UPDATED: Cityhood Concerns Dominate Dexter Village Council's Town Hall Meeting

Editor's note: This story has been corrected to reflect that Dexter Village does not contract for an assessor. Those services are currently provided by law by Scio and Webster townships.

In an effort to solicit feedback from local residents, members of the Dexter Village Council held an informal with constituents on Thursday at the .

The council fielded questions from an audience of roughly 15 residents, who were seeking clarification about the village's .

Dexter's cityhood has been ongoing since 2006. Officials submitted their original petition to the state on Nov. 6, 2009, and were initially turned down because of what the State Boundary Commission determined to be an “insufficient legal description.” Last August, the commission

Addressing questions about the village's second petition, council members said they are still waiting to hear back from the state before moving forward. At issue is if property in an Act 425 agreement can be included in the city. The village’s proposed boundary map submittted to the state includes Gordon Hall, which is part of a 425 agreement with Webster Township. The township and the Dexter Area Historical Society own the historic home, but have objected to its inclusion in the proposed city limits.

Once the village receives a signed decision from the state, the village can appeal the decision within 21 days to the Circuit Court in Ingham County, where the boundary commission hearings take place. Then, it would be up to a judge to decide whether land in a 425 agreement can be incorporated into the city.

Resident Sue Sherrill asked the council to compare advantages and disadvantages of pursuing cityhood.

"Personally I don't think there's many disadvantages to becoming a city," village president Shawn Keough said. "I've heard residents tell me that cities are big and nasty and all the things villages aren't. I don't believe if we're a city any of our characteristics will go away. I think it's still about the people who are here.

"(A city) is a form of government that will allow us to do a couple of more things on our own. We've certainly proven that we can do things on our own and that's why I'm for it."

Keough said two of the biggest advantages would be lower taxes for residents and one centralized location for city elections.

"Businesses and residents would not have to pay township and village taxes," Keough said. "So there is definitely a huge benefit to the business community in this economic environment because I know that one thing all communities are struggling with is keeping their businesses open."

As an example, Keough said the village's largest taxpayer, Dexter Fastener Technologies, could save approximately $25,000 a year.

Resident Fred Model said he was concerned with the cost associated with transitioning to a city.

"This perception that it costs more to be a city than it does a village is not the case," Carson said. "Aside of doing our own assessing and running our own elections, we do everything a city does right now."

Trustee Paul Cousins said the city would have to hire its own tax assesor, which would be a larger expense. Currently both Webster and Scio townships provide assessing services to the village.