Farmington Hills residents will get their first signal of who might lead city operations when the City Council meets in special session Wednesday, Aug. 12, to narrow the field of City Manager applicants and choose who gets an interview.

The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. in the Community Room at City Hall, 31555 W. Eleven Mile Road. According to a public notice posted by City Clerk Carly Lindahl, the council will vote to enter a closed session under Section 8(1)(f) of the Michigan Open Meetings Act to review confidential employment applications. The council will also select interview candidates, set interview dates and begin discussing the employment agreement for the next city manager.

The position has been vacant seven months. On Jan. 7, the council accepted City Manager Gary Mekjian's resignation at a special meeting, and Assistant City Manager Karen Mondora stepped in as acting city manager.

National search, $200K–$225K salary

The seven-member council launched a national search in February and hired Raftelis Financial Consultants to run the recruitment. At a June 8 study session, Raftelis consultant Catherine Tuck Parrish presented the timeline: applications due July 21, a candidate review packet to council before Aug. 5, semifinalist virtual interviews from Aug. 24 through Sept. 4 and finalist in-person interviews after that.

The council accepted a published salary range of $200,000 to $225,000 without objection, according to the Raftelis job posting. The role oversees roughly 395 full-time and 596 part-time employees and a $90 million general fund budget. Farmington Hills has maintained a AAA bond rating from Standard & Poor's for 40 consecutive years.

The Raftelis brochure identifies key priorities for the incoming city manager: delivering a planned $35–40 million activities center to replace the aging Costick Center, accelerating the Grand River Corridor revitalization and resolving structural service funding gaps.

A three-member committee of Mayor Theresa Rich, Councilmember Dwyer and Mayor Pro-Tem Boleware selected the search firm. The full council making the hire also includes Councilmembers Aldred, Bridges, Knol and Starkman.

What residents can expect

Council members agreed in June to review candidate materials with names and identifying information masked to support an equitable evaluation. The plan calls for roughly five to six semifinalists in virtual interviews, then two to three finalists appearing before the full council in person.

Under the Open Meetings Act, finalist interviews must be conducted in open, public session.

The total number of applications received by the July 21 deadline has not been made public. Council members could not be reached for comment ahead of publication.

Residents can attend the public portions of the Aug. 12 meeting at City Hall. City Clerk Lindahl can be reached at (248) 871-2410 for questions. Virtual semifinalist interviews are scheduled to begin Aug. 24.