David Robinson selected as Monroe City Manager

David Robinson, who has been serving as City Manager/Police Chief for the city of Belleville since May 3, 2021, was selected as the new City Manager for the city of Monroe.
At a special meeting April 20, with just one item on the agenda, Robinson was selected over a second finalist on a 5-2 vote of the Monroe City Council.
Robinson will replace current City Manager Vince Pastue who told the council in late 2022 that he wished to retire from his position in late April 2023. Human Resources Director Dr. Julie Everly prepared materials and began her search.
Eight letters of interest came from potential candidates and Dr. Everly presented the top three candidates to council. The council interviewed the top three candidates and one candidate bowed out of the process.
The final two candidates were asked to give their thoughts about what they would do if a serious issue developed in the city under their watch and a background check was performed. On April 20 they selected Robinson.
The other candidate was Tecumseh City Manager Dan Swallow, who had served as Director of Planning and Economic Development in Van Buren Township before he left to work for the city of Monroe in January 2011. He then went on to become Tecumseh City Manager.
The next step is to make a conditional offer of employment to Robinson and then negotiate terms and conditions of his Employment Agreement.
The Monroe City Manager position was advertised as having a salary from $140,000 to $160,000 per year commensurate with experience and education.
Robinson was hired as Police Chief for the city of Belleville on Feb. 17, 2020 after three finalists were interviewed publicly. He added the position of City Manager to his duties on May 3, 2021 and had a base salary of $93,803.20 and a total compensation of $105,979.19 for 2022.
Before becoming Police Chief in Belleville, Robinson retired in July 2019 as Deputy Chief of the city of Dearborn Police Department after 30 years of service.
Robinson, 56, his wife Tara, and family have lived in an historic home in downtown Monroe for the past four years. Before that, his family had lived in Newport for 15 years. Their son Nicholas attends St. Mary Catholic Central in Monroe and their daughter Jordan is in her fifth year at the University of Toledo.
Robinson said on Monday that the Monroe contract is yet to be negotiated and so things are not settled.
“We’ll see what they offer,” he said.
His Belleville contract requires 30 days’ notice. He said if he leaves, he will have a transition plan for everything.
“I love Monroe,” Robinson told the Monroe News for Saturday’s edition. “It’s absolutely beautiful. It’s a great place, it really is. … I just thought about being able to do all of this right where I live. It’s been a lot of years since I’ve been able to live in the city where I’m working.”
The Monroe City Council expects to have the contract on its May 1 agenda for a vote. Pastue’s official departure date is May 19.