Harbor Commission

The Harbor Commission serves as an advisory body to the City Council for issues concerning the navigable waterways of the City and City assets serving those waterways - such as the City Boat Launch and the City Transient Marina.  For detailed information concerning the responsibilities of the Harbor Commission please see the ordinance sections quoted below.

Here is a Map of New Buffalo Harbor.

The City of New Buffalo is a member of the Small Harbors Coalition.

The Harbor Commission holds regular meetings on the first Thursday of each month at 6:30 PM Eastern Time in the Community Room at City Hall, 224 W. Buffalo St., New Buffalo, MI 49117.

All meetings are open to the public and are accessible.  Persons requiring auxiliary aides and services or other accommodations should contact the City Clerk's office at 269-469-1500. 

The Harbor Commission has seven members; their names with term ending dates are to the right. 

The Harbor Commission may be contacted through their administrative support staff member Assistant to the City Manager Ryan Fellows with the contact information to the left.

The responsibilities of the Harbor Commission are in the City Ordinances, Chapter 7 "Harbor", Article I "Harbor Commission", including:

The Harbor Commission shall study and make recommendations to the City Council concerning policies, rules, regulations, and ordinances dealing with the management, government, maintenance, operation, and use of the harbor, waterways, channels, municipal docks, or other navigational facilities which are under the control of the City.  The reasonableness and necessity of any such policies, rules, regulations, or ordinances shall be determined by the City Council after a review thereof.  All such policies, rules, regulations, and ordinances, after adoption and publications by the City Council shall be enforced by the appropriate City officials in like manner as any other provision of this Chapter or other ordinance of the City.

On or before the organizational meeting of the City Council following the regular City election in each year, the Harbor Commission shall submit to the City Council a proposed budget showing in detail the amount of money which, according to the judgment of the Harbor Commission, may be necessary for harbor purposes, and the supervision, maintenance and operation thereof during the fiscal year, which fiscal year shall correspond to that of the City.  The proposed budget submitted and recommended by the Harbor Commission may be increased, modified, or adopted by the City Council in its sole discretion as the City Council may deem advisable and expedient.