Shelby village moves closer to finding new administrator; Pentwater expected to hire interim manager soon

By Allison Scarbrough, News Editor

The Village of Shelby is getting closer to finding a new village administrator, while the Village of Pentwater may be hiring an interim manager soon.

The Shelby administrator post became vacant following the resignation of Brady Selner who accepted the Spring Lake village manager position earlier this year. 

The Village of Pentwater is also looking for a new village manager after the village council fired Chris Brown without cause last March.   

Shelby Village Interim Administrator Jae Guetschow has been filling in since Selner’s resignation. Village President Paul Inglis said the village administrator position will be posted this week with a June 14 application deadline.

“The village personnel committee completed its last review of the village administrator position posting, and the village profile,” said President Inglis. “They will be sent out this week on the village website and the Michigan Municipal League website with an application deadline of June 14 at 4 p.m. 

   “The selection process — which may be slightly modified — will consist of the following format or a similar format:

1. Receipt of applications, cover letters, resumes and references followed by credential reviews before narrowing the field to three or more candidates.
2. Preliminary contact (perhaps via telephone) by the personnel committee and the scheduling of a visit with the Interim Village Administrator Jae Guetschow to tour the village and ask questions about the community and the VA position.
3. Formal interview by the village council in an open session followed by the ranking of the interviewees.”

Pentwater Village President Jeff Hodges has been serving as the village’s chief executive officer in the wake of Brown’s termination. 

According to the minutes from the April 8 Pentwater Village Council meeting, Brown had planned to file a lawsuit against the village. Village Trustee Phil Frame stated: “I hate to see the things that happened on March 11 come back and haunt us because there is going to be litigation. Jeff (Hodges) has been in communication with Chris Brown, and there is going to be a lawsuit. Unfortunately, it can’t be avoided at this point most likely.”

Hodges told OCP the lawsuit was settled out of court, but declined to provide the dollar amount awarded to Brown. “We are not going to get sued — there has been an agreement reached with Chris Brown.” A Freedom of Information Act request has been submitted to the Village of Pentwater, seeking the settlement amount.

He also confirmed that a candidate has been interviewed for an interim manager, but declined to provide that person’s name. “We have interviewed one prospect (for the interim) that looks good, but the whole council has not met (the candidate) yet.” He said that he is expecting the council to vote on hiring an interim manager soon. “We have a strong candidate for the interim position — that we will know within two weeks.” Hodges said a consulting company will be hired within two to three weeks to help find a permanent village manager.

_______________

Support Local News

Receive daily MCP and OCP news briefings along with email news alerts for $10 a month. 

The easiest way is to sign up for an automatic monthly payment on Paypal. Click this link.

Alternative methods:a

• We can send you an invoice each month, which you can conveniently pay online or by check. If you are interested in this method, please email editor@mediagroup31.com and we can sign you up. You can also mail a yearly check for $120 to Media Group 31, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454.

• We also accept Venmo payments.

We appreciate all our readers regardless of whether they choose to continue to access our service for free or with a monthly financial support.

If you would like to support MCP/OCP but do not wish to receive daily emails, please consider sending a contribution to any of the above methods or pay by Venmo (@masoncountypress).  We appreciate all our readers regardless of whether they choose to continue to access our service for free or with a monthly financial support.

_____

This story and original photography are copyrighted © 2024, all rights reserved by Media Group 31, LLC, PO Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454. No portion of this story or images may be reproduced in any way, including print or broadcast, without expressed written consent.

As the services of Media Group 31, LLC are news services, the information posted within the sites are archivable for public record and historical posterity. For this reason it is the policy and practice of this company to not delete postings. It is the editor’s discretion to update or edit a story when/if new information becomes available. This may be done by editing the posted story or posting a new “follow-up” story. Media Group 31, LLC or any of its agents have the right to make any changes to this policy. Refer to Use Policy for more information.

Please consider helping to fund local news. Mason County Press and Oceana County Press are available for free thanks to the generous support of our advertisers and individuals. Three ways to help us: Venmo: @MasonCountyPress; Paypal: MasonCountyPress@gmail.com; Mail a check to PO BOX 21, Scottville, MI 49454.

fb.com/stars