Grosse Pointe Shores City Manager Quits

After working as the City Manager for for three years and seeing the community through a variety of changes, Brian Vick will be leaving his job later this week.

In an email notice of his resignation to the media, Vick highlighted his accomplishments during his tenure with Grosse Pointe Shores, including:

• the community's conversion from a village to a city in 2009
• raising the fund equity balance from 1 percent in 2009 to 12 percent in 2011
• putting in place the consolidated dispatch with Grosse Pointe Farms
• making the change with state legislature and other officials to gain voting rights for Grosse Pointe Shores residents for municipal judge

Vick did not return a call seeking additional comment. Mayor Ted Kedzierski also did not return messages seeking comment.

Vick's resignation is likely related to a recent addendum the city council approved to his contract during their meeting Feb. 21. The addendum was not listed on the agenda but was approved following a closed door meeting regarding labor negotiations and ongoing litigation.

The council voted unanimously to approve the addendum, access to which was declined to multiple media outlets including Patch. There was no open discussion on the addendum during the vote.

Kedzierski said after the meeting that the addendum was three and a half pages in length but would not provide details about how the addendum would change Vick's employment. His original contract, Kedzierski said, is about seven to eight pages in length. 

The addendum had not yet been signed by city officials and Vick when Kedzierski answered questions by Patch. He said both parties needed to sign the addendum before it would be enacted.

He specifically declined to say whether the addendum called for a reduction in Vick's job from full-time to part-time, whether it called for any decrease in his compensation or whether it called for his termination.

One of the first moves by the new council elected in November was , which was how the community previously filled the position.

There has been more unrest among some Shores residents than usual since the discovery of . Vick entered into a tolling agreement, which legally preserves the club's right to sue but put off such action so officials from both sides could investigate. The billing in dispute is for a decade that was long before Vick was employed in the Shores.

Talk about the tolling agreement and the dispute began swirling through the community shortly before with the exception of Dan Schulte.

The water billing dispute was presented to residents before the election as if council members had never been told about it and were only finding out about it then--more than a year after the tolling agreement was entered. .

Until the last meeting, there has been mention of the water billing issue every meeting by some residents, who have called for Vick's termination.

Vick defended himself, saying he was acting in the best interest of the city and following legal advice from the Shores attorney. .

According to Vick's profile on the Shores website, he began as city manager in December 2008. He previously worked as the City Administrator for the city of DeWitt for two and a half years. Many Grosse Pointers know him from his time as the assistant city manager in the , where he worked for 10 years. Vick replaced Michael Kenyon in the Shores, whose salary came under fire during the unsuccessful recall campaign in 2010.

In his email notifying media of his departure, Vick said:

"Having successfully seen the new city council through their transition period following the November 2011 election, now is the appropriate time for exploring new opportunities.

I have enjoyed the past three years working with a talented team of professionals and alongside residents who care so deeply about their community. I am proud of the accomplishments made during my tenure with Grosse Pointe Shores...

By undertaking a benchmarking survey in 2010, we were able to ensure residents’ input and values were taken into consideration.  We also led the Grosse Pointes to be the first to implement cost savings through contracting dispatch services.

I was proud to assist as the Village transitioned to a City in 2009 and to work with the Mayor and City Council as State Legislation was enacted to grant Grosse Pointe Shores residents their first ever opportunity to vote for and run for the position of municipal judge.

I want to thank the dedicated team of department heads, elected officials, administrative staff, and citizen volunteers for their hard work during these changing times. They are to be commended for their creative ideas and unwavering willingness to seek new operating methods in order to offer the residents of Grosse Pointe Shores superior services in a time of declining revenues.
 
I wish the community the best in the future."