New Berkley council member hopes to improve transparency with residents

BERKLEY — The Berkley City Council is full again after a new member was appointed last month.

At a Jan. 23 special meeting, the council approved the appointment of Greg Patterson with a 4-2 vote. Patterson takes over a seat that became vacant when Mayor Dan Terbrack retired at the end of 2022 and Mayor Pro Tem Bridget Dean became mayor. Patterson’s term will run until November, when his seat will be up for election.

Patterson, a Berkley resident for 12 years, ran for a seat on council in 2021, though he was unable to win a seat. He said he ran in hopes of working with and alongside residents to improve the city.

To be selected by the council to serve meant a lot to Patterson.

“It’s a huge honor to be able to serve my community in this capacity,” he said. “I look forward to working with the residents or continue to work with them in a different capacity.”

Patterson’s candidacy in 2021 was supported by Mayor Bridget Dean, who also voiced her support for Patterson at the special meeting. Dean said she supported Patterson because of his track record of service to Berkley.

“He’s served as a planning commissioner, he served on the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board,” she said. “In his professional life, he’s an ICU nurse, he’s a nurse educator, he is chair of the (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) committee at work. I just think that Greg adds a lot to the table and will benefit the city of Berkley.”

Dean said Patterson’s experience with the Planning Commission and parks and recreation were two big areas of expertise that he brought to the table.

“I think he’s got a diverse skill set in that regard,” she said. “I think Greg is pretty level headed just in general. He’s easygoing, he thinks very methodically, he can big-picture things and he doesn’t get rattled. He’s thoughtful, and he loves Berkley. He loves this community, and so given that plus his areas that he’s served, I think it’s a great combination of just who he is as a person and his experience with the city in terms of service up to this point.”

Now that Patterson is on the council, he hopes to put some of his focus on improving transparency between the city and its residents, as he said that listening to the residents is the most important thing the council can do. He suggested improving Berkley’s website so people have an easier time contacting department heads and council members. Maintaining services is another priority.

“Obviously, the services we provide are top notch,” he said. “We have some of the best DPW, police officers, public safety officers I believe in the state of Michigan; continue to support them so that they can do the great work that they’re doing. They’re making Berkley safer every day. You know, our snow gets plowed, our parks get taken care of, our parks and rec staff do an amazing job. … So just supporting them so that our residents are also able to be happy living in Berkley.”