Warren approves interlocal defense initiative with Sterling Heights and appoints Patrick Green to advisory committee

Warren City Council on an April agenda approved an interlocal agreement with Sterling Heights to create a joint defense and aerospace economic development initiative and later appointed Patrick Green as Warren’s representative to the initiative’s advisory executive committee.

Council members debated the selection process and oversight roles before the appointment. Councilmembers raised questions about candidate qualifications, reporting requirements and the $250,000-a-year city contribution that will support the initiative’s work to attract and retain defense and aerospace contracts in the region.

The interlocal agreement establishes an advisory executive committee composed of representatives from the two cities and a jointly approved at-large (neutral) fifth member. Council members and staff described the advisory committee as an oversight body that will retain staff and a director to run the initiative’s business-development activities. According to the agreement referenced on the agenda, the director will be approved by both the Warren City Council and the Sterling Heights City Council and will be responsible for carrying out the program’s objectives.

Some council members urged more vetting before approving appointments and expenditures. One council member asked for clarification about what the council’s representative would be expected to do, whether the representative could be removed if performance was unsatisfactory, and what reporting back to the council would look like. Council members and staff responded that reporting mechanisms are built into the agreement and that the advisory committee will oversee staff who carry out the work.

On the appointment, one council member suggested Patrick Green as the city’s representative, noting his longstanding ties to Warren and experience in local government and business. Other council members supported moving forward without delay, saying Green has prior elected and governance experience and existing relationships across the region. Another council member asked that the council fully consider other candidates and the candidate’s relevant experience with defense or the private sector; that council member requested tabling the appointment for further consideration but was outvoted.

The council made a formal motion to appoint Patrick Green and the motion carried. The meeting transcript shows back-and-forth during roll-call on the related resolution vote earlier in the same agenda item; the transcript records at least one council member registering dissent during the roll call on the interlocal agreement, and multiple council members recorded as voting in favor, but the verbatim transcript does not provide a clear, consistent numeric tally for the resolution vote in the record provided. The appointment vote on Patrick Green is recorded in the transcript as passing with council members saying “Yes” on roll call.

Council members and staff said the initiative’s first operational steps will include developing job specifications for the director, running a director search, and establishing reporting expectations so the council can track how the city’s contribution is spent. A press conference about the initiative was scheduled the same day as the meeting.

The council’s action advances a regional effort the city described as focused on attracting defense and aerospace manufacturers and contracts, especially along the corridor identified in the materials. Funding and oversight details in the interlocal agreement and the director’s role were emphasized repeatedly during discussion as the key levers of accountability.

Ending: Council members who wanted more time to review candidates were told the council would receive reports as the initiative’s director and specifications are developed; the council’s formal approval role on the director was stressed as the main check on the advisory committee’s hiring choices.