Most of Saline City Council has Sealed Lips When asked About Mayor Marl and the Fire Chief

On Wednesday, the Saline Area Fire Board for the first time since the May 16 special meeting in which firefighters from multiple defended Saline Fire Chief Jason Sperle, who they believed was about to be fired at the behest of Saline Mayor Brian Marl.

The meeting takes place at 6 p.m. at the Saline Area Fire Department, 205 E. Michigan Ave.

Members of the community are expected to once again speak in support of Chief Sperle. Sources close to the fire board told The Saline Post that any effort to fire Sperle has been defeated at least for now.

Sources on the fire board previously confirmed that Mayor Marl, one of two city representatives on the board, was politicking behind the scenes before the last meeting to convince the board to fire Sperle. One of the reasons allegedly cited by Marl was that the firefighters had lost faith in their chief - a claim that appeared utterly false when firefighter after firefighter spoke up publicly in support of Sperle. Marl also reportedly delivered a packet of information to Lodi Township for Supervisor Jan Godek - a member of the board. The Saline Post attempted to FOIA that packet. Lodi Township Clerk Christina Smith replied that she could not provide the document.

"The requested material was shredded per direction of Mayor Marl after being read by Supervisor Godek, the envelope was addressed to Supervisor Godek, and marked confidential. Jan told me she read and then shredded the letter. I have no further information to supply to you," Smith said.

The day before, reached by phone, Godek had told The Saline Post she was unaware of any document from Marl and was unaware of the reason for the meeting.

Confronted about calling a meeting to fire Sperle, Marl had no comment.

Confronted about delivering documents with a request to shred them, Marl had no comment, but said it the accusation was salacious.

The Saline City Council members were all sent questions about whether they thought Mayor Marl was representing the city well on the fire board, whether council approves of Sperle's performance, and whether they approved of Marl's apparent behind-the-scenes attempts to have Sperle removed.

Councillors Janet Dillon, Nicole Rice, Chuck Lesch, Jack Ceo, and Jenn Harmount did not reply.

Councillor Dean Girbach partially replied.

"While most of these questions appear to be based on rumor, gossip, or, in some cases, poor recollections, my position regarding the administration and structure of the fire department, along with its priorities, has not changed. These are documented in meetings for the past two years," Girbach said. "Ensuring there is effective leadership in place and capable of running a 21st-century operation remains one of my top priorities. Decisions regarding oversight, adequate redundancies, EEOC compliance, financial controls, and overall operational management have raised many alarms as to whether the current operation is headed in the right direction."

Mayor Marl also replied - appearing to threaten legal action over the questions The Saline Post sent to council and a recent FOIA request The Saline Post submitted to the city. Marl also said he believed The Saline Post should retract some of its content.

Marl continues to conceal the reasons for the closed-session meeting, and conceal his opinion of Chief Sperle's performance. Nor has he commented yet on the allegation that he requested Supervisor Godek shred the documents sent to her.

Marl also brought the matter up at the Saline City Council meeting Monday.

"There have been statements made online which are not factual, scurrilous and potentially libel," Marl said. "I don't think it's appropriate to base opinion, on conjecture, rumor, hearsay or anonymous sources."

(Editor's Note: When government officials hide facts and details, The Saline Post will occasionally use sources without naming them. It is up to each individual reader to then decide if they believe the report is credible.)

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