§ 5.1. Eligibility for office and employment in city.

No person shall hold any elective office of the city unless he has been a resident of the city for at least two years immediately prior to the time of his appointment to fill a vacancy. No person shall hold any elective office unless he is a qualified and registered elector of the city on such last day for filing or at such time of appointment and throughout his tenure of office. No person shall hold any elective office unless he shall be the owner of real property located within and assessed for taxes by the city.

No person shall be eligible for any elective or appointive office who is in default to the city, or who shall have been found guilty by a competent tribunal of the commission of a felony. The holding of office by any person who is in such default shall create a vacancy unless such default shall be eliminated within 30 days after written notice thereof by the council or unless such person shall in good faith be contesting the liability for such default.

No person shall be eligible for election to office at any regular or special election who is:

(a)

An appointive officer

(b)

A member of a board or commission

(c)

An elective officer whose term of office does not expire at 8:00 p.m. on the Monday next following the next regular election unless he shall resign either as an appointive officer, member of a board or commission or as an elective officer whose resignation shall be in writing and filed with the clerk at least 120 days before such next regular or special election.

Each member of a city board or commission shall have been a resident of the city for at least two years prior to the date of his appointment, and shall be qualified and a registered elector of the city on such day and throughout his tenure of office.

The council shall be the sole judge of the election and qualification of its own members.

All officers of the city shall be United States citizens.

No elective officer may be appointed to any city office or be employed by the city during the term of office for which he was elected.

(Amended of November 5, 1968)

State law reference

Mandatory that charter prescribe qualifications of officers, MCL 117.3(d).

Editor's note

A two-year residency requirement for city office was held violative of equal protection by Green v. McKeon, 335 F. Supp. 630 (E.D. Mich. 1971), affirmed by 468 F.2d 883 (6th Cir 1972). A one-year residency requirement was upheld by Joseph v. City of Birmingham, 510 F. Supp. 1319 (E.D. Mich. 1981). Except as applied to a volunteer or paid on-call firefighter, an elected official, or an unpaid appointed official and certain requirements in collective bargaining contracts, the residency requirement in Charter section 5.1(a) is prohibited by MCL 15.601 et seq.