Farmington Hills council accepts city manager Gary Mecham’s resignation, approves separation term sheet after closed session

Farmington Hills — The Farmington Hills City Council voted 4–3 on Jan. 7, 2026, to accept the resignation of City Manager Gary Mecham and to approve a separation term sheet signed by Mecham on Jan. 7, subject to the preparation and council approval of a formal separation agreement.

Councilors moved into closed session earlier in the meeting under the Open Meetings Act to discuss written attorney‑client privileged communications and personnel matters related to the city manager. The motion to convene in closed session cited sections 8(1)(h) and 8(1)(a) of the Open Meetings Act. After the closed session, the council returned to open session and took the resignation and term-sheet vote.

Why it matters: The action ends the tenure of the city manager at a moment of clear public interest and vocal community reaction. Several residents attending the special meeting urged transparency, questioned the timing of the session and expressed support for Mecham, events that framed the public context for the council’s decision.

What the council did: A councilmember moved to accept Mecham’s resignation and approve a Jan. 7, 2026 term sheet signed by Mecham, with the motion stating the action was “subject to preparation of a separation agreement, formalizing said term sheet to be signed by Mr. Mecham and city council approval of same.” The transcript records a roll-call vote after the motion; the recorded votes in the transcript (verbatim) resulted in four recorded yes responses and three recorded no responses. The motion carried.

Legal basis and process: The council first voted to hold a closed session to discuss attorney‑client privileged material and personnel matters, invoking sections 8(1)(h) and 8(1)(a) of the Open Meetings Act. During the meeting an outside attorney, Steven Schwartz, requested permission to attend the portion of closed session concerning the city manager to represent his client; the council discussed two draft motions prepared by the city attorney that either excluded or included that outside counsel.

Public reaction and context: Public commenters at the meeting criticized the timing and secrecy around the special session and called for greater transparency; several speakers urged the council to follow standard performance‑improvement processes rather than move directly to termination. Fritz Speiermeister said, “The rumors about the potential termination of our city manager, Gary Mecham, are true,” and urged a more formal performance-improvement approach. Eugene Greenstein told the council the action appeared to be “a political coup orchestrated by the mayor,” and called on council members to explain the rationale to the public.

Next steps: The motion approved the term sheet subject to drafting and council approval of a formal separation agreement. The council adjourned the special meeting and noted a regular council meeting was scheduled Monday; the transcript does not specify deadlines for completing the separation agreement or the financial terms beyond the references in the term sheet language recorded during the meeting.

Recorded authorities and process references: The council cited the Open Meetings Act (sections 8(1)(h) and 8(1)(a)) when moving into closed session; the motion and subsequent personnel action were taken in open session after the closed-session discussion.