UPDATE: Ferndale City Manager a Finalist for Birmingham Job

Ferndale City Manager Bob Bruner might not be Ferndale city manager much longer.

On Monday night, the Birmingham City Commission nominated Bruner, along with three others, to be the four finalists to fill the city's open city manager position. Each of the four will go through a two-day interview process between Dec. 10 and Dec. 12.

Birmginahm Commission Mayor Gordon Rinschler said Bruner's proximity was not a factor.

"If you read his resume, he's an impressive guy," Rinschler said.

Bruner said he was contacted "a couple of months ago" by Tom Dority, senior vice president of the management consulting firm The Mercer Group Inc. and former city manager of East Lansing.

"He called me and told me he was recruiting for this position," Bruner said. "He solicited my interest and about a month ago I officially applied." 

Bruner said he learned in late October that he was a semifinalist and that the commission called him on Nov. 16 to tell him he made the final cut.

If Bruner gets the position, his current contract states he must give the city of Ferndale 60 days' notice before exiting the job. The Council, however, can waive that 60 days if it sees fit. By mid-January, Bruner could be elsewhere.

Bruner said City Hall is aware of his intentions.

A key factor in his decision was the stability of the Birmingham position, he said. During the past 45 years, Birmingham has had only two city managers. Outgoing City Manager Tom Markus served for 22 years. The average tenure of a city manager is seven to eight years.

The position also would include a pay raise. Bruner, who took a 5 percent pay decrease last summer, currently is pulling in about $98,000. The Birmingham job's annual salary is listed as ranging from $110,000 to $128,000.

Bruner said other opportunities had come up since he was hired to the Ferndale position in February 2007. Royal Oak, Troy and Oak Park city manager positions all have been available and offered more money, he said, but he never pursued them.

"There were a variety of reasons (why) I didn't think they were a good fit," he said.

One of those reasons was Ferndale.

"This is my adopted home," he said. "It's walkable, urban, a great sense of community … . Birmingham (city manager position), however, is arguably one of the best jobs in the state."

Bruner said Birmingham has a well-developed amount of teamwork, something that also appeals to him. "It's getting better (in Ferndale)," he said. "We are working on it."

Come February, Ferndale's government will have either a or City Council member as well as, potentially, a new city manager. A year from now, Councilman Mike Lennon and Mayor Pro Tem Kate Baker will be up for re-election. Ferndale could be seeing an overhaul of city government by this time next year.

Bruner currently owns a home in Ferndale. If he were to be selected as Birmingham's city manager, he would have to think about moving.

"Residency is very important to me," he said.

Bruner said there would be a transition period if he ends up leaving, but life will go on.

"Council is still in charge. I manage the day-to-day," he said. "It looks a lot larger than it really is."

The Birmingham city manager position has been posted for more than a year. Birmingham has been seeking a replacement for Markus for the past two years.

The other candidates are Gary Boden, former city administrator from Clinton, IA; Kevin Welch, city manager from Tecumseh, MI; and Laurence Shaffer, former town manager in Amherst, MA.

Birmingham Patch editor Laura Houser contributed to this report.