The Village formed a City Study Committee to investigate cityhood for the Village of Dexter. The City Study Committee reported back to the Village Council that pursuing cityhood was recommended. The Village contracted with OHM (an engineering firm which works with the Village) to complete an up to date and accurate survey of the current boundary of the Village. This boundary map was completed in December 2008. Petitions were circulated and 164 signatures were collected. The cityhood submittal was sent to the State Boundary Commission on November 6, 2009 (docket #09-I-1). The Boundary Commission discussed the petition at their meeting on February 11, 2010. Click here for a summary of the meeting. On March 9, 2010, Village representatives met with Boundary Commission staff. A summary of that meeting can be viewed here. At their March 18, 2010 meeting, the Boundary Commission found the Village's petition legally insufficient.

Village Council amended the proposed legal description for clarity and contiguity. New signatures were collected and the petition was mailed to the Boundary Commission on December 15, 2010 (docket #10-I-2).

The legal sufficiency hearing was held on June 16, 2011. Click on the following links to view the agenda and legal sufficiency review.

On June 16, 2011 the State Boundary Commission met to consider the Village’s cityhood petition. The petition was reviewed by Boundary Commission staff and their opinion was that it meets the criteria for legal sufficiency. An objection was raised at the hearing by Webster Township as to whether or not property included in a 425 agreement can be included in the area proposed for incorporation into the new city. An objection to being drawn into the boundary was also raised by the Dexter Area Historical Society. The Boundary Commission decided to request an opinion from the State Attorney General's Office on whether 425 areas could be included in the proposed boundary.

At the August 18, 2011 meeting, the Boundary Commission voted 4-0 to find the Village's petition legally insufficient. Though the Boundary Commission staff and Attorney General concluded that land covered under a 425 could be included in the petition, the Boundary Commission disagreed. At the hearing the Village requested a copy of the Attorney General's Opinion but it was not released because they said it was covered by attorney-client privilege.

On August 23, 2011 the Village submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for a copy of the transcript of the hearing and all documents related to the first and second petition filing, with hopes of obtaining the Attorney General's opinion and other insight into the Boundary Commission's ruling.

On September 1, 2011 President Keough attended the Dexter Area Historical Society meeting to hear their concerns about being included in the Village boundary.

On September 15, 2011 the Boundary Commission met and officially adopted the "findings of fact" that summarized the reasons for legal insufficiency, with a 5-0 vote, which can be viewed here. The Boundary Commission is a recommending body so the "findings of fact" document was forwarded to the Director of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs for final approval. During this meeting the Commission decided to release a copy of the Attorney General's opinion which can be viewed here.

At the September 26, 2011 Village Council meeting, Council discussed the Village's options moving forward (view the memo here) and decided that the best next step was directing staff to contact the Director and explain our concerns about the process and the recommendation made by the Boundary Commission. The Director was contacted on September 27, 2011. The e-mail sent to the Director can be viewed here.

On October 4, 2011 the Village received the documents from the Freedom of Information Act request. Several items related to contact between the staff/Commissioners and the Attorney were withheld due to attorney-client privilege.

At the October 10, 2011 Village Council meeting, Council supported the idea that President Keough should meet with Webster Township to talk through their concerns about the petition.

The Village President, Assistant Village Manager and the Village's cityhood attorney participated in a conference call with the Director and his Deputy on October 14, 2011 to further explain the Village's position and answer any questions. The Director explained that they were doing an internal review of the petition. Village representatives indicated that we were planning to meet with Webster Township and would inform them of the outcome of the meeting.

On October 26, 2011 the Village received a "findings of fact" signed by the Director declaring the petition legally sufficient and instructing the Boundary Commission to set a public hearing. A copy of this document can be viewed here.

On October 28, 2011 the Village President and Assistant Village Manager met with the Webster Township Supervisor.

On November 2, 2011 President Keough, Supervisor Kingsley and Assistant Manager Nicholls met with a member of the boundary commission staff to discuss options for the boundary that would satisfy all parties.

The Village drafted a boundary map that was acceptable to Webster Township and the Historical Society. The updated map can be viewed here.

On November 14, 2011 Village Council supported the idea of presenting the new proposed boundary to the Commission at their meeting on November 17, 2011.

At the November 17, 2011 Boundary Commission meeting the public hearing was set for January 17, 2012 at 4 p.m. at the Dexter District Library. The boundary for the public hearing will be the boundary proposed in the petition filing. At the public hearing the Village will request that the Commission adopt the new proposed boundary as the final boundary.

The Boundary Commission held a public hearing in the Village on January 17, 2012 at 4 p.m. at the Dexter District Library - 3255 Alpine. The Boundary Commission submitted a questionnaire to the Village which was completed and returned on December 9, 2011. A copy of the questionnaire can be viewed here. The 30 day comment period ended February 18, 2012.

The Boundary Commission has posted information received during the 30 day comment period. Please click here and then scroll down to the bottom to find the Village of Dexter's portion. The petitioner's seven day rebuttal period ended on March 19th - click here for the rebuttal letter.

The next Boundary Commission meeting is scheduled for May 9, 2012. The agenda has been posted to the SBC website at the following links: Main Meeting Agenda; Washtenaw County Agenda

On May 9, 2012 the State Boundary Commission voted 5-0 to recommend that the Director of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs approve the Village' s cityhood petition with the revised boundary that was presented by the Village and Webster Township. The final Boundary Map can be viewed here.

The Commission met on June 13, 2012 and approved their "SUMMARY OF PROCEEDINGS,
FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW", which has been transmitted to the Director of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.

The Director signed the order on July 13, 2012. A copy of the signed order can be viewed here.

The 45 day referendum period ends on August 27, 2012. Within 45 days any citizen can obtain signatures on a petition to call for a referendum on whether or not the Village should become a city. The Village received notification on August 23, 2012 that a petition has been filed. The document can be viewed here.

The Boundary Commission met on October 10, 2012 to determine the legal sufficiency of the petitions. The Boundary Commission sent out an agenda and a memo regarding the petitions.

At the October 10, 2012 meeting the petitions were found to be legally sufficient. The order was signed by the Director of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.

The Washtenaw County Clerk's Office scheduled the referendum election for May 7, 2013. A copy of the ballot language can be viewed here. If the referendum yields a no vote to move the process forward, the cityhood process ends. If the referendum election moves the process forward, a Charter Commission is elected.

The Charter Commission would then write the City Charter. Once the Charter is written, it is sent to the Governor's office for approval. If not approved, the Charter Commission works to fix the Charter and resubmits. Once approved, a Charter election is scheduled. An election is held on the Charter. If it passes, the Village becomes a City. If not, it goes back to the Charter Commission.

A more detailed document outlining these steps can be viewed here.