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Dearborn Heights council holds closed session, follows counsel recommendations on legal case and grievance
Summary
At a May 12, 2026 special meeting, the Dearborn Heights City Council entered closed session to discuss Francis Romero v. City of Dearborn Heights and grievance 24-11; after returning, the council voted to follow recommendations from outside and assistant counsel and then adjourned.
The Dearborn Heights City Council called a special meeting to order at 5:32 p.m. on May 12, 2026 and, after approving the agenda and hearing no public comments, voted to move into closed session to discuss the pending legal case Francis Romero v. City of Dearborn Heights and a personnel grievance labeled 24-11.
The council approved the agenda at the start of the meeting following a motion by Councilman Saab and a second by Councilman Robert Conston. Director La Point led the Pledge of Allegiance. No members of the public spoke in person or via Zoom during the public-comment period.
Councilman Saab moved that the council enter closed session to discuss the Romero litigation and grievance 24-11 (Aaron Casselsi as identified in the transcript); that motion was seconded and carried by voice vote. The chair listed possible participants for the closed session, including the mayor, Clerk Sineia, the chief of staff, corporation counsel Maki, an assistant corporation counsel named in the transcript, and special counsel Shane R. Nolan of Cummings, McClory, Davis & Acho for the Romero matter; the transcript also names special counsel Zack Hillman of Maru & Hillman LLP in connection with the grievance.
The council reconvened from closed session and, in separate motions, voted to "follow the recommendation of attorney Shane R. Nolan" in the Romero case and to "follow the recommendation of assistant city attorney/special counsel Zack Hillman" on grievance 24-11. Both motions were moved by Councilman Robert Conston, seconded by Councilman Saab, and the chair announced that each motion carried by voice vote. The meeting adjourned at about 5:58 p.m.
The transcript contains inconsistent spellings and times (for example, the closed-session start time is reported as both "5:35" and "5:34" in different lines); this article reports times as recorded in the meeting transcript and summarizes the council's recorded actions. The transcript does not record a roll-call tally for the post-closed-session motions beyond the chair's announcement that the motions carried; no additional directives, deadlines, or follow-up reporting requirements are specified in the record.
