During a special Melvindale City Council meeting called for 7 p.m. Dec. 27 at the Kessey Fieldhouse by Mayor Nicole Shkira (fourth from left) to re-address the reappointment of Executive Secretary to the Mayor and Council Cecilia Dally (second from left), the lack of a quorum prevented business from being conducted, with Councilmember Saleim Abuali (left) the only councilmember in attendance, along with City Clerk Diana Zarazua, Assistant Corporate Counsel Roger Kaly and City Treasurer Khaled Ahmed.
Melvindale Executive Secretary to the Mayor and Council Cecilia Dally speaks during the Dec. 20 City Council meeting.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
MELVINDALE – Newly-elected Mayor Nicole Shkira and the majority of the City Council are at odds, with the denied reappointment of Cecilia Dally, mayoral and the city council secretary, at issue.
During the Dec. 20 council meeting, the reappointment of Dally was defeated on a 3-2 vote, with Stan Filipowski, Julie Rauser and Dawn Cartrette voting against, and Joe Jackson and Saleim Abuali in favor. Scott Frederick was not present.
While the original motion included a raise, the council voted to not reappoint Dally without the raise as part of the consideration.
Dally, who is widely liked by residents as a problem solver, received many positive testimonials from residents.
Some members of the council, however, feel that she may not effectively serve the councilmembers’ needs, especially if those needs are in conflict with the mayor’s agenda.
In addition, it is rumored that Dally, who knew Southgate City Councilmember and attorney Bill Colovos when she was the Southgate city clerk, may have introduced him to Mayor Shkira, who wants to replace current longtime Corporate Council Lawrence Coogan with Colovos.
Southgate City Councilmember and attorney Bill Colovos (front right) speaks to the crowd after the Melvindale Dec. 27 special city council meeting was adjourned, during a resident’s time at the podium.
When Dally’s reappointment failed at the Dec. 20 meeting, Shkira strongly expressed her disappointment, calling the vote “disgusting.”
“You have no idea what this woman does on a daily basis,” she said.
When a voice from the audience suggested a council recall, Shkira indicated her agreement.
Colovos tried several times to be recognized by the mayor to speak about a pending police investigation concerning an incident between him and Jackson in Dally’s office several days earlier, but Shkira repeatedly rebuked his attempts.
It is alleged that when Jackson was picking up his mail in Dally’s office, Colovos allegedly exited the mayor’s office and aggressively “belly bumped” Jackson, who allegedly attempted to physically defend himself. Because the investigation is ongoing, no police report has been released.
Shkira called for a special council meeting for 7 p.m. Dec. 27 at the Kessey Field House to reconsider the reappointment of Dally. However, Councilmember Abuali was the only member of the body in attendance, and so, lacking a quorum, the formal meeting was adjourned.
However, people stayed in the hall for more than 40 minutes afterward to speak in favor of Dally.
Those speaking included former Mayor Stacy Bazman, Colovos, and politically active Melvindale residents.
Bazman urged residents to voice their sentiments about Dally at the next regularly scheduled council meeting.
She said Dally replaced Secretary Yvonne Kollmorgen in 2015 when Kollmorgen died at age 46 of a massive heart attack. Kollmorgen had served the city for nearly a decade.
“Cecilia came in when I was at my hardest moment, because Yvonne was young and she died suddenly,” Bazman said. “And Cecilia had to come in and learn everything herself. There was no one to train her, no one to teach her. She made me a better mayor because she was the first face that you saw.”
Colovos also spoke, and made negative statements about the city councilmembers missing the special meeting, saying they weren’t there “because it wasn’t an election year.”
He compared the city council raise, which was determined last year by the compensation commission, to the council’s denial of Dally’s raise, when, in fact, the council simply voted to not reappoint her.
The city council next meets at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 3 in the City Hall council chambers, 3100 Oakwood Blvd., at which time the council will be asked to revisit the issue of Dally’s reappointment.
The Jan. 3 agenda also calls for the appointment of Colovos as the city’s corporate counsel, replacing Lawrence Coogan, and the appointment of Hassane Jamal as city administrator, replacing Richard Ortiz.
However, it is unlikely that Shkira has enough votes on the council to replace Coogan and Ortiz.
Former Melvindale Mayor Stacy Bazman (standing at center) speaks to the crowd after the Melvindale Dec. 27 special city council meeting was adjourned, as City Councilmember Saleim Abuali (second from left), Executive Secretary to the Mayor and Council Cecilia Dally, City Clerk Diana Zarazua, Mayor Nicole Shkira, Assistant Corporate Counsel Roger Kaly and Southgate City Councilmember and attorney Bill Colovos listen.
Melvindale Mayor Nicole Shkira (left) and Corporate Counsel Lawrence Coogan listen as Councilmember Joe Jackson speaks at the Dec. 20 City Council meeting.