City Hall Insider … 4/14/26

By Charles Sercombe
The city council met on April 14, and all councilmembers were in attendance.
During public comment, Lynn Blasey said she is concerned about a proposed purchase of Flock license plate reader cameras.
She said that the use of the Flock camera system “sounds good on the surface; the data and information from them is shared with agencies and private entities around the world.”
But, Blasey continued, “Flock is not openly transparent about these things for a reason: If the public knows who was assessing information about their movements, they would be outraged.”
Blasey said that the use of Flock is “not the answer” to providing a safer Hamtramck.
In another matter, Blasey urged city officials to take action to protect residents from ICE agents.
“Please act to protect us before it’s too late and families are torn apart,” she said.

Former city councilmember Khalil Refai said he supports using the Flock cameras.
“It will help maintain a safe and secure environment, and ensure a quick response to criminal activity,” he said.
As for a proposal to change city hall hours to open one hour later and close one hour later, Refai said this would also affect the district court’s hours (since the court is inside the city hall building), and furthermore possibly violate the union contract with city employees.
The Yemeni Chamber of Commerce said it supports the hiring of Sami Elhady as the new city clerk. The organization said that Elhady shows “exceptional professionalism, integrity and dedication to public service.”

Kamal Rahman thanked the police department for its quick action in rescuing a kidnapped teenage girl.
Former mayor Amer Ghalib noted that the gas station clerk who helped police rescue a teen kidnap victim is a Green Card holder. He said this underscores why “we need to change the narrative that the immigrants are a threat. They are not.”
He said immigrants come to this country to “fight for a better life, and a lot of them are American citizens. So the narrative that those people are a threat to the American people is not accurate.”

Naji Choudhury said he doesn’t trust the use of Flock license plate readers. He said that some communities “are walking away from the Flock cameras,” citing Ferndale as one example.
He said he’s concerned about data sharing in the Flock system. Choudhury urged councilmembers to “slow down” and “explore other options to provide safety for the community.”
Bill Meyer took issue with Councilmember Nayeem Choudhury’s comments on social media attacking former city clerk Rana Faraj.
He said the personal attack is “uncalled for … and insults are not going to help bring the community together at all.”

Mayor Adam Alharbi urged the council to approve a proposal to adopt a social media policy for the city, which would allow the censoring of offensive or irrelevant comments on the city’s social media page.
He said this solution would be better than turning off the public’s ability to comment on the city’s social media posts.
Councilmember Mohammed Hassan said he’s concerned that a city employee assigned to monitor social media comments might be someone “who always criticizes our community, who is always negatively speaking to the newspaper and the media about us.”
He said the city has to be careful what is censored, or there will be lawsuits “left and right.”
Councilmember Nayeem Choudhury said that it’s important for him to “hear back from the community.”
Mayor Alharbi said that the public will still be able to criticize the city and elected officials. He said the city would only censor “the obvious.”
The proposal passed, with only Councilmember Mohammed Alsomiri rejecting the proposal because, he said: “I don’t like social media.”

Moving on, the city accepted a $270,000 grant for cyber security. That funding comes from the federal government.
The council OK’d a contract with Hutch Paving of Warren to seal the joints of 17 newly paved streets, in order to avoid potholes down the road.
The cost is $84,400, and will be paid out of the city’s road repair fund.
The council also agreed to a replacement program for 669 lead water lines in the city, at a cost of $5.8 million, which will be covered by an EPA grant.

A lengthy discussion was held on whether to assign two police officers as resource officers for the public school district.
Police Chief Hussein Farhat said the cost for the officers would be split evenly between the school district and the city, at a cost of $1 million for each.
“I don’t know any single jurisdiction that does not have school resource officers,” Farhat said.
He said the duties of the officers would include patrolling the schools and directing school-related traffic. He also pointed out that the officers will be assigned to other duties when the district breaks for summer vacation.
Councilmember Choudhury said that, although it’s a good idea, he’s concerned about the cost to the city. He pointed out that the city is now facing a $1.3 million budget deficit.
“However, I understand the importance of student safety,” he said.
Mayor Alharbi said the cost has already been factored into the city’s budget, and that the reason the city is facing a deficit is because of the loss of revenue from the Wayne County jail in Hamtramck.
City Attorney Odey Meroueh said he is working with the county to restore that funding.
Councilmember Choudhury then reiterated his concern about extra police hirings’ impact on the city’s budget.
But he did concede that “the concern of the safety of our students is a first priority.”
Mayor Alharbi questioned whether the city could assign just one officer, and have the school district pay for that.
“I prefer paying for a police officer to work just the city,” he said.
City Finance Director Syed Aamir Ahsan said the officers would be a benefit to the community “because these police officers are working just in the city with the children of all the residents who live in the city. That’s the key thing to remember: they are protecting the children.”
Police Chief Farhat said that the officers would also be taking on cases involving juvenile offenders “so they are going to be working on City of Hamtramck cases. The city will be benefitting.”
City Manager Adel Al-Adlani said protecting kids is the “top priority.” He said the city can perhaps make cuts in other areas of the budget.
The proposal was approved.

The council then circled back, and agreed to purchase 15 of the Flock license plate readers, after another lengthy discussion. The city will soon have a total of 32 cameras located throughout the city.
The cost for all the cameras will total $94,500 a year, and will be paid for through the police department’s narcotic fund.
Police Chief Farhat said the cameras do not collect personal information, but rather are focused only on license plates, which are not subject to privacy laws.
Farhat also said the existing camera system has resulted in solving cases “that would normally (stay) unsolved due to a lack of leads.” He further stressed that the information collected by Hamtramck’s system is not shared with other cities.
In another matter, the council did agree to hire Sami Elhady as the new city clerk.
A lengthy discussion was again held on whether to alter the hours of operation in city hall, from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. to 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Councilmember Hassan opposed the change, saying that the current city hall hours are in line with those of “American office time.”
Councilmember Choudhury said that most residents don’t wake up until 10 a.m., so city hall doesn’t have to open at 8 a.m.
“The community comes first, not the council,” he said.
The proposal failed.
The council also rejected a proposal to start council meetings one hour earlier, at 6 p.m. instead of 7 p.m.
The council did approve allowing maximum residential housing heights to increase from 35 feet to 40 feet, to better allow for pitched roofs.
In his concluding report, Mayor Alharbi said the “city is getting better, and we’re moving forward.”
What is our City Council up to these days? We have the highlights of the latest council meeting.
Posted May 29, 2026