Editor's note: The spelling of Shawn Keough's name and the entity that is setting the public meeting have been corrected.

The state Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs has approved the Village of Dexter's boundary request, and the next step toward cityhood will be a public hearing on incorporation.

Dexter's quest to become a city has been a long one. Most recently, the proposed city boundaries were rejected a second time by the boundary commission.

Village President Shawn Keough, who received word of the approval via email Wednesday, said this marks an important step for Dexter.

"I think from a procedural point of view it's the right decision. I thought the village petition deserved a better result," he said.

At issue was whether a current Public Act 425 annexation and tax revenue-sharing agreement, which includes parcels in Webster Township, can be incorporated into a new Home Rule City, according to previous reports.

Last month, the state boundary commission upheld its original August ruling that the village's proposed boundaries were legally insufficient, and denied the village’s proposed boundaries, which include historic Gordon Hall, located in Webster Township.

The village appealed that decision with the state department director, who approved the boundary as legally sufficient in an order signed Monday.

The State Boundary Commission is to set a date for a public hearing on the cityhood issue at its Nov. 17 meeting. The public hearing likely will be held after the first of the year, Keough said.

"This is an important step in the process. We've always asked for the opportunity to go forward," he said. "It doesn't mean we'll be a city tomorrow. This public hearing is the next step."

Prior to the approval, Keough said he had planned a Friday meeting to speak with Webster Township Supervisor John Kingsley. Keough said he plans to keep that meeting.

After the original village boundaries were found “legally insufficient” on April 12, 2010, the council voted to resubmit a petition and changed the boundaries to include Gordon Hall and the back half of the Mill Creek Sporting Goods store property in Scio Township so all the new city corners meet. The new boundaries square off the corner and make them contiguous, according to a previous report.