Melvindale City Attorney Larry Coogan (right) reported on Mayor Nicole Shkira’s city charter violations during the March 18 City Council meeting.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
MELVINDALE – City Attorney Lawrence Coogan reported on Mayor Nicole Shkira’s violations of the city charter during the March 18 City Council meeting.
He said the mayor’s authority is limited and does not allow her to make unilateral financial decisions, modify contracts or authorize city expenditures without the approval of the city council, which he said she has repeatedly done.
Shkira denied the accusations and justified her actions, claiming that state law supersedes the city charter. She did not supply further details to support her assertion.
Coogan said the mayor has limited authority involving financial matters and may not vote on appointments to city office or on the expenditure of municipal funds, which must be authorized by the city council.
He said in an instance involving an American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees grievance, Shkira authorized additional Health Savings Account contributions of $500 for single employees and $1,000 for employees with family coverage, which was not approved by the city council and which exceeds the authority granted to her under the city charter.
Coogan said that by doing so, Shkira also violated the mandate of her mayoral position to enforce all city laws, ordinances and regulations.
He also said the grievance related to the healthcare coverage was not filed within 30 days.
“The union was notified of health care changes in October 2024,” Coogan said. “However, the grievance was not filed until April 2025, approximately six months later and well beyond the contractual 30-day timeframe, and as such, the grievance was untimely and should not have been granted.”
He further noted that Shkira did not consult with him as city attorney, nor with the Department of Public Works commissioner, the city administrator or the city council.
Coogan said the city charter specifies that the city attorney shall prepare “all leases, deeds, contracts and documents as may be required by the council,” which he said the mayor ignored.
He said she also granted a city employee a $3 per hour wage increase without a contract authorizing the increase, with no review by the city attorney, and without the authorization of the city council, which again violates the city charter.
“It is clear that the mayor has violated the city charter on multiple occasions by authorizing expenditures of city funds without council approval, modifying employee benefits and wages without legal or council approval, granting an untimely grievance contrary to the labor contract and repeatedly failing to follow charter procedures requiring legal review and council approval,” Coogan said.