Following a closed-door session on Feb. 15 in which Chelsea City Council members informed Mike Steklac that his contract would not be renewed, the city manager resigned his position effective last Friday.
Steklac, whose three-year contract was set to expire today, informed his staff last Wednesday of his decision. Council members, according to the city charter, have to give the city manager a six-month written notice that his or her contract would not be renewed or the contract automatically would extend for another three years.
Steklac, 47, called the decision an "involuntary resignation."
"They told me (Feb. 15) that they wanted to make a change so we talked about it and I said that I would resign," he said.
Clearly it wasn't a surprise. In June Councilman Frank Hammer stated in the evaluation: "It is my suggestion that Mike be told at the end of this process that his contract will not be renewed."
Mayor Ann Feeney said it wasn't an easy decision, calling it "agonizing." But the council felt that "things were accumulating and things weren't getting done in a timely manner."
Feeney acknowledged that it's not an easy job, especially for someone new to the area. "He had to deal with a lot of different people and different perspectives from people who have been here a long time. It's a lot of responsibility."
Feeney stopped short though of saying that the job is too much for one person.
"You just have to organize your time and stay on top of things and make sure things get done," she said.
Those were some of the issues that council members cited as lacking over the last year. But Steklac was aware of the council's issues with his performance.
"I took a lot of their concerns to heart because they are my bosses and I attempted to address them the best I could and improve on them, but in the end they had just lost confidence in my leadership and when this happens a city manager can't be effective anymore and so we parted ways," Steklac said.
While Friday was his last day, Steklac did go in on Monday to help with the transition. Director of Administrative Services Kim Garland will take over the city manager's duties on an interim basis.
Feeney said it will take at least 90 days to fill the vacancy.
"We want someone with fiscal experience and someone who is going to fit into the community," Feeney said. "The council has a great relationship right now, and I believe we will come together and find the right person. This council respects each other's opinions, and I'm very pleased with how we work as a group."
Steklac, 47, first heard rumblings of dissatisfaction from a subcommittee put together by the City Council this past June to review his overall performance.
"They came back with a remedial plan for me to improve certain things they had some concerns about," Steklac said. "I responded to those concerns, and we met again in October or November where they said that I had successfully met those issues, but here are some other ones we would like you to improve on."
Steklac said he worked on improving those concerns as well.
"Unfortunately in the end I don't know if they really acknowledged that I had addressed any of their previous concerns because they still brought up a lot of old issues that I was supposed to correct," Steklac said. "They indicated (Feb. 15) that these issues were still troubling to them."
Setting up a subcommittee to review a city manager's performance is not uncommon, although some municipalities have the city council members as a whole go through the process together.
Steklac said he didn't get defensive or deny any problems when told of certain things he needed to improve on."I acknowledged there were certain things where there may have been lapses," Steklac said. "I was going to correct those things as best I could and move forward and change how I was organizing my day and changing some of my management style to address some of the things they were concerned about."
Some of the council member's concerns addressed both in his performance review and discussed during meetings included "problems with my speaking style," time management and communication skills.
"There were some issues with my impromptu speaking style and getting rid of some of the filler words like 'you know' when I was thinking my way through an answer," he said. "I actually did work on that and even joined Toastmasters.
"There were concerns with how I was organizing my day and some computer file issues and making sure certain things were on the common network drive."
Many in the local business community said Steklac had been a strong advocate for their needs and concerns.
"It is unfortunate that Mike and the City Council were unable to satisfactorily resolve Council's concerns with his performance," said Robert Pierce, executive director of the Chelsea Chamber of Commerce. "He has worked hand in glove with the Chamber, individual businesses and our volunteer committees to advance our vision for creating a vibrant business community in Chelsea. His leadership and support was greatly appreciated by the Chamber and its members."
A Chicago native, Steklac, took the job in Chelsea on March 1, 2004. He was a city manager in Keego Harbor and Gering, Neb. before moving to Chelsea. He also worked in Riverview and Gibraltar. Steklac and his wife, Theresa, a nurse who works at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, have two daughters, Katy, 16, and Marybeth, 13. They plan on staying in Chelsea."When I took this job I promised my family we would not move again so my search for a new job will be locally," he said. "We really like Chelsea and don't want to move. We intend to stay."
Jack Myers, who served as city manager before Steklac and took a similar position in Stockbridge, said the job of city manager is not an easy one.
"It's a difficult job because you can't please everyone all of the time," said Myers, who was the city manager for 12 years in Chelsea and three years in Stockbridge before retiring in June. "When I was there we had streets and sewer lines that were falling apart and we had to fix them and I wasn't the most popular guy in town when the streets were torn up. But now it's done and everyone is happy."
Myers said the city council is your boss and it's not always easy answering to seven bosses who might see things seven different ways.
"And you also have personality conflicts," he said. "But you can't micromanage. You have to manage in your own style. It's a tough job, but it's a good job. I enjoyed it."
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