Dearborn Heights Treasurer Lisa Hicks-Clayton
Dearborn Heights Mayor Bill Bazzi
By SUE SUCHYTA
Times-Herald Newspapers
HEIGHTS – City Treasurer Lisa Hicks-Clayton refuted Mayor Bill Bazzi’s Jan. 18 press release, which levels allegations against the integrity of her office, as “politically motivated.”
Bazzi’s press release raises concerns over the Dearborn Heights treasurer’s “performance/ability to accurately conduct city business.”
Hicks-Clayton contends that the email comes on the heels of the City Council’s demands, which her office supports, to see an accounting of the city’s monthly payroll, which exceeds $2 million.
“It is unfortunate, but I believe that a very transparent demand by City Council and the Treasurer’s Office to the mayor may have triggered the press release,” she said. “Again, I firmly refute the assertions in Mayor Bazzi’s press release.”
Hicks-Clayton said when she was on sick leave, American Cancer Society donations came up as missing.
“The monies were in the Treasurer’s Office, and despite the fact that the city of Dearborn Heights has camera surveillance, city officials were unable to determine the source of theft,” she said. “Irrespective, I was subject to an investigation initiated by Dearborn Heights police.”
Hicks-Clayton said there are five other people who work in her department.
“When objections were noted that the investigation and the factors surrounding the investigation were reported to the Mayor’s Office, the city reluctantly agreed to allow Michigan State Police to take over due to a conflict of interest,” she said. “Interestingly, Michigan State Police has taken no action as of today and I suspect nothing will become of the unfounded, unsubstantiated allegations.”
In his press release Bazzi contends that Dearborn Heights Internal Affairs Director Paul Vanderplow documented performance issues and incidents in the treasurer’s office during calendar year 2024 that were identified as potential liabilities to the city, and which warranted an internal review.
Bazzi said Vanderplow brought nine concerns to him and the city corporate counsel, which were summarized into four areas of concern with respect to the city’s fiscal operations, each described as a “control weakness”: technical internal, operational internal, administrative, and architectural internal.
Specific items in Vanderplow’s report included an accusation of missing cash from the treasurer’s vault, violation of separation of duties with respect to credit card administration, and reports of the office cashing personal checks for employees without specific authorization, policies or procedures.
Also in the report were unsolicited comments sent to the mayor’s office concerning the Treasurer’s Office operations, the occurrence of “insufficient funds” checks issued to city vendors, and staffing and service level issue complaints.
Vanderplow’s report also cited undocumented or poorly documented city fiscal transactions and hinderance of the city’s internal affairs inquiry, and accused the Treasurer’s Office of changing the physical locks within the suite and resisting providing keys or combinations to the mayor’s office, which Bazzi claims is mandated by the city charter.
Bazzi said the documented incidents indicate that practices in the treasurer’s office “are harmful to city operations.”
He criticized Hicks-Clayton’s request for more personnel, and said she should instead “focus on the duties of the office.”
Bazzi said complaints made by employees in the Treasurer’s Office fall under “whistle blower” provisions, and implied that her office experiences a high turnover, which he said warrants corrective action.
“I am disappointed that our council members have yet to address this critical and potentially damaging issue,” he said. “As mayor, I am fully committed to ensuring our residents and business owners receive the most efficient, ethical and transparent service possible – this needs to be addressed immediately.”
Bazzi has reportedly not attended the last five council meetings, so he has not availed himself of an opportunity to talk to the council or treasurer in person during a public forum.