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Boards & Commissions Recognition

Deputy City Clerk Rachel Patterson presented a report on the accomplishments of our boards and commissions in the 2025 calendar year. Our boards and commissions are made up of community volunteers that apply and are appointed by Council. More information about our various boards and commissions, as well as the report, is available at berkleymi.gov/volunteer.

2025 Strategic Framework Annual Report

City Manager VanVleck presented the Strategic Framework annual report, which covers staff accomplishments and activities from the 2025 fiscal year. The annual report, in addition to quarterly reports, is available on our website at berkleymi.gov/strategicframework.

Our Strategic Framework serves as a roadmap for the City of Berkley, helping us to define our goals and hone our focus on how to achieve them. It’s a living document that helps us make decisions about how to allocate our resources for the best benefit of the community, as well as track and report our progress.

5-Year Parks & Recreation Master Plan Adopted

Council adopted the 5-Year Parks & Recreation Master Plan, which will serve as a guideline for improving and expanding recreation programs and amenities for our residents. An updated plan is required every five years for eligibility to apply for state grants through the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, and the process of updating the plan was led by Johnson Hill Land Ethics Studio.

Thank you to everyone who shared their opinions on how our Parks & Recreation department can best serve our community by attending public engagement sessions and/or completing the online survey. The plan is available to view online by clicking here.

Ethics Complaint Advisory Opinion

Last fall, a resident raised concerns about the perception of an improper disclosure of a conflict of interest during the contract solicitation and engagement of the City’s current City Attorney. City Manager VanVleck reviewed the matter (per City Code Sec. 2-40) and found no ethics violation. The resident then filed a formal ethics complaint on November 3, 2025, and later submitted a supplemental complaint on December 18, 2025.
 

To ensure complete transparency and accountability, Council engaged independent legal expert Angela Mannarino of Greco Law PLLC to conduct an external review. Ms. Mannarino thoroughly reviewed all relevant documents, including complaints, meeting minutes, proposals, and initial findings.
 

At the January 5 meeting, Council voted to make Ms. Mannarino's legal findings public, waiving attorney-client privilege for these communications. Her independent review confirmed that there were absolutely no violations of state law or City ordinance in how the City Attorney was hired—a conclusion that applied to both the original and supplemental complaints.

Oath of Office Discussion for Administrative Office

Our City Charter Section 8.2 reads “All administrative officers and appointees, as the council shall deem necessary, shall take an oath of office supporting the Constitution of the United States, the constitution of the State of Michigan, and faithfully discharging the duties of such office before entering upon the duties of the respective offices, and file [the] same with the city clerk.” Council has the right to formally deem the oath of office necessary or unnecessary for administrative officers, including our City Attorney.

The City has retained RSJA to serve as City Attorney, and although Lisa Hamameh serves as the lead attorney, there are other attorneys at RSJA who serve the City in the capacity of the administrative office of city attorney. Since all attorneys practicing in the State of Michigan already take a required oath of office before being admitted to practice law, this satisfies the requirements of the City Charter, and Council elected to formally deem it unnecessary for the City Attorney to take the City’s oath of office now and in the future, as it is redundant and unnecessary.  

Want to Learn More?

• Watch the meeting recording

• Review the agenda and minutes

• Join us at our next meeting on February 2 at 7 PM - we'd love to see you there!

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