Ishpeming City Council moves forward with search for new city manager

ISHPEMING, Mich. (WLUC) - The city of Ishpeming now has two candidates for the position of City Manager.

On Wednesday night, the Interim City Manager for Ishpeming Grant Getschow updated people on the search for a new City Manager during a regular meeting of the City Council.

Getschow has served as the interim city manager since the firing of former City Manager Craig Cugini in June. During city manager comments at Wednesday night's meeting, Getschow talked briefly about the candidates and said he was not one of them.

"I was just mentioning we have two qualified candidates we are excited to present to the new council when they're seated in December. At this time, I am not one of them. I did not apply for the position," Getschow said.

Ishpeming's Mayor Jason Chapman says two-thirds of the council will be replaced in December after residents voted in three new city council members. That new council will decide on a new city manager.

"This is a big decision and all along I wanted this to be made by the new council. I don't think it would be good for any party involved if the old council, which is only retaining two members, picked the new city manager," Chapman said.

The council also voted to eliminate the city's motor pool, something Getschow says could save the city more than $100,000.

"I ran an analysis based on our 2023 actual numbers and just figured out it was not doing us any favors for our tight general fund budget, so we're hoping to eliminate the motor pool. We think we can realize about $180,000 in savings to the general fund based on 2023's numbers, so how that will flesh out in 2025, I'm excited to see," Getschow said.

The next Ishpeming City Council meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 4.