In a unanimous vote, the Wyoming City Council has hired Scott Smith as its city attorney during its May 14 meeting.
In this role, Smith will serve as the chief legal advisor to the City, responsible for providing legal services to the City Council, city manager, all departments, and City boards and commissions. He will render legal opinions, prepare contracts, ordinances, resolutions, leases and other documents, and assist in drafting proposed legislation on matters of interest to the City. He will defend the City in cases filed in all courts and assist with managing the hiring and work of outside attorneys retained to provide legal services to the City in various specialty areas. Smith will begin his duties on July 1.
With the hiring of Smith, the City will bring its legal services in-house for the first time in its history. Wyoming had previously contracted with Jack Sluiter and his firm Sluiter, Van Gessel & Carlson PC, who will continue to do project work. Sluiter has indicated his intention to slow down his practice as he prepares to retire.
“As Wyoming continues to grow and the nature of our work becomes more complex, we feel the time is right to bring legal services in-house,” said Wyoming City Manager Curtis Holt. “We have long partnered with Scott Smith on innovative development projects, policy recommendations and other issues and have admired the depth and breadth of his knowledge on municipal matters.
“We have appreciated the fine work of Jack Sluiter and his legal team over the years. We look forward to building on that foundation and are delighted to welcome Scott to our team. We know having him contribute to our efforts on a daily basis will greatly benefit our City.”
Smith comes to the City with nearly four decades of municipal law experience, most recently with the firm Dickinson Wright PLLC. He has worked with dozens of public entities and authorities across Michigan, providing general counsel on municipal matters as well as special counsel regarding joint emergency services, brownfield and downtown development, local development financing, utilities, tax increment financing, district libraries and utilities.
He has been a part of several legislative workgroups, most recently serving on Lt. Gov. Brian Calley’s personal property tax legislative work group. He has also authored the municipal partnership act, 2011 PA 258, as well as amendments to other intergovernmental contract statutes, the brownfield redevelopment financing act, 1996 PA 381 and tax increment financing legislation such as 2018 PA 57.
“The City is on the brink of some exciting developments, and we need a strong internal team to get the work done,” said Mayor Jack Poll. “Scott has been a trusted advisor to the City for many years, and we know he will help us turn our vision into reality. He is thoughtful, innovative and an extremely strong collaborator.”
Smith earned his law degree from the University of Michigan Law School and his bachelor’s from Wheaton College in Illinois. He is active in the community, serving in board capacities for Grandville Baptist Church, Wedgwood Christian Services, Lake Ann Camp and Freedom Baptist School.
He resides in Grandville with his wife, Mari, and has two sons who live nearby with their families. He and Mari are the proud grandparents of five, soon to be six, grandchildren.