Lake Orion's village government could cease to exist by the end of the year.

The Lake Orion Village Council voted 7-0 on July 23 to send a disincorporation question directly to the November ballot, letting residents decide whether to dissolve the village and merge with Orion Township. The measure still needs approval from the Oakland County clerk's office before it officially appears on the ballot.

The vote came after resident Rob Reighard gathered petition signatures from at least 15% of the village's 2,177 active registered voters, the threshold required under Michigan law. Village Clerk/Treasurer Sonja Stout verified the petition on July 15.

Councilmember Michael Lamb made the motion to take no action on the petition. Under state law, that inaction sends the question to the county for ballot placement rather than triggering a longer commission process.

Council President Teresa Rutt said she never considered the alternative. "I had zero intention of going the route of a dissolution commission and dragging it on," Rutt said. "That process can take a year, it can take two years, and that's really a really hard place to put our village in."

Had the council appointed a disincorporation commission, a six-member panel split between village and township representatives would have spent six to 18 months drafting a transition plan. Both village and township voters would then have needed to approve it by simple majority. Instead, only village voters will decide the question in November, and passage requires a two-thirds supermajority.

Village attorney Anthony Chubb told the council that bypassing the commission means the county and likely the township will determine how assets, debts, and employees transfer, rather than a negotiated plan between the two governments.

Several residents spoke in favor of disincorporation at the meeting, citing police costs, property taxes, and water bills as reasons to merge. Resident Jim Cummins called the village "no longer a sustainable community" and said "this ship is sinking rapidly." No residents spoke against the proposal at the meeting.

The two-thirds threshold is steep. According to the Michigan Municipal League, every recent village disincorporation attempt in the state has failed, including Sand Lake in May 2026, where 55% voted yes but fell short of the required supermajority.