Farmington Hills city manager resigns

FARMINGTON HILLS – Throughout a closed session of the Farmington Hills Metropolis Council on Jan. 7, council members mentioned the resignation of metropolis supervisor Gary Mekjian.

His resignation was accepted by a 4-3 vote. Mayor Theresa Wealthy and council members Invoice Dwyer, Jackie Boleware and Michael Bridges voted to resign the town supervisor. Council members Valerie Knol, Jon Aldred and Charlie Starkman voted to not settle for his resignation.

Mayor and councilors Dwyer and Knol mentioned they might not focus on something from the closed assembly on account of strict confidentiality necessities.

Wealthy referred to as for the particular assembly with the assist of Dwyer and Boleware. To convene a particular assembly, the initiating member solely wants the assist of two different members.

“I’m solely allowed to speak to 2 different council members about one thing that we are able to deliberate and vote on as a result of I’m not allowed to speak to a council quorum,” she mentioned.

A quorum, or majority, would consist of 4 or extra folks from the seven-member council.

“I voted to simply accept his resignation as a result of that’s what he (Mekjian) requested for,” Wealthy mentioned.

Dwyer, who served two years on the council — together with as mayor professional tem in 2025 — was chief of the Farmington Hill Police Division for 23 years. He has lived within the metropolis for over forty years.

“I knew all the town managers,” Dwyer mentioned. “I respect the previous metropolis supervisor. I feel he is an effective man, however there have been points that I used to be involved about that had been dropped at my consideration.”

In line with an e-mail despatched to Mekjian on Dec. 17, the assembly was initially scheduled with the town council on Dec. 19 to debate the termination of employment “with out trigger.”

This was the Friday earlier than Christmas and Knol mentioned many on the council had began their vacation plans and had been unavailable. The assembly was then scheduled for January 7.

“I voted in opposition to what I contemplate a pressured resignation,” Knol mentioned. “Farmington Hills, we’re a well-governed metropolis. We’ve got sound fiscal administration. We offer environment friendly and efficient companies. These are points that residents care about. That is completed by having a wonderful chief, who’s competent. And this chief is Gary Mekjian. I’m very shocked and intensely disenchanted with the best way (this) was dealt with, deliberate, how Gary was handled and the end result of the vote.

Knol described Mekjian’s therapy as ‘negligent and insensitive’.

“I do not suppose there was something pressing about this assembly,” she mentioned. “Gary had already scheduled a efficiency overview for March 2026.”

Council members can schedule particular conferences on a wide range of matters at any time.

“If council members ask for a particular assembly, now we have a particular assembly,” Wealthy mentioned.

Residents who spoke through the public remark portion of the Jan. 7 council assembly praised metropolis companies and the best way the town was ruled.

Throughout the Jan. 12 Metropolis Council assembly, Aldred defined the town supervisor’s function beneath the town constitution, likening it to a metropolis CEO, who had division heads reporting to them.

This can be a crucial function in the best way the town features, he defined. The council acts as a board of administrators and determines coverage when approving the price range.

As the town searches for a brand new metropolis supervisor, Aldred hopes the Metropolis Council can work collectively.

“In my expertise with regards to working collectively, we do not at all times know (the) motive. … So it is at all times greatest to imagine a constructive intention, and I’m going with that assumption,” he mentioned through the assembly. “This isn’t about private ambition, nor about politics. (It is) not about energy.”