Belleville City Council approves employment agreement for Smith

At its Sept. 18 meeting, the Belleville City Council approved the at-will employment agreement with its new city manager, Jason Smith, who will be behind his desk at city hall on Oct. 16.
Smith currently is the Litchfield city manager. He said he would be moving to this area around Oct. 9 and has located a few options, but hasn’t decided yet where he will be.
The agreement runs through Nov. 1, 2026 with a salary of $85,000 a year. But on his date of hire he will be paid $80,000 in bi-weekly installments and $5,000 as an advance on the contract, no later than his start date.
Smith had asked for $5,000 for moving expenses. He currently lives in Jackson.
Upon Smith assuming the city manager duties, Acting City Manager Steve Jones will resume his previous job of city project manager. Jones was filling in after the resignation of former Police Chief/City Manager David Robinson, who now is city manager of Monroe. Robinson’s last day on the Belleville job was May 31.
In other action at the Sept. 18, one-hour-ten-minute meeting, the council:
• Approved the contract, as amended, for EV Charging Stations on city property, with the elimination of the one at Horizon Park, since council members agreed there was not enough room in that small parking lot. The two-pump pedestals at city parking lots are now proposed for two at Victoria Park, three at the library, two at North Liberty Street, and one at Victory Park. Jones said after the contract is approved the company will do a walk through to plan for electrical drops, which they will get from DTE themselves. There is no cost to the city for the installations. Mayor Kerreen Conley suggested that pictures be taken of the present locations so they will know how to restore the present conditions once the pedestals are removed in the future, as outlined in the contract;
• Approved supporting the contract sale of Republic Services residential trash pickup in the city of Belleville to Priority Waste. Council members noted they did not have a choice since it has already been done. Rochelle Bowen of Republic was present at the meeting to explain and say the service will not change. The smooth and seamless transition will be complete by Sept. 30. She said they will be using the same trucks for pickup, but will switch branding;
• Approved closing the topic of a left-turn-light at North Liberty and Main, at the recommendation of Acting Police Chief Kris Faull to follow the recommendation of Wayne County Traffic Engineers and not install the proposed left-turn signal at this time. The county said it would reassess the intersection after the Denton Road bridge is back in place when it is upgrading the signal at that corner. The council agreed that a three-cycle light at N. Liberty at one end of town and a three-cycle light at Five Points at the other end of town, with two regular lights in between would lead to problems with traffic;
• Approved accounts payable of $2,429,573.93 and the following departmental purchases in excess of $500: to Belle Tire, $1,099.96 for new tires for police vehicle #221; to Grainger for $500.05 for a hydrant pump; to Hennessey Engineers, $1,080 for survey for roads; to R&R Fire Truck Repair, $4,622 for fittings for the new fire truck, to Safety Track, $2,154.60 for one-year monitoring subscription; and to Snider Electric, $644 for half of Main St. light pole repairs;
• Heard Mayor Pro Tem Ken Voigt thank the BYC for the work it has done on the pumphouse on N. Liberty Street. The work is not complete yet, but it will look like a cute little house when the Garden Club gets done with it, he said. Voigt also said the deadline for veterans’ banners has been extended to the end of the month because they didn’t get enough by the deadline of Sept. 15 and they may have to cancel it this year;
• Discussed the Downtown Development Authority’s suggestion to have paid parking at the North Liberty Street lot, with no one speaking in favor of it;
• Heard comments from Adam Beyer, president of the Victoria Commons Homeowners Association, his wife Kim Beyer, and Ray Martin, vice president of the homeowners concerning problems of the Beyers’ not being allowed to park their boat in their drive, speeding in the subdivision by parents delivering their students to Owen Intermediate School next door to avoid traffic, and a stop sign that can’t be seen because of an overgrown tree; and
• Heard Jones say the city police spoke to the schools about the traffic problems on Owen Street and at Belleville High School. He said Acting Police Chief Faull had a conversation with School Supt. Pete Kudlak and asked him to have an ongoing conversation with parents about the traffic situations. Mayor Conley, who lives near BHS, said the traffic there this year blocks exit from her subdivision and is the worst she has ever seen.