The Lathrup Village Charter is very clear that the City Council sets policy for the City, while the City Administrator runs the day-to-day functions.  In addition, Section 3.10 of the Charter states “Except for the purpose of inquiry, the Council and its members shall deal with the administrative service solely through the City Administrator, and neither the Council nor any member thereof shall give orders to any of the subordinates of the City Administrator.”  In other words, Council members are not permitted to give City staff or contractors instructions or orders.  Yet, Ms. Miller does this regularly and it is almost always via an abusive email.  There are many examples of this, but one of special note was with respect to the 2022 Breakfast with the Bunny event. 

At the time, the City was without a Recreation Coordinator and City Administrator, so the annual Breakfast with the Bunny event fell through the cracks.  In a very rare show of initiative, Ms. Miller stepped in to help organize the event, but did not follow any established protocols, basically treating the event as a personal (not City) event.  She announced the event on her own personal Facebook page, instructed interested parties to pay her directly, used a personal address for reservations, did not use a City logo on her announcement, etc.  Residents were confused whether this was a private or City-sponsored event and contacted the City for clarification.  Essentially, Ms. Miller stepped into the day-to-day management of this City event, which she was not permitted to do.

As the City staff person responsible for the event (and day-to-day operations), Susie Stec had concerns about these issues and general questions regarding the event.  She sent Ms. Miller two professionally worded emails simply requesting more information.  Ms. Miller responded with an abrasive, condescending email that failed to address any of Ms. Stec’s questions or concerns.  Further, Ms. Miller accused Ms. Stec of a lack of respect simply for asking basic questions that anyone responsible for such an event would ask.  She went on to accuse Ms. Stec of insubordination (something Ms. Miller as an individual is not permitted to do, only Council as a body can) and told her that she needed to adjust her behavior.  Click here to see this abrasive email thread (read from the bottom to the top).

Another example of not understanding the separation between Council and City staff occurred with respect to Ms. Miller’s sidewalk replacement issue.  Not only did she tell workers to cease working, she also directly contacted a City contractor and chastised him over the sidewalk replacement program.  Again, pursuant to the City Charter, a reprimand would be required to come from City Council as a body, not Ms. Miller as an individual.  The City Council was quite satisfied with the contractor’s work.   Click here to learn more about this incident.