Unfortunately our City has had an issue with hiring and retaining talent since 2016, under the leadership of Kelly Garrett (Mayor for 6 of those years, Mayor Pro-Tem before then). Since then, we’re now in the process of hiring our 4th City Administrator. Somehow instead, the narrative over the past 2 years has been to blame ME for losing staff, as I have been accused of bullying and creating a toxic work environment. In reality, I have been focused on holding staff, particularly City Administrators and Interim City Administrators, as well as Council accountable for poor decisions and not delivering on their responsibilities.

Staff members who are committed to Lathrup Village and working in the best interest of its residents; who actively respect residents; who meet the responsibilities of their position; and want to be here in Lathrup Village deserve mutual respect, gratitude and fair wages and benefits. It’s those individuals we want to attract and cultivate here, and who deserve to be “promoted from within.”

There have been claims that I am responsible for at least 4 staff members leaving and 3 others wanting to leave – though only 3 specific names have been offered – former City Administrator Sheryl Mitchell, former DDA & Special Projects Manager Cori Dahl and former City Administrator Susan Montenegro. In order to put the lies to rest around this particular issue, I feel residents should be aware of exactly which employees have left, as well as the circumstances surrounding the departure of additional staff members since I was elected – but who have not been mentioned and whose stories have not been shared, perhaps because those circumstances are a terrible reflection on Garrett and the 2 current Interim City Administrators, Bratschi (also current City Treasurer) and McKee (also current LVPD Chief).

Two days after I was elected, long-time City Clerk Yvette Talley, put in her resignation. I was told by City Attorney Baker that Talley tried to resign in May of 2021 when she was handling family matters out of state. Mitchell wouldn’t accept Talley’s resignation and Talley continued to work remotely. I had a cordial relationship with Talley over the years and thought she did a really good job for the City. The last contact I had with Talley was 9-11-21 - before I was elected - when I expressed my sympathies for the loss of her Father. She thanked me for “my kind words.”  Yvette’s resignation had nothing to do with me. 

I’ll bet you’ve never heard about what happened to a former City employee who I will call Ms. X – who was fired by Interim City Administrators Bratschi & McKee in February of 2022. Ms. X wrote a statement saying she felt intimidated and harassed by McKee and Bratschi when she was taken into a closed-door meeting with only the two of them. Click here to see Ms. X’s Statement Ms. X reached out to Mayor Garrett, Councilman Jennings and me requesting a meeting with the City Council - something she was entitled to per our City Charter and personnel manual. Garrett was supposed to call her back but she never did. Though I didn’t know Ms. X at the time and didn’t know why she was reprimanded, I knew she was entitled to due process and a meeting with us. Jennings and I spoke about the situation and we both agreed there was the potential that Ms. X experienced racial intimidation as an African American woman, given what Ms. X wrote in her statement. Also, per the Charter, 2 Council members can request a special meeting as long as it is done at least 24 hours before the requested meeting. I wrote up the request February 5, 2022, signed it, sent it to Jennings and asked him to forward it to the City Clerk and other Council members before 6:00 p.m. February 6, 2022. Clck here to see my letter requesting a special meeting with Council for Ms. X. I checked in with Jennings a few times to see if he sent it and he told me he had not but was going to. When I reached out again after 7:00 p.m., he said he sent the request to City Attorney Baker because he “didn’t want to violate the OMA.” Ms. X was fired the next morning. She never got a meeting with us and they even shorted her last paycheck. Ms. X was working with an attorney to file a claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and to file with the Circuit Court. Unfortunately, the attorney had a relationship with Garrett and her family and he didn’t fulfill his commitment to Ms. X. Garrett never called her back and she failed to make sure she received due process. It’s alarming to me that this was not handled with more care. There are indications that Bratschi has given Ms. X bad reviews when contacted by potential employers.

The piece that is particularly concerning about the firing is that 10 days before Ms. X was reprimanded, Bratschi told me what a great job Ms. X was doing. I asked Bratschi about room rental rates. In particular, I was aware that a church Garrett has supported financially - LOGOS Church - was using our City Hall address as their business address. I asked how much a church pays to use our facilities once or twice per week. Bratschi told me that Ms. X had gotten everything straightened out and that all groups were paying what they were supposed to. After receiving such a glowing report about Ms. X, it was particularly confusing that she was let go.

Ms. X later shared with me that Bratschi and Garrett frequently made very derogatory and disrespectful comments about residents. I saw evidence of that in e-mails between Garrett and Kantor that I obtained through a F.O.I.A. request. Ms. X shared that Barb Kenez and I were frequent targets and that Garrett, Kantor and Ferguson were actively involved in trying to keep us off of Council in 2021.

In January of this year, Council was contacted by Ms. Z, another former City employee. She said she was being bullied, harassed and intimidated by LV Police Chief McKee and then City Administrator Susan Montenegro. Ms. Z, another African American woman, had been passed over for a promotion to the Deputy Treasurer’s position. After she expressed her concerns that a less qualified person had been chosen over her, she filed an age discrimination complaint. Ms. Z requested and was granted a meeting with City Council but Montenegro - who the complaint was filed against - requested that the meeting be closed. Garrett, City Attorney Baker, and our labor attorney allowed it. As a result, the minutes from this meeting can’t be disclosed or F.O.I.A.’d and no one can talk about what happened in the hearing. We received e-mails that showed Montenegro denied the position to Ms. Z but then gave her a $9800 raise for her performance. Ms. Z stayed for a month or two before she resigned, citing continued intimidation, bullying and harassment from Montenegro and McKee. Ms. Z filed a case with the EEOC. After this hearing, and given what I had witnessed happen to Ms. X, I reached out to the City’s labor attorney to say there may be a pattern of harassment and intimidation in the City Administration – particularly against people of color. He didn’t seem to be interested and dismissed my concerns. Since then, we have received no updates on Ms. Z and the outcome. The labor attorney expressed a case would be no big deal because we have insurance!!

Since 2021, there have been 2 code enforcement officers that have left the City – one was fired by McKee and the other quit. I had no interaction with either of them.

Regarding Treasurer/Interim City Administrator, Pam Bratschi, please read the e-mail I sent her when she thanked me for flowers Barb and I sent for her first Thanksgiving without both of her parents. Also, click here for the e-mail I sent Pam encouraging her to take the Interim City Administrator position alone. Apparently, Bratschi read my e-mail to staff and declared that she wasn’t going to work with me! That was at the very beginning of my term.

I have outlined more details about Mitchell’s actions on the …Fiscal Responsibility page. But to recap, Mitchell was very intentional about closing the curtain and keeping residents in the dark – and yet, Garrett and Kantor were supportive of her efforts and mismanagement of the City. She and Garrett were telling people that I am racist. Click here for January 2020 e-mail. This was in close collaboration with former Council members Ian Ferguson and Saleem Siddiqi (see more regarding them on the … Cannabis/Marijuana Study Group page and …“Backyard Incident” page). That is the team that changed the whole climate of Lathrup Village, doing damage that may never be undone. Garrett, Kantor, Ferguson, Siddiqi and Mitchell disregarded the fact that they were all in their positions to serve the residents of Lathrup Village - not their friends; not pet projects or organizations they were personally affiliated with; not only a select group of residents; not the greater Southeast Michigan area; not themselves. I remain committed to deconstructing this damage and rebuilding everything that makes our City special - on City Council or off.

Click here to see Ms. X’s Statement

Click here to see my letter requesting a special meeting with Council for Ms. X.

Click here to see e-mail sent to Bratschi encouraging her to take the Interim City Administrator position

Click here for Mitchell e-mail re “racially motivated” F.O.I.A. questions

Click here for e-mail to City Attorney Scott Baker Requesting Slander Stop

Click here to see letter I wrote to Council regarding Mitchell