East Lansing city clerk resigns, adding to leadership vacancies

EAST LANSING — Key leadership positions in the city aren't done turning over yet.

East Lansing City Clerk Jennifer Shuster has submitted her resignation, along with Deputy City Clerk Kathryn Gardner, East Lansing spokesperson Mikell Frey confirmed Thursday morning.

Shuster, who worked for the city for five years, has accepted a job opportunity with the Michigan Senate. Her last day as East Lansing City Clerk will be Feb. 10, the city said in a release.

Shuster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The news is the latest in a slew of shakeups in city staffing, with Shuster and Gardner joining five other members of the city's leadership team either leaving or announcing they're leaving in the past month: City Manager George Lahanas; Director of Planning, Building and Development and Assistant City Manager Tom Fehrenbach; Community and Economic Development Administrator Adam Cummins; Human Resources Director Shelli Neumann and Senior Planner Darcy Schmitt.

Marie Wicks will be appointed interim city clerk by Acting City Manager Kim Johnson upon Shuster’s departure. Wicks served as city clerk prior to Shuster for 12 years prior to her departure in 2018 for a new job opportunity. She has worked for the Michigan Bureau of Elections, according to the city press release.

“Marie is the perfect person to serve as the Interim City Clerk,” Shuster said in the release. “Her years of knowledge at the City and her sustained commitment to work in elections for this jurisdiction will allow her to continue the work we have started. She also has familiarity of the other services provided by the Clerk’s Office. I am confident with this succession plan as I advance in my career.”

Gardner has take a new job opportunity at Michigan State University after 18 years with the city, according to the press release.

Frey declined to release letters of resignation from Shuster or Gardner.

East Lansing Mayor Ron Bacon said he was at a conference and couldn't speak by phone. In a text message, he said the city is in a time of staffing transition, but it has a deep organization of trained and multifunction professionals to help augment many of its departments in the interim.

He declined to answer a question about why so many top-level staffers were leaving the city at the same time.

"Both the interim and next city manager will have the opportunity to shape future hiring where applicable," he told the State Journal. "I'm confident in the staff and the teams who support those areas."

The City Clerk’s office is responsible for administering elections, managing and preserving official city documents, recording City Council minutes, processing business licenses and coordinating public records requests, according to East Lansing's website.

Frey confirmed Thursday morning that Cummins and Schmitt also have resigned. These two roles are important positions for the city’s Downtown Development Authority and the East Lansing Planning and Zoning department.

Last month, City Council voted to dismiss Lahanas, ending a more than decade-long tenure. Lahanas is among six finalists for a vacant Northville city manager position in Oakland and Wayne counties. His severance deal with East Lansing is anticipated to cost the city about $383,000, although that amount is likely to rise due to the city's commitment to pay for five years of health insurance for him and his family beginning in 2031.

The City Council also voted to approve an interim city manager employment agreement with retired fire chief Randy Talifarro. That deal takes effect Feb. 13.

Fehrenbach normally would have manned the acting city manager role as assistant city manager. However, he resigned last month after taking a job elsewhere.

East Lansing Planning and Zoning Administrator Peter Menser is stepping in for the development role during this time and East Lansing Police Chief Kim Johnson is acting as city manager.

There are also three other positions with people stepping in to fill them temporarily.

Audrey Kincade is the acting finance director after Jill Feldpausch pursued a new job opportunity in May after 16 years serving the city.

Nicole McPherson is the acting director of public works while director Scott House is temporarily deployed for military service and Ben Dawson is the acting human resources director for the city.

Contact Bryce Airgood at 517-267-0448 or bairgood@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @bairgood123.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: East Lansing city clerk resigns, adding to leadership vacancies