City Hall insider … 1/13/26

By Charles Sercombe
The city council met on Jan. 13, and all councilmembers, except for Nayeem Choudhury, were in attendance.
The council was informed about an upcoming auction of properties that were forfeited for taxes. The auction begins March 10 at 8 a.m., and it will end on April 1, at 10 a.m.
A list of the properties will be posted on the city’s website in mid- to late-February.
For information about bidding, or applying to be part of the auction, go online to: hamtramckcity.gov/community/property-for-sale.
To get updates about the auction, go online and email: mmiszczak@hamtramckcity.gov.

The Community & Economic Development Department announced that it has a calendar of events happening in the city for the next 12 months. To view the calendar, go online to: hamtramckcity.gov/community/festivals-events.

During public comment, a woman emailed that it is “absurd to focus on street naming rather than on the things that matter to our residents: crime is getting worse, do something. …”
(On the council’s agenda for this meeting was a proposal by Councilmember Abu Musa to give Caniff the honorific name of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.)
Another email also opposed the street renaming. A number of people also spoke out against the proposal during public comment.
One person said that Hasina gave “no positive contributions to our Hamtramck community. Naming a street after her would honor someone internationally condemned for mass repression and would deeply hurt and divide many in our Bangladesh diaspora who suffered under her regime or lost loved ones.”
(Editor’s note: Hasina was found guilty of crimes against humanity for the violent suppression of student protests that led to her loss of power in 2024. After she fled to India, she was sentenced to death for her alleged crimes.)
Bill Meyer urged the council to “not fight each other over politics in Bangladesh.”
Meyer also spoke in favor of a proposal to require residency verification and address ballot harvesting.
He said that these are “two critical issues that most people in this city are concerned about. … This is where we get our image from – these two issues. So let’s solve it as soon as possible.”
A resident also spoke out against the street renaming proposal, saying: “The chaos of Hamtramck, it’s like a national topic in this country nowadays. We are all sick and tired of this chaos after chaos after chaos.”
Hasina, he said “killed our children.”
Changing subjects, Naji Chowdhury, who has a podcast called “Made in Banglatown,” spoke on a proposal to create a new city hall position called the Director of Communications and Community Engagement.
Chowdhury spoke in favor of creating the position because the city “does not have a true media or communications infrastructure. Information is scattered, outdated and often unclear. That creates confusion, rumors and unnecessary tension between residents and city hall.”
He continued: “A modern city needs centralized digital communication, verified social platforms, a clear and updated website, multilingual messaging, and systems that allow residents to get answers without chasing departments or relying on Facebook groups. …”
Chowdhury also said he would like to apply for the position.
Later in the meeting, the proposal was set aside for future consideration. Interim City Manager Alex Lagrou said he needs to review the city’s budget “to make sure it makes sense fiscally.”
Mayor Adam Alharbi said he is in favor of establishing the position.
“We have a lack of communication with the public, with the residents of Hamtramck,” he said.

Moving on to new business, the council approved an updated guideline for property tax exemptions, formerly called the poverty exemption. The guidelines are now called Homeowner Economic Assistance & Relief for Taxpayers (H.E.A.R.T.)
The income level is determined by a person’s yearly income and the worth of their assets.
In a note to council, the asset test is based on:

• All household members shall not have ownership interest in any real estate other than the principal residence for which the poverty exemption is requested.
• The asset guideline (test) shall exclude the value of the principal residence subject to the poverty exemption request and exclude the value of one automobile. If multiple automobiles are owned, then the least valuable automobile will be excluded from the asset guideline.
• The applicant shall not have total assets (excluding the value of the principal residence subject to the exemption request and excluding the value of one automobile) more than $12,000.
Interim City Manager Lagrou said that a number of residents are confused over how property values are determined – especially after they purchase a house and their property taxes skyrocket.
“What’s going on is a misunderstanding of how the system works,” he said. “It stinks because people are frustrated. We’re trying to explain to them, but there’s a disconnect.”
The council postponed making a decision on the matter.
The council then approved a request to update the city seal/logo in order to better represent the current city.
It will be part of a city effort to rebrand its promotion.
In a note to council, it was said:
“This resolution proposes authorizing the City Manager and Public Information Officer (PIO) to utilize a non-final city icon exclusively for digital and electronic communications. The intent is to allow for testing and evaluation of the branding concept while remaining fiscally responsible and avoiding unnecessary printing or replacement of physical materials during a design transition.”
Mayor Alharbi said the current city logo is “outdated” because it features images of a factory (Hamtramck was once an industrial and manufacturing hub).

In another matter championed by Mayor Alharbi, the council approved a new residency guideline for those seeking elected office in the city.
Under the new rule, candidates would have to live in the city for at least one year before seeking office, and also provide utility bills for each month of that year.
Councilmember Mohammed Hassan questioned whether this stricter requirement conflicts with state law.
City Attorney Odey Meroueh said it doesn’t conflict with state law and simply adds requirements.
The new guidelines include:
“Candidates would be required to submit a sworn residency affidavit affirming at least twelve (12) consecutive months of residency prior to filing, disclose any secondary residential interests, and provide supporting documentation demonstrating a clear residential nexus to the City. Additional provisions include household disclosures, public inspection of candidate filings, and a defined public challenge period.”
Councilmember Hassan questioned how this would impact those who rent instead of own a home.
Mayor Alharbi said they would likely have utility bills to provide proof of residency.
He said this is needed because it’s “not a secret we’ve had candidates running in Hamtramck who live in Troy and other places.”

In another tightening of candidate eligibility requirements, the council adopted a new requirement to:
• Candidate “Clean Election” affidavit:
All candidates filing for municipal office would be required to sign a Statement of Electoral Ethics affirming that they will not engage in, encourage, or finance illegal ballot harvesting, unauthorized handling of absentee ballots, voter intimidation, or the use of gifts or other valuable consideration to influence voting behavior.
• Mandatory candidate training:
The City Clerk would conduct a required Election Law and Ethics Seminar for certified candidates and their campaign managers, covering absentee ballot restrictions, felony penalties for violations, and proper use of ballot drop boxes.
• Public voter protection campaign:
The City Clerk would launch a multilingual public awareness campaign to educate residents on their voting rights, illegal ballot handling practices, and methods for reporting suspected violations to appropriate authorities.
• Enhanced monitoring measures:
The resolution directs continued 24/7 video surveillance of absentee ballot drop boxes and requires prompt reporting of suspected irregular activity, including “batch dumping,” to the State Bureau of Elections.

A lengthy discussion was held on whether to OK a proposal to give Caniff the honorific name of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Councilmember Musa, who proposed the resolution, said Hasina improved the economic lives of many “from the lower level to the middle class of the country.”
“She made improvements all over the country,” he added.
Mayor Alharbi spoke against granting honorific street names to people with no connections to the city.
“We’re elected to work on things that matter to the residents,” he said. “Like high water bills, the property taxes, the streets, the infrastructure; and this would only create division among our communities, instead of trying to focus on uniting Hamtramck.”
Alharbi continued: “It’s going to be open to everybody to now start to try to have foreign politician names here all through Hamtramck. I’m against naming anybody who’s foreign. It needs to be someone that has contributed to the city – not somebody that most of Hamtramck doesn’t know about. This is America, we’re here as residents now in a city in Michigan.”
Alharbi also said that giving honorific names to foreign people could lead to vandalism of the street signs and fighting.
The council split its vote, with Councilmembers Musa and Mohammed Alsomiri voting in support, and Councilmembers Hassan and Yousef Saed opposed.
Councilmember Muhtasin Sadman abstained in the vote and Councilmember Nayeem Choudhury was absent.
This forced Mayor Alharbi to break the tie, and he voted in favor despite just saying he opposed the resolution.
In a related matter, at the behest of Mayor Alharbi, a resolution was OK’d to ban giving honorific street names to people with no connection to the city, and also to retract all recent honorific street names given to people with no connection to the city.
The new requirement also calls for all proposed honorific street names to be supported by at least 100 residents signing a petition or the like.
What is our City Council up to these days? We have the highlights of the latest council meeting.
Posted Feb. 13, 2026