City Hall Insider … 8/1/25

By Charles Sercombe
The city council met on Aug. 1, and all councilmembers were in attendance except for Khalil Refai, who was out of town.
The following mayoral appointees to the Hamtramck Public Library Board were approved by the council:
Three-year terms:
Raymond Bittner, reappointment until April 2028
George Gorday, reappointment until April 2028
Two-year terms:
Sandra Jabril, reappointment until April 2027
Valerie Hillery, New appointment until April 2027
One year term:
Rachel Srodek, New appointment until April 2026

After some discussion, the council agreed to a tentative purchase from Wayne County for the following properties that are facing tax forfeiture:
• 3381 DOREMUS– House
• 11405 CONANT– Commercial building
• 11409 CONANT– Lot
• 11415 CONANT– Parking lot
• 5184 YEMANS– lot
Speaking about the county’s offer, Isabel Allaway, the Director of Community and Economic Development, said having the city purchase the properties, which will then be auctioned to the public, will allow “rare opportunities” for the city to “direct a little bit more what we want to see for the good of the neighborhood – so we have some options.”
Councilmember Mohammed Hassan said it is the city that sets “the criteria here.”
No purchase price was included in the resolution, and the sale is not yet final until a cost is proposed.
Mayor Amer Ghalib said that, until he took office, the city was not accepting the properties and was told it was better for the county to auction the properties.
He said he was told that, if the city purchased the properties, it would probably not make any money on them, due to liability issues and administrative fees that would be owed.
“I insisted that we should buy them, to prioritize giving them to our residents, and it turned out that the money is for us, not Wayne County,’ Ghalib said.
He said that, in one year purchases that cost the city $45,000 resulted in the city making $450,000 from auctioning them off.
“So, actually, the city benefits,” he said.
(City Manager Max Garbarino told The Review that, prior to him becoming city manager, there was a stipulation from the county that the city could not make a profit from the auction. The county eventually dropped that rule.)
In an ongoing program to outfit the fire department with fire fighting gear, the council OK’d the purchase of a battery-powered extrication tool for $29,533.

In his mayoral report, Ghalib urged voters to vote for “whoever you think is the qualified person, and good luck to everyone.”
He later demanded that the police department suspend “knocking on doors” for their investigations in the days leading up to election day.
“Knocking on doors by our police department at this time is not acceptable during the election because it intimidates the people,” Ghalib said. “It scares them, and they don’t want to vote. … I don’t think there’s a need for any kind of investigation at this time. People are complaining about that.”
Ghalib continued: “So I respectfully ask our police department to stay away from any actions at this time regarding investigations or anything during the election.”

Councilmember Muhith Mahmood encouraged voters who have an absentee ballot to drop it off at city hall before Tuesday’s (Aug. 5) election.
“We have a lot of absentee ballots out there,” Mahmood said. “Please submit your absent ballot. Your voice, your vote, is your voice.”
Councilmember Abu Musa also advised voters to drop off their absentee ballots at this point because they won’t get to city hall in time via the mail.
Musa then launched into a campaign pitch:
“I’m running again. For the last 10 years you support me. I need your more support,” Musa said.
He was then told that it is improper for him to ask for votes while in a council meeting.
Councilmember Hassan cautioned candidates that they can’t campaign on lowering taxes because the city can’t afford to do that.

Hassan also said that, back in 2017, state police officers came to his residence with a list of voters with Bengali names and asked him “How did you vote?”
Hassan told them it was “unconstitutional” to demand an answer to that question.
He said he was then shown his ballot by officers who asked him if he had “closed” the ballot. Again, Hassan said he replied that question was “unconstitutional.”
“If I don’t close it (the ballot) how I made it,” Hassan said he also told officers.
Hassan accused the officers of “profiling” Bengalis.
Posted Aug. 22, 2025