City Hall Insider … 7/14/26

By Charles Sercombe
The city council met on July 14, and all councilmembers were in attendance.
A resolution was read sharing the city’s condolences to the family and friends of Greg Kirchner, who was a longtime volunteer with the Hamtramck Library and the library’s videographer of public meetings.
Kirchner had died three days earlier, on July 11, at age 77.
The resolution read, in part (verbatim), that Kirchner was a “devoted member of our community whose tirelessly service and steadfast commitment to the city touched the lives of many. … May his example continue to inspire us to serve one another with generosity and care.”
Mayor Adam Alharbi added: “Greg will be missed. We’re used to him being here all the time, recording for the public library”.
A moment of silence was held.
A short update was given on the city’s online public records site. The public also uses this site to pay various city bills, such as for water service and property taxes.
An overview of a program called Rx Kids was presented. The program offers cash assistance to pregnant Hamtramck women, as well as those who have recently given birth:
The program offers $1,500 during pregnancy and $500 a month for the care of babies up to 12 months old.
For more information, call (313) 800-5233, extension 818.

During public comment, Meghan Richards of the Detroit/Hamtramck Coalition for Advancing Health and Environments encouraged residents to fill out a survey to help assess the impact of various environmental concerns.
The information gathered will be confidential, Richards said.
Mark Koroi, an attorney, reminded voters that there is a primary election on Aug. 4, and that Michigan has become a political “battleground.”
He said that Democratic candidate Haley Stevens, who was seeking to become a U.S. Senator for Michigan, had received $20 million from the pro-Israel political action committee, AIPAC.
“Israel is losing the core public opinion in America,” Koroi said.
Koroi added that he hopes that Hamtramck voters continue to support “the liberation of Palestine from Israel.”
Steven’s Democratic opponent, Abdul El-Sayed, was supported by both Hamtramck voters and Michigan voters at-large.
(El-Sayed won the primary election, and will now face off against Republican candidate Mike Rogers in the November election.)
Bill Meyer said he has admired the work and contributions of Greg Kowalski, saying he was a “selfless man” who worked to “improve life for all people.”
The Piast Institute said its Drug Free Community Coalition is involved in two initiatives to “support the health and well-being of Hamtramck residents.”
One of the efforts is training people on how to use Narcan when someone is overdosing on opiate drugs, and the other is seeking donations to help families deal with food shortages.

In new business, the council agreed to hire Bryan Horek as the Director of Public Services.
Horek said his department will be “working hard” to provide services.
Mayor Alharbi said the city “needs a lot of work. We got a lot of potholes, a lot of things and we feel confident that you’re the person to get it done.”
Horek said his department is “trying” to meet the many demands of the city.
Councilmember Abu Musa told him, “You have a lot of room for improvement.”
Councilmember Mohammed Hassan said that Horek has one year to get his state S-1 license.
Horek’s salary was not stated.
In another matter, the council approved the purchase of two vehicles for the police department, totaling a little over $187,000. Funding for the vehicles, a 2026 Ford F-150 Police Responder Pickup and a 2026 Dodge Durango Pursuit, will come from the department’s narcotic forfeiture fund.
Some $91,763 of the funds, nearly half, will be spent on outfitting the vehicles with equipment and installation.
Two of the department’s existing vehicles will be assigned to the two newly created positions of school officers. Police Chief Hussein Farhat said that the public school district will be reimbursing the city for part of the costs of the vehicles being supplied to the school officers.
The council also approved additional brick and masonry repairs, needed at the fire station, at a cost of $13,689.
A final piece of business was the council’s rejection of an annual offer by Wayne County to purchase Hamtramck properties that had been lost due to delinquent property taxes.
The properties, and proposed costs to the city, included:
• 1932 Belmont lot: $1,776.67
• 3356 Doremus house: $5,240.37
• 2637 Casmere house: $16,338.59
• 11465 Mitchell house: $25,213.88
• 3910 Trowbridge lot: $1,156.26
• 3935 Prescott house: $4,788.61

The council voted 4-2 vote in its rejection of the county’s offer. Only Councilmembers Muhtasin Sadman and Yousuf Saed voted in favor of purchasing the properties.
In the past, the city has purchased county properties and either auctioned them off or sold them back to the previous owners.
Mayor Alharbi called the council’s rejection “interesting.” He did not elaborate.
In the mayor’s report, Alharbi said work by him and the staff in city hall will result in “some exciting things for our city.”
He said details of what was being discussed will be announced soon.
The mayor added that what is coming will ensure that the city moves “forward.”
On the same subject, City Attorney Odey Meroueh said that what is being worked on will result in “very good news for the city, very soon.”
Councilmember Nayeem Choudhury said the council needs to follow up on hiring a new city manager.
He said that a city manager is needed to make sure the city can “move forward and do things and get better performance and better communications.”
Choudhury said he is not getting information on city expenses, and that the acting city manager is “overloaded with work.”
The council had fired Hamtramck’s previous city manager, but no reason was given for the firing. That city manager, Adel Al-Adlani, has filed a lawsuit against the city over his firing.
The council had also fired the city manager who preceded Al-Adlani.
In public comment, Bill Meyer spoke again and, this time, congratulated the council and mayor for “a very respectful meeting. That is the way business should be done.”
What is our City Council up to these days? We have the highlights of the latest council meeting.