History

 

INTRODUCTION

The history of city managers in Michigan begins soon after its inception in the United States.  Early council-manager charters were passed in 1915 and 1916 in Alpena, Big Rapids, Cadillac, Grand Haven, Grand Rapids, Grosse Pointe Shores, Jackson and Petoskey.

 

Organized groups of managers did not start meeting until 1927 in the early forming suburbs of Detroit along the Woodward Avenue corridor in Oakland County.  Nothing was written of these efforts until 1929 in the ICMA's infant publication "Public Management."  The first 17 years were brought together in 1944 by Herb Olson, then Executive Director of the Michigan Municipal League. . . .

Donald M. Oakes, February 2, 1983

 

MCMA... 75 Years of History 1927-1992

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HOW IT ALL GOT STARTED

Without an official name, without elected officers, and without official organization, a unique association of city managers is functioning in Michigan.  And this anonymous group, which meets every two weeks on Friday, is gaining wide recognition throughout the eastern section of the state.

 

FIRST THERE WERE THREE

It happened that early in 1927 L. P. Cookingham, village manager of Clawson, and City Manager William A. Jones, of Huntington Woods, met in a restaurant in Royal Oak; and it happened that City Manager R. J. Whitney, of Royal Oak, entered the restaurant and joined the group.  There the Association was started.  The Association finally grew to include all of the Southern Oakland County managers.  From that group evolved a conference of managers for the entire north Woodward Avenue section, including Birmingham and Pontiac and has now taken in Grosse Pointe Shores, Dearborn, Roseville, and Plymouth as well.

 

THEN A DOZEN

"Those on the roster now are Mr. Cookingham; Manager Whitney of Royal Oak; Carl H. Peterson of Ferndale; Mr. Jones of Huntington Woods; Ashton J. Berst of Pleasant Ridge; James W. Parry of Birmingham; robert Erley of Dearborn; Max Van de Greyn of Roseville; Clifford W. Ham of Pontiac; Manager Koenig of Plymouth; A. H. Bennett of Grosse Pointe; and Everitt B. Lane of Marysville."  (From Public Management - March, 1929)

 

During the past few years, since the Michigan Municipal League has become more active, occasional meetings of managers were held at the annual conventions of the League.  At the convention of the League in Grand Rapids in June, 1929, L. P. Cookingham, village manager of Clawson, was elected chairman of the managers' group.  It was decided at that time to hold a meeting sometime during the winter months and to form a state organization of city managers to be a part of the Internation City Managers' Association and affiliated with the Michigan Municipal League.

 

Inquiry was made of all managers in the state as to their ideas of a state Association, and the opinion was very strong in favor of the movement.  In the early part of November, 1929, a meeting of the managers from various parts of the state was held in Lansing to lay plans for the first meeting and to discuss the proposed organization.  The manager attending this meeting were C. W. Ham, Pontiac; Albert Ten Busschen, Kalamazoo; H. G. Crow, St. Joseph; R. J. Whitney, Royal Oak; J. W. Parry, Birmingham; George Lusk, Bay City; W. K. Willman, East Detroit; A. J. Berst, Pleasant Ridge; and L. P. Cookingham, Clawson.  At this meeting it was decided to hold the first state conference of managers in Lansing on January 24 and 25, 1930.  Several committees were appointed to perfect the plans for the meeting and to prepare a tentative constitution and bylaws for the organization.  (From Public Management - March 1930)

 

FORMAL ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING - 1930

On January 24-25, 1930, a meeting was held at the Olds Hotel in Lansing, attended by 35 of the 44 city managers of the state.  The delinquent tax situation was discussed by Carl H. Chatters, then city auditor of Flint (now secretary of the MFOA of Chicago).  I. R. Ellison, city manager of Muskegon, led a discussion on city budget preparation and execution.  Harold Smith presented a paper on cooperative purchasing; Harrington Place, engineer of Detroit Bureau of Governmental Research, discussed administration of the department of public works; Walter Sperry, State Stream Control Commission, discussed Stream Pollution in Michigan, and Clarence Ridley talked about I.C.M.A.  The annual dinner address was given by R.H. Scott, president of Reo Motor Car Company in Lansing.

 

THE FIRST BY-LAWS

On January 25, 1930, the constitution and bylaws of the Michigan SEction of the I.C.M.A., affiliated with the Michigan Municipal League, were adopted and are appended to this report.  The following officers were elected:

 

President -- L. P. Cookingham, Village Manager, Clawson

 

1st Vice-President -- I. R. Ellison, City Manager, Muskegon

 

2nd Vice-President -- Albert Ten Busschen, City Manager, Kalamazoo

 

3rd Vice-President -- J. H. Sanders, City Manager, Crystal Falls

 

Secretary -- Harold D. Smith, Executive Director, Michigan Municipal League, Ann Arbor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Michigan Local Government Management Association, 1675 Green Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105