Michigan regulators have ordered a performance evaluation of the Village of Cassopolis after a resident said she was given permission to move into her new home even though her wastewater system was not working. The review was authorized last week by the state’s Construction Code Enforcement Committee, which acts under the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.
Melissa McKay said she filed a complaint with LARA after the village issued her a certificate of occupancy in October 2022. She said she had to rely on composting toilets and could not use her sink or dishwasher. “I mean, these are serious issues. We have people that have some very, very, very large concerns about how this village is being ran, and how code enforcement is being enforced,” McKay said.
A LARA spokesperson said the performance evaluation may include observing inspections alongside local officials and reviewing permits, inspection reports, correction notices, stop-work orders and certificates of occupancy. There is no timeline for how long the state review will take, and the village manager declined to speak with the I-Team on camera.
The state action follows a prior WNDU 16 News Now I-Team report titled “An American Nightmare,” which helped push the issue into public view. The village manager said Cassopolis welcomes the performance evaluation, but McKay said broader concerns remain about how the village is being run and how code enforcement is enforced.
McKay said she plans to take the next step herself. “I will be circulating a recall petition in the Village of Cassopolis. We will get the right people in here leading us, since we can’t get the right people here now, since we don’t have them now,” she said. For Cassopolis residents, the state review is now more than a paperwork check: it is a test of whether local code enforcement can be trusted after a home was cleared to live in before its wastewater system was ready.