Council amends MSB contract to keep WLND staff, sparks heated debate over oversight

The Westland City Council on Monday approved an amended agreement moving the city’s community media operation (WLND) under the Municipal Service Bureau, with new language intended to retain the four people currently providing WLND services and to clarify supervision and council access to programming.

Councilwoman Roseanne Sampey led the motion to add amendments that require MSB to keep the four current full‑time staff with benefits, to direct MSB personnel by a city‑appointed director or that director’s designee while a permanent communications director is hired, and to institute background checks and minimum programming commitments. After several procedural votes and an hours‑long exchange among council members and the mayor’s office, council approved the amended agreement by roll call.

The council’s amendments were motivated in part by concerns that WLND lacked a director after two recent staff deaths and that council members had received inconsistent access to programming. “We’re just asking for equal representation,” Sampey said, describing episodes when WLND personnel declined requests for coverage of council events. Sampey proposed language requiring MSB personnel to work with the city council a combined minimum number of hours per week to ensure consistent coverage; that provision was the subject of particular dispute at the dais before the council settled on amended language.

Mayor Kevin Coleman and MSB supporters cautioned the council about making changes on the dais. Coleman told council members that the administration had negotiated a contract that retained the existing staff and would save the city money under the MSB arrangement. He warned there was no guarantee MSB would accept ad‑hoc amendments or that an amended contract would be acceptable to the parties without further legal review. “You just have to be aware of what you’re doing here,” the mayor said during the discussion.

City Attorney remarks during the meeting noted that an amended contract approved by council might still need MSB board approval and the mayor’s signature before taking effect. Attorney Grisco urged caution, suggesting that if continuity of service was the primary goal the council could approve the packet contract and allow the administration to continue negotiating staffing and oversight details.

Council debate was sharp. Supporters of the amendments said they were narrowly crafted to protect the existing WLND staff and to guarantee the council access to community programming; opponents argued the proposed language was produced at the meeting and had not been reviewed in advance by legal counsel or MSB representatives. Councilwoman Emily Baumann said she could not support amendments drafted at the dais without more time for review; others said the changes were modest and necessary to preserve staff and public trust.

After council approved the changes, the mayor publicly cautioned that the administration and MSB still needed to review the amended text and that there was no guarantee MSB would accept the exact language. Steve Smith and Kyle Mulligan — both named in the meeting as participants in the MSB discussion — were present in the audience and took part in portions of the discussion that followed the vote.

The council’s action moves the WLND contract process forward while creating conditions the council said are intended to protect existing staff and increase transparency. The final form of the agreement, and whether MSB will accept the amendments as adopted, remains subject to review by MSB and the city administration.

The council discussion occurred during new business item 2 and occupied a large portion of the meeting’s second half. The vote that adopted the amended agreement passed by roll call.