Ypsilanti council affirms staff personnel decision, orders outside review; approves event fee waiver and proclaims Transgender Empowerment Month

The Ypsilanti City Council on Wednesday affirmed a personnel action taken by city staff but voted to commission an external review of the matter, approved a partial waiver of event fees for the All Hallows Eve Illumination at Frog Island with a condition protecting canvassers, and adopted a proclamation recognizing October 2025 as Transgender Empowerment Month.

The council also heard a presentation from the Washtenaw Housing Alliance about a new shared-housing program for older adults and discussed updates to the city’s Transportation Asset Management Plan (TAMP).

Why it matters: The personnel decision and the council’s direction to order an independent review address allegations raised during public comment and earlier proceedings; the fee-waiver vote affects funding available for park events and sets a precedent for future requests; and the Transgender Empowerment Month proclamation signals an explicit civic stance and an operational step — display of a trans pride flag at City Hall.

Personnel review and outside investigation

After extended deliberations the council voted to affirm the personnel decision that had been reviewed in a hearing but approved an amendment directing city leadership to obtain a third-party review of the circumstances and related personnel practices. Council members debated whether the record presented at the hearing contained sufficient information to overturn the earlier administrative decision; several members said they did not feel the hearing record provided a full investigation.

Council member Catherine McLean moved to affirm the staff decision. During discussion other council members said they wanted additional independent fact-finding and clarity about personnel policies to avoid similar disputes in the future. The council accepted a friendly amendment to direct an external review; the council agreed that the scope of that review would be set at a later meeting. The…