City Hall Insider … 6/10/25

By Charles Sercombe
The city council met on June 10, and all councilmembers were in attendance.
Before the meeting began, Mayor Amer Ghalib noted that City Manager Max Garbarino, who is on paid suspension, was sitting with the public.
Ghalib said that it is “improper” for Garbarino to attend since he is on paid suspension. He said that poses a problem because the police chief, who Garbarino placed on paid suspension, could show up.
He said if the chief were to show up, that would be an “issue,” although he did not explain what that issue would be.
“You are on paid administrative leave,” Ghalib said. “You are not supposed to be here. That would affect the outcomes of the investigation. You are not supposed to be here.”
(Both Garbarino and Police Chief Jamiel Altaheri are under investigation for alleged wrongdoing.)
The mayor then asked for officers to escort Garbarino out of the council chambers. Before departing, Garbarino asked: “Would you like me to respond?”
Ghalib replied: “No.”
As Garbarino walked out of the council chamber he said, softly, ‘Lawsuit.”
Later in the meeting, Ghalib became aware that Garbarino was outside the council chamber in the hallway, and he asked officers to escort him out of city hall.
“I think Max was here to intimidate the city council and mayor, and he should not be inside the building,” Ghalib said. “If he’s still here, I really don’t feel safe now. … He’s here to intimidate and cause trouble and sending threats with lawsuits. … God knows what he’s planning to do today.”
Councilmember Mohammed Alsomiri said that Garbarino should also not be allowed in the city.
“He’s not living in the city,” Alsomiri said.
Ghalib said that it is the council and the mayor “that decides what goes on in the city – not outsiders.”

During public comment, Ibrahim Aljahim said the police department should “delete” its investigation into the police chief and the investigation into allegations of voter fraud among some councilmembers.
(The police department is not conducting an investigation into the chief nor councilmembers. The FBI is reportedly investigating the police chief, and the state Attorney General’s office investigated some city councilmembers for election law violations. The Monroe County Prosecutor’s Office has taken over the election case, per the request of the attorney general’s office for a prosecutor to take over the matter.
The Monroe prosecutor is in the process of deciding whether to file criminal charges. Also, the state police are investigating two councilmembers over whether they are actually residents of the city.)
As for the investigation into the police chief, he said it is “defamation.”

Next up was Bill Meyer who said, “I don’t see any laws being broken here.”
As for Garbarino’s lawsuit against the city, alleging that the mayor and council violated the state’s Whistleblower Protection Act for suspending him, Meyer said that Act usually involves corruption, and it doesn’t apply in Garbarino’s lawsuit.
As for media reports of Garbarino’s lawsuit, Meyer said, “It seems one-sided,” and that the police chief is a “well-liked person.”
Mark Koroi, an attorney, said that “once again the eyes of the world are on Hamtramck.”

A number of resolutions were approved involving contracts with infrastructure repairs and alley repaving.
The mayor and council questioned why the Department of Public Works wanted to increase the city’s budget to over $800,000 to cover future street repairs.
John DeAngelis, the Director of Public Works, said it’s because there are frequent infrastructure issues that require repairing, and also streets that get torn up by the repairs which then need repair as well.
Syed Aamir Ahsan, the city’s Finance Director and Interim City Manager, said the increased budget gives the city “(the) flexibility to deal with emergencies.”
He said the money comes from the city’s water and sewer fund and may not need to be dipped into.

In a move related to the various employee investigations, the council agreed to hire the law firm Miller Johnson, of Detroit, to conduct an internal investigation into Police Chief Jamiel Altaheri, officer David Adamczyk, and City Manager Garbarino.
In an engagement letter to the city, the law firm said:
“The investigation does not include determining potential criminal liability except as relevant to whether any allegations of criminal conduct were sufficiently credible to warrant administrative actions undertaken based on the applicable civil administrative rules and regulations.”
The hourly legal fee for the attorneys involved in the investigation will be $550, and the deal requires the city to pay a $100,000 retainer fee up front.
Mayor Ghalib said the conflict between the city manager and police chief is a “power” conflict of “either I control you or I’ll sue you. That’s not how things work here.”
He said it’s the residents who are the “decision-makers, not outsiders.”
Ghalib continued: “We can’t function under threats. … Now the trust is lost. There is a lack of trust with some people who are under investigation. My integrity is my strongest weapon.”
Ghalib said that “corruption” is when a person who has committed a crime is “brought back to the city to continue working.”
Neither Adamczyk nor Garbarino were ever convicted of, or even charged with, committing crimes during their previous employment with the city.
The mayor went on to say that neither he nor the council gave Adamczyk or Garbarino the authority to begin an investigation.
“This body decides who gets investigated here or not,” Ghalib said.
He added that the city’s “vetting” process of potential employees to be hired needs to be changed, adding that people with criminal backgrounds cannot be brought back.
Councilmember Mohammed Hassan said that he has the ability to balance the city’s budget, and that there is no need for a chief financial officer.

During the second round of public comment, Bill Meyer said: “I love our mayor. He’s so intelligent and compassionate. A courageous guy, and he’s right on everything he said – he’s done his homework.”
Mayer said that despite “negative” media coverage of the city recently, “This is a beautiful town,” and that it’s “probably the least corrupt city in Michigan.”