City Council Reaches Agreement With Chosen Interim City Manager

Saline City Council voted 6-1 to authorize Mayor Brian Marl and the city attorney to sign an employment agreement with Elke Doom, who will be the interim city manager.

The city will pay Doom $160,000 annually for as long as she holds the role. The city will provide her with a computer and phone, which she must return when her agreement ends. Doom, a consultant who helps communities find city managers, may devote time outside of normal business hours to her business.

She was available to start as early as Tuesday but will be out of town and unable to attend the next meeting. The council settled on Nov. 18 as a start date.

At the last meeting, Council member Girbach offered Acting City Manager and Community Development Director Chris Atkin as interim city manager. The council chose Doom after some debate.

During public comment, Saline resident Jason Davis said he found it strange the city would go through such a process to hire an interim city manager. In addition, Davis said he decided to reach out to other communities to learn a bit more about Doom.

“What I heard would give me pause,” Davis said.

He also noted that by January, Doom will be working with a majority of the council that voted against her or that didn’t have a chance to vote at all.

“I think that doesn’t really set us up for success in a city that’s experiencing so much change in a short period of time,” Davis said.

Council member Nicole Rice thanked Davis for his comments.

“One of the reasons why I personally strongly pushed to have an interim city manager is because of the change that we have right now and the lack of staffing, and Mr. Atkin’s department is a huge department,” Rice said. “I really want him to focus his time back on his department.”

The council also voted to terminate Atkin’s contract as acting city manager. Atkin will continue to receive his acting city manager salary through Jan. 1 as he provides Doom with transition assistance.

Council member Girbach thanked Atkin for his work for the city in the expanded role.

“You’ve stepped up to the plate and made a great contribution to the city,” Girbach said.

Council member Dillon said she would like the human resources director to draft a request for proposals for professional services to help with the city manager search.

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