Saline City Council Chooses Dan Swallow as City Manager

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Saline City Council voted 4-3 to offer the city manager position to Dan Swallow. Swallow, a Saline resident, has been the city manager in Tecumseh for 10 years. He's also worked in Monroe and Van Buren Township.

The motion to hire Swallow was made by Councillor Jack Ceo and seconded by Councillor Nicole Rice. It was supported by Councillor Chuck Lesch and Mayor Marl. Councillors Dean Girbach, Jenn Harmount, and Janet Dillon, who voiced support for acting city manager Elle Cole, voted against the motion.

Jason Smith, Belleville's city manager, was also interviewed during the special meeting Monday. Council interviewed each candidate for about 40-45 minutes.

The offer is pending a background check, drug screening and the negotiation of an employment contract that would need to be reviewed by the city attorney and approved by city council.

Nate Geinzer, CEO of Double Haul, provided consulting services during the meeting.

It didn't take long for council to make its decision.

"Just because of his length and service, depth of background, diversity in the background, I would be comfortable with offering the position to Mr. Swallow," said Lesch, chosen by Marl as the first councillor to speak during post-interview deliberations.

Dillon spoke of her support for Cole.

"She was brought in as our city Treasurer and she optimized Saline's financial position. She was given the title of Deputy City Manager, she went out in the community, developed relationships and brought things to fruition that had only been concepts. Most recently, we brought her in as our Acting City Manager, and she was able to walk the walk," Dillon said. "Though she may not have the resume with whatever years of service, she's risen to the role, and for that I would support her."

Councillor Rice said she was impressed with Swallow's efforts to bring a non-profit homeless shelter to Tecumseh even if council was originally opposed to the plan. She said she was impressed with Swallow's experience.

Harmount said she saw no reason to hire anyone other than Cole.

"We asked somebody to do the job. They showed up. They were hard-working. They gave good weekly summaries. They came to the table with creative problem-solving that included collaboration between stakeholders. So we're looking at a potential good fit or somebody that's currently doing the job well," Harmount said. 

After the vote was made, Marl said Cole will remain Acting City Manager until the new city manager is in place. He said department heads have been urged to work well with her until then. Girbach noted that her contract states she will return to the deputy/treasurer role.

During his dialogue with council, Swallow said that he moved to Saline well before the manager position became available.

"I believe in the city form of government. I've worked for a township and two cities. I believe in providing the full suite of services. I was attracted to Saline's historic neighborhoods and purchased a home there. I enjoy your traditional downtown and spend a lot of time there," Swallow said. "I chose Saline for my home and I look forward to the opportunity that I might be able to serve the city as the city manager."

The process was prolonged when the city's task force on the hiring recommended four finalists and excluded Cole. Council interviewed the finalists and weeks later, after hearing concerns from council and the community,  held another round with Marl's two favorite candidates and Cole.

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Appreciate the coverage provided for Saline, Tran. That said, your biases are too often evident in what you choose to point out and the language used. 

The fact that Lesch "was chosen" to speak first . . . . may be true and who cares. If you wanted to cover that point it can be done without the implications some may associate with the inclusion of innuendo as phrased. Surely you were not concerned that other Council members were incapable of forming their own opinions, voicing those opinions, and coming to their own conclusions.

The candidates interviewed including "the Mayor's two favorites" . . . . the final candidates and candidates for inclusion in the final interviews were chosen by the Committee which included members of Council yet here you are, once again, adding immaterial texture that, while these may be the Mayor's favored candidates, their inclusion was a Committee decision. Suspect that if you did not have the apparent personal feeling that show through in so much "reporting", these facts could and would have been presented very differently and probably would be pointing out the transparency the Mayor evidences by being clear with citizens as to who their favored candidates are. 

A prior article also implied that Cole would either be City Manager or out of a job. As we see here that is not the case. She is being returned to a job your article states she fulfilled well.  

We get it.  You don't like Marl. Fair enough. That fact should not be self-evident when "reporting". When it is, it no longer is reporting. 

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The mayor literally handed out a pre-printed motion in favor of Swallow and gave it to Lesch and Ceo to read first. Ceo read it word for word as a motion. It was drafted before the interviews. They were performative in an attempt to placate the public. I have nothing against Mr. Swallows and in different circumstances, he would have my support.

The notion that Nicole Rice voted for him because she thought he did something “Noble” when going up against city council decisions is laughable. This entire situation has proved that specific members of this council will absolutely retaliate against decision they do not agree with; even with the community.

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If the interviews were "performative", then you would have to believe the entirety of the City Council was "in on it", trying to pull the wool over the public's eyes as you seem to imply. As for the statements made by two of the council members, who knows. You state the Mayor prepared them, you imply they both said exactly the same thing, and I suspect the "facts" are less facts and simply assumptions based on mistrust. I suspect there is not much anyone could have done around this situation that would have satisfied you.

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Ms. Williams - you are literally saying things that are demonstrably false. Please stop spreading misinformation online and on social media - if you have questions or concerns, that's fine, you are always welcome to call or email my office. Per my request, the Clerk's Office printed off a generic motion, similar to what was used in 2020, for City Council to consider this past Monday evening. The generic motion *did not* include a specific candidate. Rather, it was left blank, so City Council could insert a specific name if there was consensus to do so. Don't take my word for it, the City Clerk, legal counsel or anyone on City Council can confirm. Making false insinuations without facts reflects extremely poor temperament and judgement. With all due respect, I encourage you to do better. Have a pleasant day --

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Brian, shame on you for your constant condescending and arrogant attitude.  Ms. Williams is free to share her opinion and speak her mind. You have absolutely no right to speak to her disrespectfully or stifle her comments.  You may want to refresh your understanding of our Constitutional rights specifically the 1st amendment.  Your ego is showing big time and the people of Saline are indeed waking up to the shady behavior. This city deserves so much better.

Mr. Swallow, you appear to be a very qualified person for the job just be aware of the division in Saline that’s centered around council and always CYA

Ms Cole, please don’t give up. Take it to them. You got a lot of people supporting you!

Tran- keep up the accurate reporting.
👍

Ali- 🤫

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True, Ms. Williams is free to speak her mind. Those whom she has attacked (repeatedly) are also welcome to respond. That's how it works. Interesting and sad sign of the times that you think innuendo and attacks should be defended and that the individual whose misinterpreted actions were the subject of the attack has no right to provide a response addressing the inaccuracies of the statements. Hint, they do.   

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