Ex-Royal Oak official named city manager
A former Royal Oak government official has been appointed as the new city manager for Mount Clemens.
The Mount Clemens City Commission on Monday approved a contract for Donald Johnson to serve as the city’s top administrator. It’s the first time in four years that Mount Clemens has had a certified city manager.
“I am very pleased to have this opportunity,” Johnson said. “There is a whole lot of potential in Mount Clemens and I’m very excited to be standing here.”
According to the contract, Johnson will earn a $125,000 salary, along with a $350 monthly vehicle allowance, unrestricted access to a cellphone and laptop, four weeks of paid vacation, and health, optical and dental insurance.
If the commission ends up terminating Johnson, he will receive up to six weeks of compensation. He also will undergo annual performance reviews, which will determine an increase or decrease in his annual pay. The contract calls for the commission to establish goals and performance objectives for the manager to accomplish. Hiring a full-time manager was one Mayor Laura Kropp’s top campaign initiatives when she was elected to office this past November.
“We listened to a lot of our constituents who said they were hoping we’d go out for a permanent city manager,” she said. “And I’m excited about all the possibilities this one brings...This is an opportunity for Mount Clemens to write a new page in the book of our history,” she said.
Johnson retired from his city manager’s position in Royal Oak last June. City officials tried a month later to persuade him to take the position back on an interim basis, but the two sides couldn’t settle on a monthly rate.
Johnson, 68, was chosen in Mount Clemens for his history of working with municipalities and finances. He formerly served as finance director for Birmingham, Royal Oak and Wayne, worked as president of First Computer Inc. and was an adjunct professor at Madonna University.
During his employment interview, he said the city should consider implementing an income tax as a way of securing revenue. But, he added “it won’t be popular.”
Mount Clemens has been without a full-time manager since 2016. Since then, Lisa Borgacz, the city clerk, was named interim city manager and Jeff Wood, the city’s longtime public services director, was appointed assistant city manager.
Commissioners expressed their gratitude to Borgacz and Wood for taking on the additional workload.
Commissioner Laura Fournier said the two employees are probably happy to be relieved of the extra stress. “In some ways, they’re going: ‘It’s all yours, man,’” she said with a laugh.
Mayor Kropp said a work session will be held on March 16 for commissioners to brainstorm on goals for the manager to move the city forward.