Cities and Counties That Have Passed
Resolutions Against Smart Meters

 

1. Why Resolutions Are Important
2. Do Resolutions Have the Force of Law?
3. What Local Governments Say About Resolutions
4. How to Get a Resolution Passed
5. Model Resolution to Use
6. List of City and County Resolutions Against Smart Meters

Many Michigan cities and counties have passed resolutions against smart meters. In fact, every municipality that has been approached has passed a resolution. Is your municipality on this list? If not, get them on board!

 

Why Resolutions Are Important

Two state representatives tell us:
“Get as many city and county resolutions as you can. They make a difference.”

Getting local governmental bodies to pass resolutions concerning smart meters is quite important. Legislators and lawyers have told us that getting more of them is essential to our cause. Resolutions by city and county governments give us a lot of leverage in getting legislation passed because they show that local governmental bodies are concerned about smart meters. The legislators pay attention to that. After all, those citizens vote them in and out of office. Resolutions are also important because they can—and have been—used in legal proceedings. Council and commission meetings are usually broadcast via cable TV, so your discussion of smart meters will educate many people.

 

Do Resolutions Have the Force of Law?

Resolutions do not have the force of law. They are a statement of a governmental body’s feeling. The legislature and the court take these resolutions into account when making decisions, and this is why getting your city and county governments to pass them is important. Legislators tell us that these resolutions are important in getting the Analog Meter Choice Bill passed.

 

What Local Governments Say About Resolutions

When first approached, most cities and counties say that they have no power and cannot do anything about what the utility company does. They often tell you to go to the legislature or the Michigan Public Service Commission. But, as you just read above, the council has the power to pass a resolution, and many resolutions can be a powerful political force. The fact is, when the councils are educated, they pass the resolutions. The discussions at council meetings, usually broadcast via cable TV, educate many citizens and help to get the word out to more people.

 

How to Get a Resolution Passed

People to Help You
We can refer you to two people who can help you get your local government to pass a resolution. Both have a high success rate at this endeavor. One, in particular, started off like most of us—not knowing a thing about smart meters. He stepped up to the plate and has had great success. He can coach you on how to do this yourself. We can get the word out to people in your community so that they can support you. Contact us for more information.

 In addition, David Sheldon of Michigan Stop Smart Meters can give a 20-minute to one-hour presentation to your council. At every presentation in which both he and DTE have appeared, the council has passed a resolution opposing smart meters. If you would like him to come and speak before your council, please contact us. Please put “Speak at Council Meeting” in the subject line of your email.

Some Specifics on Getting a Resolution Passed

• Call your city clerk and ask to get on the council’s agenda. If you are on the agenda, you can speak for about 20 minutes. This is better than speaking at the public comments section, where you usually get only 3 minutes.
• To prepare, you can read What Are Smart Meters (How They Work, Why They Are Harmful), Opt-Out Facts (DTE, Consumers), Dirty Electricity, Costs, and Privacy. See our Alerts and Breaking News page for additional and up-to-date news. This information can give you facts to back up what you say.
• Many governmental bodies don’t understand that the DTE opt-out does not allow you to keep your analog meter. You have to make this very, very clear to them.
• The resolution should ask the Michigan House and Senate to pass the Analog Meter Choice Bill, HB 4916, or similar legislation that would permit customers to have an analog meter at no cost. You want to include the language about “similar legislation” because if the bill doesn’t pass this year, it will have to be reintroduced. We want to make sure the legislature knows that it is the content of the bill that matters, not the bill number.
• Pass out additional information that will help inform the council.
• Following this section is a Model Resolution for you to present to your council, as well as two well-written resolutions.

Contact us for more information on how to get resolutions passed

.

Model Resolution to Use

Here is a model resolution.  Submit this to your city or county. On June 3, 2016, Vassar Township passed this model resolution.  Marathon Township and Worth Township have also passed very good resolutions. We recommend submitting all three of these to your municipal government.

Many of the municipalities passing smart meter resolutions did so before anyone understood anything about dirty electricity, and before the Michigan Public Service Commission approved DTE’s and Consumers’ opt-out programs. Thus, many of the resolutions below do not contain all the language they would if they were passed today. Nonetheless, they stand as a show of governmental disapproval of the way the utilities are treating their customers and their customers’ health and privacy.

You will notice that many of the resolutions below ask the Michigan Public Service Commission to investigate the health concerns. The MPSC conducted what it considers an investigation in 2012. Resolutions asking them to do it again won’t help us. This is why we suggest you use the model resolution as a template.

 

 

City and County Resolutions Against Smart Meters

 

County Resolutions Against Smart Meters

Allegan Lapeer Macomb Oakland

April 25, 2013 April 28, 2016 April 12, 2012 June 21, 2012

News story

YouTube video

City, Village, and Township Resolutions Against Smart Meters

Allen Park Almont Brighton Brighton Twp Brown City Caro Columbiaville Dearborn Heights Farmington Hills Grosse Pointe Shores Grosse Pointe Woods Harrison Twp Lincoln Park Livonia Madison Heights Marathon Township Marysville Mayfield Township Oak Park Reese Rochester Rochester Hills Romulus Royal Oak Twp Shelby Twp Southfield Sterling Heights Taylor Troy Vassar Vassar Twp Van Buren Twp Warren West Bloomfield Township Worth Township Ypsilanti Township

Jul 8, 2014 Mar 20, 2012 Nov 21, 2011 Nov 21, 2011 Jun 9, 2016 Aug 5, 2013 Apr 11, 2016 Jan 12, 2012 Mar 5, 2012 Jan 17, 2012 Mar 19,2012 Mar 14, 2012 Oct 6, 2014 Mar 21, 2012 Jan 25, 2012 May 10, 2016 Feb 29, 2016 May 11, 2016 Jun 20, 2011 Mar 4, 2013 Nov 4, 2011 Dec 12, 2011 Sept 9, 2013 Jan 19, 2012 Aug 16, 2011 Oct 21, 2011 Jan 3, 2012 Sept 2, 2014 Jul 23, 2012 Aug 5, 2013 Jun 3, 2016 May 1, 2012 Oct 11, 2011 Nov 17, 2014 Jul 20, 2016 May 14, 2012

News story News story Vassar Twp

Sept 25, 2013

Vermont is the first state to pass a statewide, cost-free smart meter opt-out. Most of California and Arizona have analog meter opt-outs for those utilities that use smart meters.

 

 

Newsletter, Facebook—Stay Up to Date

Stay up to date by subscribing to our newsletter (it comes out every 1 to 4 weeks). We constantly update our website, so check back often. You can find updates and time-sensitive actions to take under our “Alerts and Breaking News” box. We also use Facebook to send out quick news updates. (While we understand the privacy concerns with Facebook, at this point in time it is a useful tool for us, and is a great way to spread the word about smart meters. If you only wish to use Facebook for access to our updates, you can get an account without revealing personal information—it’s all in what you choose to share, and you can give them any name or birthdate you like.)

Our newsletter comes out every 1 to 4 weeks. It will keep you informed and tell you what actions you can take to fight smart meters. Note that most email programs will filter out our newsletter unless you adjust your email settings. Even though you may receive individual emails from us, when we send the newsletter out to a large group, the emails may be placed in a folder other than your inbox. This happened to us! We weren’t even getting our own newsletter.. Please make sure you look for emails from smartmetereducationnetwork@ gmail. com in your Promotions, Spam, Junk, or other folders. Please contact your email provider to learn how to adjust your settings, or search on the internet.