) If the proposed charter is rejected at an election, the election of officers is void, except that the elector who receives the highest number of votes cast for the office of mayor shall be a de facto officer of the proposed city until a mayor for the proposed city is elected and qualified pursuant to a charter which the electors have approved. The mayor elected shall, after the lapse of 10 days within which petitions for the selection of a new charter commission may be filed, if the petition has not been filed with him or her, by notice, require the charter commission to reconvene and within 90 days after the notice provide any revision, amendment, or amendments to the original draft of the charter previously prepared by them as they consider necessary.
(2) The proposed charter, with amendment or amendments, shall be resubmitted to the qualified electors of the proposed city in the same manner and with the same notice and proceedings as required in the first instance, which proceedings shall continue until the qualified electors of the proposed city have, by a majority vote, approved a charter for the proposed city.
(3) Any proposed charter, as originally submitted or resubmitted with any amendment or amendments, shall not be submitted more than 3 times to the qualified electors of the proposed city, and if rejected 3 times, or in the event that a charter is not adopted by the electors of the proposed city during a period of 3 years following the election on the question of the incorporation of the proposed city, the township clerk of the township in which the proposed city is located, or of that township having the largest portion of the population thereof, shall certify that fact to the secretary of state and to the county clerk, register of deeds, and circuit court of the county in which the proposed city is located. The territory of the proposed city shall thereupon revert to the status existing prior to the filing of the petition required by section 6, and the office of each charter commissioner and de facto officer of the proposed city shall terminate and cease to exist. Any sum of money deposited with the county clerk according to section 6 shall be paid by the county clerk into the general fund of the county.
1909, Act 279, Eff. Sept. 1, 1909; CL 1915, 3319; CL 1929, 2252; Am. 1947, Act 201, Eff. Oct. 11, 1947; CL 1948, 117.16; Am. 1956, Act 77, Eff. Aug. 11, 1956; Am. 2008, Act 420, Imd. Eff. Jan. 6, 2009
Source: Michigan Legislature (legislature.mi.gov)URL: https://legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-117-16Fetched: 10/20/2026