A redacted report released by the Sturgis City Commission this week found that Mayor Frank Perez violated the city charter and acted inconsistently with the commission's procedural policy in the run-up to City Manager Andrew Kuk's April resignation.

The findings come from an external investigation conducted by Miller Johnson, the Ann Arbor-based law firm the commission authorized unanimously on May 27 after two earlier proposals failed. The commission voted unanimously to release the report after a closed session during its September 23 meeting.

Disputes spark investigation

The investigation followed months of public disputes among commissioners. Kuk announced his resignation during the April 22 meeting. Vice Mayor Jeff Mullins and Commissioner Aaron Miller had repeatedly alleged that Perez and other commissioners engaged in misconduct connected to Kuk's departure.

The report walks through a chronology of events beginning in late March, when Commissioner Cathi Abbs met with an unnamed individual at BIGBY Coffee who raised concerns about Kuk. Abbs contacted Perez to arrange a follow-up meeting.

On March 24, Abbs, Commissioner Richard Bir, and former Commissioner Linda Harrington met with Perez in his office. A fifth attendee, whose name is redacted in the report, presented the concerns. Multiple commissioners told the investigator that no vote was taken during the meeting.

A breakfast meeting on March 28 between Perez, Bir, and Commissioner Marvin Smith added another layer to the timeline. Text messages between Perez and Smith that morning, including Perez's 7:38 a.m. note reading "I'll see you at 8 a.m." and Smith's 7:40 a.m. reply, helped the investigator pin down the date.

False claim about votes

On April 1, Perez met with City Attorney TJ Reed. According to Reed's account, Perez opened the meeting by saying the "Commissioners are not happy" with Kuk and that "we're ready to move on and we have the votes to do so."

Reed said he was shocked by the statement and questioned how Perez knew the commission had the votes, suspecting the matter had been discussed outside a public meeting. Perez acknowledged making the claim, subsequently admitted it was false, and said he regretted it.

The investigator found that other commissioners had not authorized Perez to represent their positions on removing the city manager. Several commissioners expressed surprise or frustration upon learning of the claim.

Open Meetings Act analysis

The report's Open Meetings Act analysis focused on whether the March 24 and March 28 discussions constituted a meeting of a public body. The investigator concluded that the discussions amounted to a decision to bring the allegations to the remaining commissioners and Reed, and that a constructive quorum existed.

However, the investigator found that the commissioners did not violate Michigan's Open Meetings Act because their decision did not constitute a decision on a matter of public policy under the law.

Conclusions and recommendations

The investigator reached several conclusions:

  • Mayor Perez violated Chapter IX, Section 4(n) of the City Charter.
  • Perez acted in a manner inconsistent with Section 1 of the Commission Procedural Policy.
  • Commissioners Bir, Abbs, Harrington, and Smith did not violate the Open Meetings Act through their participation in the March 24 and 28 meetings.
  • Commissioners Bir, Abbs, Harrington, and Mayor Perez did not violate Chapter III, Section 5 of the City Charter through their March 24 meeting.

The investigator recommended additional commissioner education on city employment policies and procedures for handling employee complaints, as well as reinforcement of Open Meetings Act compliance. The report noted that neither the City Charter nor the Commission Procedural Policy describes specific consequences for the violations identified.

Key redactions

The section of the report addressing Kuk's departure is entirely redacted. The publicly released findings therefore do not establish what role, if any, the commissioners' actions played in his decision to resign.

The report was written by Miller Johnson and presented to the commission for release. The complete redacted document was attached for public review.