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Taylor council receives Board of Ethics admonition for former councilman Herman Ramach
Summary
The Taylor City Council voted 5-1 to receive and file a Board of Ethics resolution publicly admonishing former councilman Herman Ramach for allegedly sharing confidential and attorney‑client material with an unauthorized recipient; the resolution will be forwarded to state authorities and local prosecutors.
The Taylor City Council voted Tuesday evening to receive and file a resolution from the city's Board of Ethics admonishing former councilman Herman Ramach for improperly sharing confidential city records.
The resolution, read into the record by the chairman, says the ethics board found evidence that Ramach transmitted 907 pages of documents that included sensitive city information and attorney‑client privileged material to an unauthorized person, in violation of MCL 15.342 and city ethics ordinance provisions. The board directed the resolution be sent to the mayor, city council, city clerk, local media, the Michigan attorney general and the Michigan Board of Ethics for review.
Supporters of the board's action told council members the ethics panel had followed its process. "They did their job," a resident said during public comment. The council received testimony that FOIA productions had been reviewed and redacted where appropriate.
But in public comment, Butch Remick acknowledged sending the documents the board cited, saying, "I did do it. I did it for a reason," and arguing he provided materials to investigators and city counsel to assist an inquiry. Remick also told the council his computer had been hacked and contested claims that records were widely leaked. Residents and other speakers disputed Remick's account and urged enforcement of the ethics rules.
Madam Clerk and staff explained that attachments and attorney‑client privileged documents are typically withheld from FOIA releases and that their office reviewed some 900 emails and made redactions consistent with privilege rules. Mayor Timothy Wooley and other officials described prior cooperation with law enforcement in handling documents that investigators had requested.
After public comment and council discussion about the timing of a public admonition during an election year, the council voted to receive and file the board's resolution 5-1. The motion instructs staff to post the resolution to the Board of Ethics web page and forward copies to the agencies named in the resolution.
The resolution does not itself impose criminal penalties; the council's action made the board's public admonition part of the record and set in motion distribution to other authorities for any further review.
