The Warren City Council has approved launching an investigation into Mayor Jim Fouts hiring of a political consultant to a full-time post, alleging he didn t inform them as required and claiming the new hire could violate state law and city charter.
Republican consultant Jamie Roe has been on the city payroll as a full-time clerical technician since last year without the mayor formally notified council as the city charter mandates, said Council Secretary Mindy Moore during a special council meeting Tuesday night.
The council alleges Roe, who has worked for officeholders including Candice Miller, Macomb County Public Works commissioner, was secretly appointed; collected city paychecks while earning thousands of dollars managing political campaigns; and launched a political consulting company as well as generated more than 100 social media posts while working on city time.
Warren City Council votes to investigate ‘shadow employee’
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WARREN The Warren City Council voted 7-0 March 16 to open an investigation into the work of a mayoral clerical appointee amid questions about whether he was engaged in political campaign activity on city time.
The appointee, Jamie Roe, a Republican political consultant who reportedly launched his own full service consulting firm with social media posts and a press release on March 11, was the subject of an hour-long discussion at a special meeting of the council. Council Secretary Mindy Moore walked her colleagues through a presentation laying out the findings of an initial inquiry into Roe s employment with the city thus far, overlaid with questions about his political work during city business hours.