HAMTRMACK, Mich. – Hamtramck Mayor Adam Alharbi is suing his own city council after members voted to fire the city’s manager in what the mayor calls a clear violation of the city charter.
The council voted 4-2 on June 9 to terminate City Manager Adel Al-Adlani, who was hired in February. He’s the fourth person to serve in that role in just the last year.
Despite the swift action, council members who voted for the firing have declined to provide a direct reason for their decision.
Mayor files lawsuit, seeks restraining order
Alharbi filed a lawsuit in Wayne County Circuit Court alleging the council disregarded the city charter, Michigan’s Open Meetings Act and the Michigan Constitution when members pushed through a last-minute agenda item to fire Al-Adlani during the June 9 meeting.
The mayor is also seeking a temporary restraining order to reverse the council’s decision and reinstate Al-Adlani.
“This is a matter of making sure that when we do conduct business in City Hall we do follow the rules,” Alharbi said during a press conference Monday.
“It was just an embarrassment — a violation of clear, flagrant constitutional violation of the city charter,” said attorney Nabih Ayad. “This isn’t the Wild West. They need to understand there are rules and regulations here.”
Ayad also said the mayor welcomes an investigation into City Hall.
“We welcome any kind of investigation by the state or federal government,” Ayad said.
“We will respond by motion for summary disposition and let the Court decide this on the law. The Complaint has serious facial defects: it skips an entire count, quotes from an employment contract it does not attach, mischaracterizes Council procedural rules as Charter provisions, and cites as authority a Court of Appeals decision that it acknowledges was reversed by the Michigan Supreme Court. We are confident in the City’s position.”
Hamtramck City Attorney Odey Meroueh
Shouting match erupts at council meeting
The June 9 meeting quickly devolved into a heated confrontation between the mayor and council members.
At one point, Alharbi threatened to remove Council President Mohammed Hassan from the meeting.
“I’m the chair,” Alharbi said.
“I’m the council president,” Hassan fired back.
Hassan, who was the most supportive of Al-Adlani’s termination, has a trial scheduled for June 29 related to felony election fraud charges.
When asked directly whether he had been given an explanation for the firing, Alharbi said he had not.
“Mayor, they seemed pretty passionate on firing the city manager and you haven’t heard any reason on why?” Lauren Kostiuk asked.
“Um… I have not,” Alharbi replied.
Council members push back
Not all council members are aligned with the mayor’s position.
Councilman Yousuf Saed defended the vote in a statement posted to Facebook, saying the action was lawful and did not require the mayor’s permission.
“He says we ‘bypassed the Charter.’ We did not. Suspending the rules to take up business is something councils do all the time, and it is in our own rules,” Saed wrote.
Saed also pushed back on what he characterized as a shifting narrative from the mayor, saying the city manager “serves at the pleasure of the Council” and that “no cause is required.”
However, Councilmember Nayeem Choudhury, who voted against the firing and stood alongside the mayor at Monday’s press conference, offered a different take on the motivation behind the vote.
“They were trying to get rid of their cases through the city manager,” Choudhury said.
A pattern of turnover at City Hall
Al-Adlani’s dismissal is the latest in a series of high-profile departures that have rattled Hamtramck City Hall over the past year.
The city also faces a mounting pile of litigation. A former city clerk, former city manager, a former police officer and a former council member who lost a contentious mayoral election all have lawsuits pending against the city.
The city’s controller and CFO is currently serving as interim city manager.
Al-Adlani is being represented by attorney Jon Marko and a lawsuit is likely forthcoming.