City Council Update, December 2, 2024

Our new city manager, Crystal VanVleck, was sworn in, the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office gave a presentation on the All of Us Foundation to address gun violence, and council updated our rules and meeting dates.

City Manager's First Day

December 2 was Crystal VanVleck's first day in her new role as Berkley city manager.

She was sworn into office, and after the meeting a welcome reception was held for her.

As a way of introducing her to the city, the mayor and city manager will be riding the Downtown Berkley shopping trolley from 1 to 3 on Saturday, December 14. Stop in and chat with them while finishing your Christmas shopping at our local stores.

The mayor will also be holding events on

Thursday, December 19 from 6-8pm at Sum Girls Boutique, and
A date to be determined at the Chop Shop.

All of Us Foundation to Address Gun Violence

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald gave a presentation on the All of Us Foundation. Their purpose is to fight gun violence through education and prevention.

Berkley resident Bridget Mahrle was in attendance. She is one of the leaders of Berkley Residents for Common Sense and gave this summary of the presentation. I've reproduced it here with her permission.

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald did a fantastic job at explaining that research shows it’s not just gun laws, metal detectors, or security protocols that will prevent gun violence against children.

Gun violence against children starts with Public Service Communication and Education.

Schools and communities need to adopt and embrace emotional awareness of children and families in crisis.

Social support systems that can help people navigate conflict, becoming a society that takes safe storage as seriously as buckling a child in a car seat, as seriously as we take fire detectors in our homes. It’s a societal norm to protect our loved ones - creating a society that takes gun storage and gun safety just as seriously is vital.

She touched on the importance of teaching people how to handle conflict, feelings of isolation, mental stress and abuse. It will take awareness and support systems to be successful - we can do it, we’ve already proved it can be done.

Council Rules and Calendar

Council finalized updates to our rules of procedure and our calendar.

We decided to meet twice every month. Currently, we only meet twice a month for 7 months of the year, holding meetings only once a month for the remaining five months.

We also decided to schedule work sessions before every council meeting. These are more informal times when we can discuss upcoming issues before bringing them to a regular meeting for making a final decision.