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Berkley council approves outside review of ethics complaint after public call for disclosure
Summary
The Berkley City Council voted to retain outside counsel to review a complaint about the city attorney and the city manager's prior findings. The motion passed despite one councilmember objection; the city manager did not provide a total cost estimate and a public speaker asked the council to confirm whether outside firm RSJA had advised on the earlier findings.
The Berkley City Council on Dec. 1 approved a retainer for Greco Law PLLC to conduct an independent review of the city manager's determination in an ethics complaint involving the city attorney.
City Manager Van Vlack told council the complaint had been reviewed internally and that she found no ethics violation, but the complainant had requested a formal review under section 2-40(f) of the city code. To preserve public trust, Van Vlack recommended retaining outside counsel with municipal experience. She said the firm's hourly rate would be $165 but could not estimate a total cost because the scope is not yet determined.
The matter drew public comment. Joshua Hunter, who identified himself as the complainant and a member of the Berkley historical committee, said he had submitted an ethics complaint and asked the council to confirm whether the law firm RSJA (named in his filings) had advised or drafted the city manager's findings. Hunter asked that the city immediately publish the complaint and that the city attorney recuse from the agenda item if she had been involved.
During council discussion, Council member Hennen said he would vote against the retainer, calling it likely to set a precedent and a potential waste of time and money for complaints he characterized as not seeking answers. Mayor Pro Tem Gavin and other councilmembers expressed support for using independent counsel in this particular case because the complaint involved the city attorney and the city manager.
A roll-call vote approved the retainer: Gavin, Patterson, Baker, Elrod and Mayor Dean voted yes; Hennen voted no. The motion authorizes the city manager to sign the retainer agreement and begin an independent review; the council did not adopt a budget amendment and did not specify a total contract cap at the time of the vote.
The city manager said the independent review would be relied upon for transparency and public confidence; she did not confirm whether RSJA had been involved in advising her initial findings and indicated that confirmation would require further inquiry.
Next steps: the retainer was approved and the city manager was authorized to sign. The council did not set a timeline for the review or publish a schedule for releasing the complaint in the meeting record.
