City manager responds to councilmember’s letter …12/31/15

We asked City Manager Katrina Powell to respond to an open letter recently submitted by Councilmember Anam Miah.

Miah took issue with how Powell appointed the new police chief.

Below is Powell’s response:

To Councilman Miah and the Citizens of Hamtramck:

While I do not intend to respond to all of the inaccuracies and misrepresentations in the “open letter” circulated by Councilman Miah to the media and others, I do intend to clarify a few issues so that the citizens of Hamtramck are not misinformed.

Let me start by saying that it is deeply concerning to me that Councilman Miah would publicly advocate for me to violate the law. Whether it is because he does not know the law or does not care about the law, both are equally unacceptable for an elected public official.

In two separate Emergency Manager Orders, that have been distributed to the Council on several occasions since my arrival, and are accessible on the front page of the City’s website, former Emergency Manager Square clearly and unequivocally dictated the process that was to be followed in hiring city employees and appointing department heads. In Order S-017, the Emergency Manager mandated that the City Manager shall “Hire, suspend, or terminate any city employee, appointee, or department head, with the approval of the [Transition Advisory] Board.” Likewise, Order S-020 states that the City Manager “shall be responsible for appointments, hiring, and terminations of department heads and other city employees, subject to approval by the [Transition Advisory] Board.” Under State law, these Emergency Manager Orders supersede the City Charter and the City is required to follow their mandates.

I do not know why the former Emergency Manager chose to deliberately exclude Council from the decision making process, and it is not my position to guess at her motives. My job is to follow the law and the Emergency Manager’s Orders in an effort to guide the City completely out of receivership. Violating such Orders, as is being publicly advocated by Councilman Miah, would only serve as a significant setback for the City.

I would encourage Councilman Miah, and all citizens of Hamtramck, to attend the Transition Advisory Board Meetings to see the process that is in place, and to voice any concerns they might have. Like all public meetings, the public is welcome to speak at Transition Advisory Board Meetings and I know that their input is carefully considered by the Board.

I hope that this open response clarifies some of the misinformation provided by Councilman Miah. As always, if there are any further questions, I would invite any of Hamtramck’s citizens or visitors to take advantage of my open door policy and set up a time to sit down with me and talk through any issues.

Yours In Service,

Katrina Powell
City Manager
City of Hamtramck