Residents raise flooding, wrongful termination and tax-abatement concerns during public comment

Several residents used the commission's public-comment periods to press the city on infrastructure and to raise allegations about county employment actions and audit transparency.

John Griner of 7 2nd Street told the commission he was "wrongfully terminated in retaliation for my free speech" by the Macomb County department where he worked and said coworkers created a pretext; he said he filed police reports and asked the commission and city attorney to help seek involvement from Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.

Marilyn Hall, who said she lives at 300 Clinton River Drive, described basement flooding during recent freezing rain while she was out of town and asked why pumps had not been turned on or why some homes lacked required pumps. "My basement flooded again...I had to replace the hot water heater," Hall said, asking for an explanation and requesting that she leave contact information so staff could follow up.

Gloria Heller criticized continuing to use the audit firm and urged the commission to issue an RFQ for accountants, referenced tax abatements she could not find in the audit report (specifically naming JB Cutting), and suggested exploring a municipal income tax. Heller said she reviewed the audit report and could not find a note referencing the company's abatements and urged the commission to examine continuing relationships with the auditor.

Other residents offered community announcements: Brandon Bowman invited residents to a Feb. 25 public meeting about library children's-area renovations; Pat McKay praised the city's administration and discussed the city manager role and candidates; Thomas Barnes thanked staff for recent community events. The city asked residents to leave contact information so staff could follow up on specific complaints and requests for investigation.