Should the city council also be suspended?

What a mess in city hall.
On that, it’s a good guess that most folks in town can agree.
And, opinion-wise, we’re not even going to address the joint lawsuit filed by the city manager and a police department investigator against the mayor, city council and police chief.
Regardless of the lawsuit, which we will set aside for the moment, what happens in city hall down the road is all a huge mystery and, from what we can tell, one that likely won’t bode well for the city’s bank account.
We can’t help but think that the mayor and city council maneuvered themselves into a legal black hole – one that could boomerang to end up hitting the wallets of homeowners.
What gets us — and we are not the only ones to mention this — is that the city council is hardly in a position to lecture about wrongdoing.
Almost all city councilmembers are currently under a serious legal cloud, with four of them facing possible criminal charges for election law violations, and two of them being investigated over whether they are even residents of the city (and, if not, legally disqualified from serving on council – and also possibly facing felony perjury charges).
Their argument is that, since the city manager is facing accusations and possibly being investigated himself, he should be placed on paid suspension.
Well, if that’s the case, some in town have pointed out that the five councilmembers facing allegations and being investigated should be suspended from their duties.
And that even goes for the mayor, who said he welcomes being investigated – for what, who knows?
This might be one of the worst city councils in the history of Hamtramck, and that’s quite a stature, because there have been some seriously dysfunctional councils in the past.
In the meantime, we applaud the city department heads and all the employees who work in city hall for continuing to serve the community during these trying – and uncertain – times.
Posted June 6, 2025