Mitch Hotts
The Macomb Daily, Mount Clemens, Mich.
(MCT)
Jul. 11—The new guy running the local government in Mount Clemens City Hall didn’t have far to travel.
Gregg Shipman just has to walk across the parking lot the city’s Fire Department, where he serves as chief, over to City Hall.
Shipman has been appointed by the Mount Clemens City Commission to serve as the interim city manager until the county seat can find a permanent replacement. He will receive a $10,000 stipend to his chief’s salary for taking on additional duties.
The veteran firefighter acknowledges the city manager’s role is different than being a chief, but adds he is backed by strong — albeit small — workforce.
“We have an excellent staff, great departments who have been here long enough. They don’t need me to tell them what to do,” Shipman said. “We all know how to do more with less people because each department has been reduced over the years.”
He begins his temporary job on July 16, the day after current City Manager Donald Johnson officially retires.
约翰逊上个月宣布辞职。当he was initially hired for the job in March 2020, he told commissioners he would be a short-term replacement in the manager’s office.
At last week’s City Commission meeting, Mayor Laura Kropp thanked Johnson for his service. She noted for his first full year in Mount Clemens, the commission never held an in-person meeting due to pandemic restrictions.
“It was a little bit of a challenge, I’d say for the first year but I’m proud of the work you’ve done. And that’s a good thing,” she said.
The mayor praised Shipman’s integrity and work ethic as he steps into the new role.
“I can’t think of anyone else to better handle this,” she said.
A 26-year veteran of the Mount Clemens Fire Department, Shipman was named fire chief in 2020.
He plans to split his time between City Hall and the fire station, but adds he probably will spend more time at the municipal office in his first days. Aside from his firefighting role, the only job he has had is when he and his father owned a company, which gave him some supervisory experience.
He noted that in the past, Mount Clemens has named a DPW superintendent, city clerk and a financial director all to serve as interim manager.
“We need to keep things running until a permanent replacement is found,” he said. “Because we’ll have someone overseeing things, we can take our time to find someone who will fit in this community.”
One of the projects he will have both his fire chief and interim manager hats on for is working with an advisory board to paint a mural on the wall of the fire station facing First Street. The public art mural is in partnership with the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Anton Art Center.
___
(c)2022 The Macomb Daily, Mount Clemens, Mich.
Visit The Macomb Daily, Mount Clemens, Mich. at https://www.macombdaily.com/
Distributed byTribune Content Agency, LLC.
