City Hall Insider … 1/28/25

By Charles Sercombe
The city council met on Jan. 28, and all councilmembers were in attendance.
A proclamation was made recognizing World Hijab Day, which was on Feb. 1.
The proclamation read, in part:
“Its stated purpose is to encourage women of all religions and backgrounds to wear and experience the hijab for the day.
“World Hijab Day was started to fight discrimination against women in hijab after hate crimes against Muslims hit an all-time high after 9/11. As women around the world gather to celebrate World Hijab Day, support our Muslim sister’s freedom to express their belief without
fear. …”
A presentation was made by the city’s financial auditors, UHY.
The city’s biggest source of financial revenue is $16.1 million from various federal and state grants.
The next largest revenue stream is $8.4 million from property taxes.
The biggest expense is for public safety, costing the city $14.7 million.
The Fire Department was next up to present its yearly report. The Department’s 26 employees responded to 865 service calls in 2024.
Highlights of the report:
• There were 1,954 fire inspections, down from 2,251 in 2023. Fire Chief Matthew Wyszczelski said the reduction was due to more compliance by the community.
• The department responded to 299 fires. Detroit firefighters responded to 240 of those fires in an automatic aid agreement that includes Highland Park. Highland Park responded to 49 fires here.
• Hamtramck, in turn, responded to 35 fires in Detroit, and 18 in Highland Park.

During public comment, Ibrahim Aljahim questioned who paid for the mayor and three councilmembers to attend President Trump’s inauguration in Washington D.C.
It was later explained, by Mayor Amer Ghalib, that the city covered the expenses. He justified the expense, saying that city officials were invited to the event, and that he does not attend seminars on municipal government, and thus saves money that way.
Ghalib said such conferences “are not very productive. I learn on my own more than attending and wasting time there. So I saved the city a lot of money when I don’t go.”
The mayor also noted that he and the councilmembers are paid only a few hundred dollars a month, and that voters rejected a ballot proposal to give Hamtramck elected officials a pay raise.
Ghalib said that few candidates seek public office in Hamtramck because there is hardly any money paid for such civic service.
He said potential candidates often find it a “waste of their time” to serve the city. Ghalib said that more candidates would be attracted to run for office if the positions of mayor and city council were full time.

During public comment, Bill Meyer said he was “shocked” by the behavior of some councilmembers at a prior council meeting.
He said councilmembers showed “a despicable display of animosity between fellow workers, between councilmembers.”
He said that type of behavior “creates gossip in the city and tarnishes our image.”
Meyer also warned of a “yellow journalist” in the city, and a local newspaper that “loves sensationalism and loves exaggerating what’s happening. We have to avoid feeding this paper with this sort of stuff, or anybody else.”
Meyer credited Mayor Ghalib for “steering” the prior meeting in question “through waters and (getting) us out of the meeting alive.”
Ghalib, Meyer said, “understands the purpose of unity.”
As for the accusation that Councilmember Abu Musa sleeps during the meetings, Meyer said that is not a serious issue.
In an email that was read out loud, Charles Blackwell said that the mayor should be blamed for any ICE immigration raids in Hamtramck. He said Ghalib should be blamed because of his support of President Trump’s “cruel and unusual immigration policies.”

Moving on to new business, the council agreed to accept a grant for $800,000 from the state Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity.
The grant will be used to purchase a new fire department pumper truck. Credit was given to state Sen. Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit) and former state Rep. Abraham Aiyash (D-Hamtramck) for securing the grant.
In another matter, the council agreed to contract with Friends of the Rouge to manage a grant from the U.S. Forest Service that will cover the cost to plant 1,000 trees over the next four years.
Friends of the Rouge will be paid $62,600 over four years.
Some of the duties for the group will include:
• Developing and leading “tree planting” and “value of trees” workshops annually for residents, businesses, and property owners in each year of the program (total of eight workshops);
• Hosting three tree planting volunteer events (one in 2025, one in 2026, and one in 2027), which can be combined with the workshops.
• Procuring 50 trees (an estimated 20 in 2025, 20 in 2026, and 10 in 2027) for the above three tree planting events.
The council also agreed to accept a state grant for $1.5 million to repave alleys. The alleys to be repaved will be identified later. Credit was once again given to Rep. Aiyash for helping secure the grant. Councilmember Mohammed Alsomiri was also thanked for his effort in getting the grant.

In a lengthy discussion, the council considered a resolution to give City Manager Max Garbarino a salary increase. Councilmember Muhtasin Sadman proposed giving Garbarino a 15-percent raise.
Councilmember Mohammed Hassan argued that, since the council rejected his prior motion to suspend Garbarino for one week with pay, he is now in favor of awarding him a salary increase.
Mayor Ghalib took issue with Hassan flip-flopping on the city manager.
“Now you come up with a raise,” Ghalib said. “So you make us look like a bunch of clowns running the city. … We need to run the city in a logical, professional way.
The mayor said he supports giving Garbarino a raise “but not through the games you (Hassan) are doing.”
Councilmember Muhith Mahmood questioned whether the city can afford a raise. He said the city has lost $1.4 million a year from Wayne County operating a jail in Hamtramck, and will lose $200,000 a year if the city stops using parking meters on Jos. Campau.
“Where are we going to get this money?” Mahmood said.
Mayor Ghalib pointed out that Garbarino’s raise would amount to only an extra $3,000 or $4,000 a year.
The council eventually agreed to give Garbarino a 7.5-percent pay raise.
In his report, the mayor said that he not yet heard about being appointed to a position with the Trump administration, and has not yet decided whether he will seek re-election as mayor.
He added that, in his discussions with various Republican officials, “a lot of good things are coming to our community.”
Posted Feb. 28, 2025