Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


A surprise retirement party greeted longtime Howell City Attorney Dennis Perkins.

Perkins is retiring after more than 35 years with the City; although he’s been practicing longer than that. A surprise retirement party was held Wednesday afternoon and evening; and Perkins was clearly surprised and all smiles. He told WHMI he was “totally stunned” and it was “more than he could have ever hoped for”.

While serious when it comes to the legal arena, Perkins was always quick to share a laugh and regularly attended Council meetings. He’ll be aiding in the transition over to new counsel, but will still continue to handle some longer-term cases due to familiarity.

A special meeting was held earlier this month to interview four attorneys to take over from Perkins, and the vote to appoint Attorney Sarah Gabis was unanimous.

Gabis is with Bodman PLC, which has four Michigan offices. Some municipal clients include Ann Arbor Charter Township, Dexter Township, the City of Brighton, and others. Gabis is said to bring more than 16 years of experience – with the vast majority related to providing services that meet the needs of municipal clients including townships, cities, villages, counties, and their authorities.

At Monday night’s City Council meeting, Perkins was recognized and Gabis was sworn-in.

City Manager Erv Suida took time to express his utmost appreciation for Perkins, saying he’s known Dennis for 26 of his 35 years with the City and he’s a “wealth of information and knowledge” but also someone to rely on.

A number of staff were in attendance to recognize Perkins, who thanked Suida and everyone for their kind words. Perkins said it has been “an absolute pleasure serving Council for these many years, and he can’t believe it’s come and gone as quickly as it has”. Perkins assured he’ll still be around, just not as often, and said Council appointed an excellent attorney in Gabis and thinks “she’ll do the City proud”.