City Hall Insider … 8/26/25

By Charles Sercombe
The city council met on Aug. 26, and all councilmembers were in attendance.
Community Economic Development Director Isabel Allaway gave an update on the Downtown Development Authority’s application to be part of a state program that “provides technical assistance, training, and resources to strengthen downtowns and commercial districts.
Participation in the program will help support Hamtramck’s small businesses, attract new investment, and promote revitalization of the city’s core commercial area.”
The program is officially called the Select Level of the Michigan Main Street.

In public comment, an email was read that was from a community organizer from Jackson Heights in Queens, New York, who praised Hamtramck Police Chief Jamiel Altaheri.
The activist said Altaheri did a “phenomenal job serving our community,” when he was a police officer there. The activist went on to say that Altaheri had “a unique way of serving the people.”
A resident complained about Hamtramck police conducting high-speed chases, which they said endanger the public.
“Please do better, Hamtramck Police Department,” the resident said.
Charles Blackwell said that the “election fraudsters will look good in a Wayne County jail jumpsuit.”
He did not specify to whom he was referring.

Another commenter said that, according to an internal investigation by the law firm Miller Johnson into allegations of wrongdoing by the police chief, a police investigator and City Manager Garbarino, the city will expose itself to financial liability if Garbarino is fired.
And that financial liability, as the result of a successful lawsuit, would “fall on residents,” the person said.
Later in the meeting, and after an hour-long closed meeting, the council voted to fire Garbarino, with Councilmember Khalil Refai abstaining (Refai has never explained why he abstained in the vote.).
Mayor Amer Ghalib said that, since the council does not have the authority to fire the police chief and the police investigator, he recommended that the interim city manager fire them.
The interim city manager, Syed Aamir Ahsan, eventually did fire the police chief, and also took steps to fire the police investigator (per union rules).

Continuing in public comment, Jozef Slanda urged the council to “go after the criminals, not the whistleblowers,” and not fire City Manager Garbarino.
Russ Gordon, who is a former chairman of the Hamtramck Human Relations Commission, said he is “disgusted by the corruption in this town right now. This council is like nothing I’ve seen in the 30 years I’ve been here.”
On City Manager Garbarino, Gordon said “He’s done more here than any other city manager I’ve seen since I’ve been in town for 30 years.”
Bill Meyer said that the law firm Miller Johnson’s report on alleged wrongdoing was “not biased.”
As for City Manager Garbarino, Meyer said he’s “always been a great city manager, he’s committed to the people of the city, and he’s just made some mistakes — like getting involved with certain people that he shouldn’t have — but that doesn’t make him a bad person.”
(Meyer did not elaborate on the identity of the “certain people” he referenced.)
As for those accused or suspected of ballot harvesting, Meyer said “you can still find that person to be a human person. He’s a human being that might be doing something wrong.”
Diane Frkan said she is “disturbed” by the Miller Johnson report that the police chief allegedly drove drunk.
Frkan said the chief endangered the public.
“What message does that send about our police department, when officers did not intervene and allowed their chief to drive intoxicated?” Frkan said.
“Such activities are not only unacceptable but disgraceful, and they undermine the very integrity of our public safety system. Our police department should stand as a symbol of professionalism, accountability and public trust.”
As for the two councilmembers charged with election law violations, Frkan said they should resign “or be removed from their positions.”
She also said that Councilmembers Abu Musa and Muhith Mahmood, who are under investigation for being non-residents, “should withdraw from the primary election.”
But, instead of doing this, the council is “retaliating against our city manager.”

Former city councilmember Cathy Gordon spoke out against the council and mayor.
“It breaks my heart to see what’s going on here,” Gordon said. “Mayor Ghalib, I shake my head every time I look at you. I think your heart is in Kuwait, not Hamtramck.”
(Mayor Ghalib is waiting to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate to become the next ambassador to Kuwait. Gordon is no longer a resident of the city.)
Gordon added that the council has made decisions that violate the city’s charter, and have also violated the charter by talking directly with department heads instead of strictly through the city manager.
“You can’t go around telling people what to do,” Gordon said.
Mike Petrack, who owns Dos Locos Tacos on Jos. Campau, said that “As far as I’m concerned, this council doesn’t have enough legitimate members to make a quorum right now. You would be doing the city a favor if you sat down.”
Joan Bittner, who owns the Polish Art Center on Jos. Campau, said the media attention on Hamtramck has been “embarrassing.”
To the council and mayor, she said: “You all need to behave and conduct yourselves in a much more professional manner.”
Bittner also supported City Manager Garbarino, saying that he resolved problems, and that the council and mayor should “Let him do his job from the beginning, and hire the police chief.”
Garbarino had favored hiring an officer within the police department instead of hiring Police Chief Altaheri.

Former councilmember Adam Albarmaki said he is “disappointed” about the various allegations “and drama happening in the city, and I hope the mayor and council and new city manager would do something about it.”

Moving on to new business, the council OK’d site plans for a new development at 9401 Conant. The development will be a two-story building to be constructed on an empty lot. The ground floor will be for retail and the upper floor will have three apartments.
In another new development, the council approved a plan to build a two-story building at 9327 Gallagher that will be used for a medical clinic and commercial rental space.

The police department was given the go-ahead to purchase four Dell laptops for patrol cars as part of an upgrade. The purchase cost is $16,253, and will come from the department’s narcotic forfeiture fund.
In unfinished business, the council approved a development at 8760 Jos. Campau where a one-story building will be constructed. The space will be for retail.

In Mayor Ghalib’s report, he said that he and the council had to make “some difficult decisions today, based on the recommendation” of the internal investigation conducted by the law firm Miller Johnson regarding the city manager, police chief and a police investigator.
He said he and the council did not want to fire anyone, “but it seems like the only solution at this time, or the safest one.”
Ghalib also said that he met with White House officials with the Trump administration, where he asked for “a lot of resources” for the city.
“If it gets approved, we see some positive signs it’s going to solve some chronic issues for the city that we have been suffering the last decade.”
He said this would include funding for shoring up city finances, public safety and infrastructure.
If his request is OK’d, Ghalib said “I’ll consider this visit the most productive visit in the history of Hamtramck, and I would be happy to accomplish something for the community before I leave.”

Regarding allegations of corruption among some council members, Councilmember Mohammed Hassan, who has been charged with election fraud, said that “people are not guilty.”
Hassan said the internal investigation by Miller Johnson proved that no elected person was to blame.
(Miller Johnson investigated allegations of wrongdoing by the city manager, police chief and a police investigator – not elected officials.)
He urged the media to take notice and said, “Please, corruption (has) nothing to do with us. You can blame the election thing on us, no problem, but it’s not corruption. Corruption is them, not us.”
He did not identify who is “them.”
In public comment, Bill Meyer said that there was “a lot of hate in this city, and that’s being eliminated by the levelheadedness that you people (the council and mayor) are trying to bring to the city.”
Posted Sept. 26, 2025