A special prosecutor in Benzie County has declined to issue charges against Cadillac's Local Development Finance Authority (LDFA).
Michigan State Police investigated the board in June after a complaint alleging the LDFA violated Michigan's Open Meetings Act (OMA) by conducting business without the minimum number of members required, ignoring bylaws and withholding meeting minutes and records.
At that time, MSP interviewed past LDFA board members, Cadillac City Manager Marcus Peccia, utilities director Jeff Dietlin.
Last month, IPR reported on those findings after receiving MSP incident reports of the interviews through a Freedom of Information Act request. The interviews revealed a noticeable sense of confusion and lack of organization among certain LDFA board members around bylaws.
The findings of that report were initially sent over to the Wexford County Prosecutor but were then forwarded to Benzie County Prosecutor Sara Swanson who would act as a special prosecutor.
On Friday afternoon, Swanson shared a letter with IPR that she wrote to Daniel Hackman, MSP's detective in charge of the investigation.
Swanson wrote that while there did appear that there were violations of the Open Meetings Act, that alone would not be enough to pursue the case criminally.
"In a criminal court," Swanson wrote, "we would have to prove that these violations were intentional beyond a reasonable doubt."
Swanson does not rule out the chance for someone to pursue civil action for OMA violations, however.
"The penalty is the same as in the criminal court," wrote Swanson, "and the burden of proof is much easier to reach, as it is beyond a preponderance of the evidence."
Cadillac city attorney Michael Homier responded to news of the decision on behalf of the LDFA.
"I think this completely vindicates our position," said Homier. "It never showed criminal intent to do anything inappropriate. I said that from the beginning."
