By ZEINAB NAJM
Times-Herald Newspapers
HEIGHTS — The City Council will hold a study session Jan. 19 followed by a special meeting to discuss selecting a new mayor.
Virtual meeting times are 6 p.m. for the study session and 7 p.m. for the special meeting.
Mayor Daniel Paletko died Dec. 29 due to complications from COVID-19 leaving the vacant seat until a November election is held.
Additionally, the city council will need to hold two elections this year, one for a mayoral candidate to serve from November following the election to Dec. 31 and another to select a mayor for the full four-year term starting in January 2022.
Councilman Ray Muscat brought a motion forward for the council to place an item on the Jan. 12 agenda to appoint a mayor by introducing candidates one at a time, but the vote ended in a 3-3 tie and failed. Council members Robert Constan, Tom Wencel and Interim Mayor Denise Malinowski-Maxwell all voted no with Muscat, Bill Bazzi and Dave Abdallah voting yes.
The council decided to place a notice for the mayoral vacancy for those interested to apply. According to the charter, the only requirements are to be a two-year resident of the city and a registered voter.
Candidates are asked to prepare a letter of interest stating the reasons they should to be considered for the appointment along with a resume including at minimum educational background, work history and any public service experience.
The letter of interest and resume must be received in the City Clerk’s Office no later than 10 a.m. Jan. 19. Applicants can submit the items by emailing them to [email protected] or using the city hall drop box located to the right of the main doors.
During the same Jan. 12 meeting, Malinowski-Maxwell said three different attorneys prepared four different legal opinions relating to the mayoral vacancy and who on the council could vote.
She also said that she reached out to the Michigan attorney general for independent legal opinion.
Attorney Matt Schenk said there is no requirement on how to fill the vacancy by council, per the charter and they can decide how to proceed. The vote will require a majority of the present council members in order to pass.
In regards to the vote, attorney Mark Roberts said in his opinion that based on Robert’s Rules of Order followed by the council, council members can vote for themselves if they were being considered as a mayoral candidate.
City Attorney Gary Miotke provided insight on the voting rules saying that someone who wanted to vote for themself is allowed. He also said that the person selected for the mayoral vacancy does not need to be a member of the council.
The city council went into a closed session at the Jan. 12 meeting where they discussed what to do about Paletko’s lawsuit against the city council.
Miotke said the decision on what to do next in terms of the lawsuit would be made by a personal representative — possibly Paletko’s daughter, Paletko’s successor and anyone appointed as mayor would have control of the mayor’s claims. He also said that if he is working with the council, someone else would have to take over the case.
Over the last six months, Miotke said he has been protecting the city without pay by continuing to provide services, even through he wasn’t in his official capacity.
Malinowski-Maxwell told Miotke to submit his contract or invoices for council approval, that way he could be paid for his time served.
Next, the council will wait to reintroduce a motion to appoint Miotke as corporation counsel until their attorneys take steps to end ligation, Muscat said.
In November, the council rejected a motion to confirm the appointment of Miotke and asked the administration to do a search for counsel candidates to also include Miotke.
(Zeinab Najm can be reached at [email protected])