FLINT, MI - City officials sound off after Flint's chief public health advisor was told she could not attend a meeting about Legionnaires' disease and the city's water system.

Mayor Karen Weaver said she was "shocked and disappointed" when Flint's Chief Public Health Advisor, Dr. Pamela Pugh, was asked to leave a meeting with state, public health representatives and researchers from Wayne State University.

"We absolutely should be at the table when information about Flint is shared," Weaver said. "We are often the last ones to find out about information pertaining to our city and our residents. We shouldn't learn about information after everyone at the state and county level has had a chance to review, critique and reject it. We should be at the table from the very beginning, and the fact that we were at the table this time and told to leave is unbelievable."

Pugh was looking to attend a Flint Area Community Health Environment Partnership meeting Friday morning where WSU researchers were set to present preliminary results on an analysis of Legionella in Flint.

"The meeting began with state health officials declaring who shouldn't be in the room to hear the results that were to be shared," Pugh said. "I was singled out and basically told, by Eden Wells and other Department of Health and Human Services representatives, that since I wasn't a public health authority under Michigan's public health code that I should leave the room. I responded by stating that my job is to protect the health and well-being of Flint residents, therefore I have every right to hear firsthand the information that was to be presented. When I refused to leave, the meeting was abruptly ended."

State officials did say the meeting was ended and Pugh was asked to leave but added that there was a misunderstanding.

"We regret that Mayor Weaver was misinformed regarding the outcome and intent of the meeting," said MDHHS Director Nick Lyon in a March 3 statement addressing the city's concerns. "The state neither had the responsibility nor intent to exclude anyone from the meeting. MDHHS greatly values the presence and input of Dr. Pugh in our efforts to protect the health of Flint residents, and we look forward to Wayne State University providing the appropriate privacy assurances under the data use agreement with MDHHS."

State officials said they have had issues with WSU as it pertains to FACHEP and they are not trying to leave Flint out of the conversation.

"We can only presume the Mayor's statements arose out of a misunderstanding of the facts. There have been escalating difficulties with WSU's data management, study protocols and research ethics as it relates to FACHEP. Protecting the rights and welfare of those who participate in research is a fundamental ethical responsibility of the MDHHS and any research institution, such as WSU."

According to the state's response two MDHHS officials reached out to Pugh by phone to clarity the steps necessary for her involvement.

FACHEP is a team lead by WSU researchers focused on city's recent Legionnaires' disease outbreak and the city's water system.

So far, there have been at least 12 confirmed deaths in Genesee County due to Legionnaires' disease. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention announced this month the first genetic links between Flint's water and patients diagnosed with Legionnaires' disease.

Pugh said the research is necessary but Flint has to be part of the conversation.

"Wayne State University and FACHEP have been good partners to the Flint Community," Pugh said. "I understand that Wayne State officials were just following orders from the state, but this has got to stop. We need to work together to help move Flint forward. No one is more concerned about the health and safety of the people of Flint than Flint city officials, and our input should be valued not shunned."