Belleville hires interim city manager, will interview police chief candidates

At a special meeting on Monday, Feb. 10, the Belleville City Council voted unanimously to hire Redford Township Supervisor Tracey Schultz Kobylarz as an interim city manager for six months at an annual salary of $80,000.
She will continue to serve as supervisor of the township as well as serve as Belleville’s fill-in city manager. The former city manager Diana Kollmeyer retired Feb. 3.
Kobylarz will begin work in Belleville once her background check is complete and the contract being put together by city attorney Steve Hitchcock is signed.
Last week, Mayor Pro Tem Jesse Marcotte and Councilman Ken Voigt interviewed her for a two-and-a-half-hour session and they came away very impressed.
Councilman Voigt said she is very highly qualified and has more than 15 years of experience.
Mayor Pro Tem Marcotte said she has been full-time supervisor of Redford Township for almost 12 years. She also served on the board of directors of the MMRMA and has held every position in the Conference of Western Wayne.
“We came away feeling good,” Voigt said. “She’s the only candidate we had, but she is the right person for the job.” He added she will not be a “seat warmer,” but will hit the ground running.
Voigt noted she had a $10.2 million structural deficit at the township that she eliminated.
Voigt said she is interested in the city manager’s position full time, when the interim job is over. He said Marcotte asked Plante Moran for a recommendation for the interim position and her name was the only one they offered.
Mayor Kerreen Conley said she worked for Kobylarz for two years in Redford Township and worked with her on the CWW and “She’s very active and … worked with the public safety millage … and cut the deficit.”
The board voted to hire Fifer Investigations to do a $450 background check on her. And they will ask her for her education transcript.
“She functions part time as a supervisor and her term ends in November,” Mayor Conley said, noting she is deciding whether to run again.
“As long as she’s able to be here full time, we don’t care,” Voigt said.
Police Chief
The council also voted to hold a special meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 17, Presidents’ Day, with a backup special meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20, to interview the three men certified by the Civil Service Commission as being qualified for the part time job of police chief.
On Feb. 5 a committee put together by the retired Police Chief Hal Berriman interviewed 13 candidates and selected three as being best for the job. The Civil Service Commission then met at the end of the day to certify the three.
The council wants to meet them to see which one is right for the community as far as personality goes, since they know they all are qualified.
The committee that selected the three was made up of the police chiefs of Brownstown and Woodhaven and the assistant chief of Inkster, said Voigt who sat in on the interviews as an observer.
“We want someone ASAP, but we don’t want to rush,” Voigt said, adding if they interview the candidates next week, they could hire one at the next regular meeting.
The candidates certified, in no particular order, are:
• Kevin Bias, retired, Northville Township Police Department;
• David Egeler, retired, Washtenaw County Sherriff’s office; and
• David Robinson, retired, City of Dearborn Police Department.
Acting city manager Rick Rutherford said he would contact them to see if they all will be able to make one of the days set.