Former Melvindale City Clerk Linda Land
By SUE SUCHYTA
Times-Herald Newspapers
MELVINDALE – City Clerk Linda Land has resigned, and the June 4 City Council meeting was contentious following news about a new lawsuit filed against the Police Department.
Land said in a May 27 email to city officials that she no longer had any desire to fulfill the position of city clerk.
“The viciousness, back stabbing, lying and screaming is stealing my peace,” she said. “There is no way in this world that I will allow anyone or anything to take that away from me. So, therefore, I am submitting my resignation letter.”
The mayor has one month from Land’s resignation to submit a city clerk candidate to the city council for approval. If the mayor does not submit a candidate, the council may then submit a candidate for consideration.
Land’s letter was read out loud at the June 4 council meeting.
Deputy City Clerk Tara Myatt, who is a part time employee, is currently fulfilling the duties of the city clerk. However, she is not a resident of the city of Melvindale, so would not be eligible to be the new city clerk.
During the June 4 council meeting, Stephen Saph Jr., the owner and an agent of Nickel and Saph Inc., a Mount Clemens insurance agency, told city officials that because of recent lawsuits against the city, multiple carriers, including Travelers, Trident-Argo-Ascot, Glatfelter, Hudson, Zurich and Intact would not provide quotes for coverage.
Saph said the city’s participating carriers are Liberty Mutual, Greenwich Insurance Co., and Kinsale Insurance Co.
He said the premium increase of $122,983 represents a 24.11 percent increase since last year.
Saph said claim summaries for the past five years show a 23.33 percent loss ratio, and claim summaries for the past 10 years show a 113.41 percent loss ratio.
If the city were to self-insure, it would have to put millions of dollars into reserve to cover potential claims, and a lawsuit settlement could potentially force the city into bankruptcy.
Also, during the contentious meeting, Mayor Nicole Shkira twice attempted to have City Council President Joe Jackson ejected from the meeting following heated verbal exchanges between the two.
Police officers came forward, but did not take action after Corporation Counsel Lawrence Coogan advised the police officers to not remove Jackson from the meeting.