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Dearborn Heights council receives petition on disclosure of minors’ information; IT director says 'not a data breach'
Summary
Council received and filed a citizens’ petition alleging unauthorized disclosure of minors’ personally identifiable information and heard an IT director deny a technical data breach while acknowledging documents were posted and removed; council asked legal counsel for written opinion and accepted the petition for the record.
The Dearborn Heights City Council on Aug. 12 received and filed a citizens’ petition asking the city to address an alleged unauthorized posting of minors’ personally identifiable information related to a local youth organization.
The petition prompted extended public comment and staff testimony. David Cooper, the city’s director of innovation and technology, told the council his review showed files were uploaded and later taken down from the city’s Civic Clerk/CivicPlus platform. Cooper said system metadata shows who uploaded and who removed the files, and that the files were not hosted on the city’s internal servers. “We did not have a data breach,” Cooper said, stressing that credit‑card and bank account data on the BS&A (BSNA) finance system remained secure.
Council members pressed for clarity on liability and process. City legal counsel provided a written opinion concluding the incident does not meet the gross‑negligence standard required to hold the city civilly liable; the attorney’s memo was requested to be shared with the full council. Some resident speakers urged further investigation and recommended involving state or federal authorities if new evidence surfaced.
Separately, residents expressed frustration with the speed of the response, requested better public notice procedures and asked for clearer documentation about how files are approved and published. The council’s action was to officially receive the petition and file it for the record; the council asked staff to continue coordinating with the police chief and to share the attorney’s written opinion with council members. The IT director said the posted material was live for less than 24 hours before it was removed.
The item concluded with the council committing to follow up: legal counsel’s opinion will be circulated and staff will work with law enforcement if new evidence suggests criminal activity. The council did not take additional formal disciplinary or procurement actions during the meeting.
The petition and the IT director’s statements are now part of the public record; the next steps are staff follow‑up and any separate law‑enforcement notifications.
