Farmington Hills could offer city manager job Saturday

Farmington Hills City Council could offer its next city manager a conditional job as early as Saturday, Sept. 26, a public notice posted Sept. 21 shows.

The notice adds two agenda items not included in earlier reporting: consideration of a conditional offer of employment and authorization for Mayor Theresa Rich and City Attorney Steve Joppich to begin negotiating an employment agreement with the chosen candidate. Any contract they negotiate would still require full council approval.

As we reported Sept. 21, the council had already scheduled in-person interviews with five finalists for that Saturday. The new notices show the council is prepared to move from interviews to a hire decision in the same session.

The city also posted a second notice for a Sunday, Sept. 27, special meeting at 1 p.m. That session lists "second round interviews" along with the same conditional-offer and contract-negotiation items. The council approved the Sept. 27 session as a contingent backup round at an Aug. 12 special meeting, according to approved meeting minutes. City Attorney Joppich told the council at the time that if a decision is reached Sept. 26, a separate motion would be needed to cancel the Sept. 27 meeting.

Both meetings will be held in the Council Chamber at City Hall, 31555 W. Eleven Mile Road. City Clerk Carly Lindahl posted both notices.

The city manager post has been vacant since the council accepted then-City Manager Gary Mekjian's resignation at a Jan. 7 special meeting, according to a city statement. The council launched the search in February, when members reached consensus to conduct a national search rather than use the Michigan Municipal League. The council hired Raftelis Financial Consultants in April to lead the effort.

Catherine Tuck Parrish of Raftelis presented the recruitment plan at a June 8 study session, where the council accepted a published hiring range of $200,000 to $225,000. The position requires a bachelor's degree and at least 10 years of progressively responsible municipal government experience, with five of those years as a city manager, assistant manager, or department head in a comparably sized community.

The names of the finalists have not been made public.

Assistant City Manager Karen Mondora has served as acting city manager during the search. Saturday's meeting begins at 9 a.m., and both sessions are open to the public.