I was about 10 minutes late for the meeting. I heard that before I got there, Catrina Stackpoole came around to the podium during the public comment period to read a 3-page dissertation about how great Acts 29 is, and said that as her landlord, they rent 3000 sq ft of space to her non-profit for only $125 per month. She also accused Cathie Gordon of pursuing this for political reasons.
Robert Zwolak praised the council for passing the resolution at the previous meeting that called for an investigation by the state police. Council is dealing with money from outside the city as well as our own, and processes need to be improved. He said this was obviously not a case of politics because the entire council had voted to take this course of action.
Stackpoole sternly read another written statement, stating that she was concerned about the allegations. She said it appeared that “the ball was dropped” on the MSHDA grant because it wasn’t brought before council for approval, and characterized the situation as the sort of “administrative screw-up” that gives others “the chance to play gotcha politics”. She asked whose responsibility it was to bring the agreement to the city council, and said this was an opportunity to “tighten up controls”. Stackpoole said she wanted a detailed report to prevent re-occurrence, and also wanted to reconsider the last action of the council to call in the state police. Stackpoole strongly objected “to any charge that ACTS 29 committed felony fraud”. Two parties claimed to have mowed the lots, and an investigation should scrutinize both parties.

Stackpoole said it wasn’t necessary to call the state police in order to check the Cities of Promise minutes and find out that Majewski was sick on the day that Klein signed the documents as mayor pro tem. Gordon had remarked that the cost per cut on this contract was 3 times as high as Platinum’s, but the grant was for creating season work for homeless, unemployed people and not merely to mow grass. It is important for elected officials to watch every penny, but also important to watch out for the most vulnerable residents, and the people are sick of “gotcha politics”.
Stackpoole said she agreed with Gordon’s questions about the billing, and then accused her of dragging the name of a non-profit through the mud, along with those of good Christian people, without any evidence. She went on to say that the next time someone leaves an envelope with evidence of fraud at the bar, Gordon should turn it over to the city manager “instead of grand-standing and using it for her personal agenda”. She said that the “unprofessional” way that the issue was raised set the stage for speculation that Acts 29 or Recycled Treasures are receiving kick-backs, and that Gordon is profiting from Platinum Landscaping, and this rumor-mongering won’t pay the bills. Stackpoole told Gordon to “look past (her) thin veil of concern”, and asked why Gordon would assume that the fraud was by a small non-profit and not a company that was paid $1.6 million by the city over the last two years.
Stackpoole asked Cooper what the cost of an investigation by the state police would be. Cooper didn’t know.
Gordon said she didn’t question or doubt the integrity of Acts 29, but she is legally bound to take responsibility for the finances of the city. She never said the fraud was committed by Acts 29, and only asked about work orders, verification that the work was done, and who indebted the city. Acts 29 didn’t indebt the city, and Gordon didn’t understand why Stackpoole turned the inquiry into an attack on Acts 29. Government is to be transparent and accountable. Cooper had two weeks to investigate, and Gordon also investigated on her own. She personally went to all the lots, and the lots on the list from Acts 29 were also listed on Platinum’s billing. Work orders were given to Platinum, and she has asked to be shown work orders or lot assignments that were given to Acts 29. Unless Stackpoole knows those exist, there is no proof that the work was done.
Gordon said no one hears more rumors than she does, and that rumors didn’t deserve to be addressed. They should all have thicker skin. This is about government transparency, not Acts 29.
Majewski invited the police chief to address the procedure of filing a request with the state police.
Chief Kalinowski called Darrell Hill of the MSP detective unit on hearing of the council’s previous resolution. MSP requires a written request from the police chief outlining his conflict of interest in investigating the case. The request must be in regards to a criminal matter only, not about charter violations or regulations. The investigation by MSP would then be forwarded to the prosecutor’s office for a review for criminal charges. There is no cost for having MSP undertake the investigation.
Jankowski asked what the conflict of interest would be in this case. Kalinowski replied that accusations are being made about the council and city manager, his bosses.
Hassan asked if there are criminal elements of the complaint. Kalinowski said they should ask the attorney about that.
Ahmed asked what the chances were that the state police would get involved. Kalinowski didn’t know, but he is not to decide the merits of the case. He was only to act on council’s behalf.
Miah said that they were meeting because checks were given without the council being aware, and that in itself is a charter violation. He asked who was to investigate charter violations. David Jones of Allen’s office said the Hamtramck Police Department writes ordinance tickets and charter violations, but that an outside agent would have to be brought in if there is a conflict of interest.
Miah said that even if Acts 29 did the work, there was no resolution by the council, and the charter clearly requires the manager to bring it to council for approval.
Stackpoole said that Cooper admitted to an internal mistake. Cooper agreed with her. Stackpoole said there was no longer a need for an investigation because changes had been made to prevent it from happening again. Cooper disagreed because an outside agency would look into everything for possible criminal activity.
Majewski disagreed with the attorney, saying that MSP would not take up issues of charter violations. Kalinowski agreed with Majewski.
Gordon said that the list of 34 lots from Acts 29 were mowed about 12 times each. She asked again how Cooper knows the work was done. Cooper didn’t know, saying only that spot checks were done and no one complained that the lots weren’t mowed. Gordon said the council had work orders, detailed billing, and a contract with Platinum to mow all city lots, with a list from the city that was sent to Platinum. She asked why some lots assigned to Platinum were also assigned to Acts 29. Cooper replied that Ladd forgot to take them off the list.
Gordon asked if Cooper was saying that Ladd assigned lots to Acts 29. Cooper replied in the affirmative and said he had the list. Gordon asked why the list wasn’t given to the council at the last meeting. Cooper said he didn’t have it before the last meeting, and his investigation has continued.
Gordon asked how long this investigation by Cooper was going to take, and also, how many more pieces of paper would surface. Cooper replied that his investigation would stop if the council moved forward with a criminal investigation, but his internal investigation with staff would probably take less than two weeks. He planned to talk to Platinum and Acts 29 if allowed to continue.
Gordon repeated that there was no proof that the work was done. Acts 29 has other contracts with the city and has always submitted detailed monthly billing, which is the policy of the city. She wanted to know why this was handled differently. Gordon had two work orders for blight removal from 2008 that was based on a grant, and wanted to know why no work orders were issued in 2009. Cooper said he was trying to find out.
Stackpoole said that Ladd assigned lots to Acts 29. Cooper said that lots assigned to Acts 29 in 2008 were carried over to 2009, in addition to other lots, and that Ladd didn’t remove them from the list. Stackpoole wanted to know why Platinum wasn’t being investigated. Cooper said Stackpoole was making an assumption, and he would investigate both if allowed to continue.
Ahmed asked if the state police would investigate Platinum. Cooper assumed that MSP would look into everything if called in. Majewski said the council was deciding if the situation merits “throwing it onto the Michigan State Police”, handling it another way, or to be done with it.
Jankowski said council was to set the procedures, list information for a possible investigation, and set future meetings to decide whether or not to send the request. There were two issues, both fraud and administrative oversight.
Gordon asked if charter violations are covered by the city charter. Jones said his office would look into charter violations, and he didn’t understand the question before. Gordon said the charter doesn’t cover what happens after an investigation. Jones said that if they determine a violation has occurred, it is up to the council to decide what happens, and it sounded like they were trying to investigate something that might be poor bookkeeping and not a crime. MSP may decide that it is a civil matter. Jones said Cooper should be allowed to investigate, and then council could decide if they should be “bothered with” calling the state police.
Jankowski moved to accept the procedures, and all voted in favor.
Stackpoole motioned for Cooper to investigate the break down in following the rules for two weeks. Miah disagreed because they already know that the city manager wasn’t doing his job. They were there because the $13,260 check was written without council approval.
Cooper said he admitted to making “an error in judgment” in approving the check, but he has been honest about it, so he should be allowed to investigate.
Jankowski agreed with Miah. He wanted the information to look at himself, not another report from Cooper investigating his own violation of the charter. Cooper replied that the resolution wasn’t about a charter violation, and that would have to be submitted in a separate request to the city attorney. Jankowski said he would make that determination after he gets the information, and there is something seriously wrong here.
Stackpoole said that several things needed to be looked at, such as the MSHDA grant not being brought to the council, and who, maybe Ladd, gave the lots to both Acts 29 and Platinum. Gordon had also “raised the question” that the grant wasn’t legal because it was signed by the mayor pro tem. Bad record keeping by the DPW was an issue, and Cooper didn’t have all the information when he issued the check.
Hassan said Cooper already admitted his mistakes in a report, and the state police probably wouldn’t take it up, so a committee of the council should look at the information.
Gordon wanted to have everything turned over to the council in 1 week. She asked if Stackpoole knew the grant existed before because she, Algazali, and Shulgon didn’t know. The agreement was signed on 2/24/08, and a contract with Platinum was signed 7 weeks later. Klein never said a word about the grant, allowing the double billing.
Majewski said the resolution was to have an investigation done in 2 weeks, not to discuss the merit. Gordon agreed with Jankowski and Miah that Cooper shouldn’t be investigating and asked if the council could have department heads in for questioning. Jones said the council could ask them questions because department heads report to the council.
Gordon asked to amend the motion to have Cooper and department heads cooperate with an investigation by the council. Majewski said she would have to make a separate motion.
Gordon asked Jones if there is a conflict of interest in having Cooper investigate his own charter violations. Jones said Cooper is qualified to do the fact checking and give his side of the story. Council doesn’t have to accept what is presented. Stackpoole and Ahmed voted for the resolution, but it failed.
Jankowski said this is a serious matter, and he wants to make sure they have all the information. Gordon asked for a copy of the city charter.
Jankowski made a motion that was almost the same as Stackpoole’s, requiring the city manager to investigate his own charter violations. Gordon asked what the difference was in the resolutions. Majewski said the new resolution was for only one week of investigation and required a breakdown of who did what and when. Gordon thought the council was going to handle that, and she wanted to limit the resolution to fact finding. Jankowski supported the resolution because Jones said Cooper could give his side of the story.
Gordon said the charter governs investigations of possible charter violations. Jones didn’t know what she was talking about. Gordon asked if this situation could be a charter violation. Jones didn’t know the facts, but imagined that it could be. Gordon asked why they weren’t following the protocol for investigation of charter violations. Jones said they were starting with fact finding and giving the manager time to make a report. Gordon said the council was already given a report. Jones said it didn’t sound like they had all the facts yet.
Hassan supported letting Cooper investigate for another week. Miah disagreed because they already know of violations that Cooper admitted to. Ahmed said they didn’t have all the facts and weren’t sure.
Gordon asked if the resolution was for fact-finding or investigation. Jankowski said Cooper was to give fact-finding and a summary of administrative changes. Gordon and Miah voted against it, but the resolution passed. A work session was set for Friday February 26 at 6:30 p.m. to decide on direction. (note: this meeting has since been canceled.)
Public comment
Robert Zwolak said that at the last meeting, the council asked the police department to do what the council was undertaking. The police were supposed to gather the facts and take them to the prosecutor, and council was prolonging the process. Complaints about charter violations are supposed to be investigated by the city attorney, and if it involves the city manager, it is a conflict of interest. Any citizen can take the complaint to the prosecutor if the city attorney fails to follow through. If council wants to talk to department heads, it has to be done by resolution or through the city manager according to the charter. Council has to pass a resolution to have department heads speak to the council. Mistakes and duplicate work are involved, but there is also a conflict of interest. Council should have let MSP sort it out. The information already presented is enough to present to the prosecutor’s office.
John Justewicz said Jankowski is no rookie and knows the charter. No money is to be disbursed past a specific amount without approval of the council, and not doing so is not a mistake; it is a violation of the city charter. They did the right thing when they said they needed an investigation by the state police. Since Cooper is a target of the investigation, and the city attorney and police chief report to him, there is a conflict of interest in having any of them investigate it. Improprieties were avoided by passing the right resolution the first time. The action taken this day was redundant because they already know that things were done wrong. Anyone associated with any of the parties involved should not be voting on it or making any public statements. He is not casting aspersions on anyone, but the charter says the council has to okay expenses. They are only asking to find out if there was a criminal activity.
Justewicz was on an MSP taskforce, and Hamtramck didn’t invent this situation. Close associates of the parties, such as Stackpoole, should not make comments or resolutions because they are self-serving. It is downright illegal, and council just does what they want. This smells like a cover-up, and Cooper just didn’t go out on his own and sign things. Justewicz asked if anyone read the charter.
Roberta Olko said this appears to be a cover-up. They voted on an investigation when an admission had already been made. Sanctions should be clearly outlined for a charter violation. She praised Gordon and Platinum for investigating and doing a thorough job. Platinum takes pictures before and after they cut grass and provide the documentation to the city. An investigation revealed duplicate billing of lots that were supposedly cut in the same order and the same week as Platinum. This should be forwarded to the state police or to the attorney general because the resolution looks like a cover-up. She wanted to know why private lots were on the list. The city doesn’t have money to waste, and she demanded an investigation as a taxpayer.