AP fills vacancies
Allen Park swore in several new city officials at its council meeting Tuesday. Above, City Clerk Michael Mizzi (left) swears in Larry Templin to the council seat vacated by Kyle Tertzag, who resigned recently. Below, Mizzi (right) swears in David Tamsen as city administrator. Tamsen replaces Eric Waidelich, who resigned March 11.
By ANDREA POTEET
Sunday Times Newspapers
ALLEN PARK — The new face present at City Council meetings should be familiar to many residents.
Former City Attorney David Tamsen was sworn in Tuesday as city administrator, replacing Eric Waidelich, who stepped down from the position March 11.
The position will be part time, with Tamsen working 29 hours per week at a rate of $38 an hour without benefits.
Tamsen, who has run a law firm at 700 Roosevelt for more than 30 years, is the brother of Police Chief and Public Safety Director Dean Tamsen.
City Attorney Todd Flood said the relationship between the two men should not create a problem. He said the city charter protects the appointment, as there are “buffers” between the chief and the new administrator.
Flood also said the appointment would help fill a void in the department left by the resignation of Waidelich and that Mayor Gary Burtka, who was absent from the meeting, had voiced his support of the appointment.
“Without him in the department right now currently, we are getting backfilled with requests that the city administrator would normally do,” Flood said. “It seems as though currently we are stepping over quarters to save dimes and his position would fill a void.”
The meeting also included the appointment of Don Wood as Human Resources director, also a part time position.
Tamsen said he and Wood would coordinate their schedules to better serve the city.
During the meeting, Larry Templin was also sworn in to fill the council seat vacated by Kyle Tertzag, who resigned last week. Templin was the runner-up for the seat in the last election.