Local-government administration
drew Vick from a young age

Editor's note: This week GrossePointeToday.com presents a series of profiles of the chief executives in our municipalities–the city managers. 

Brian Vick knew all along that local government was the career he was seeking. The evidence was in his college studies.

Vick, 40, graduated from high school in 1987, and after a four-year stint in the Marine Corps, studied public administration at Michigan State University. Having had experience with government at the federal level, Vick was not impressed and knew he was not interested in working in that area.

An internship at the state capital gave him a taste of Michigan government, and while he was at Michigan State, he met a city manager from Farmington, whom he talked to about the job. He felt it would be an ideal fit for him. 

He graduated in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in public administration and continued his education at the University of Michigan, where he earned a master’s in the same field.

Vick is familiar with the Pointes, having grown up in the Park, Woods and Farms, so when the opportunity to work here came up, he took it.

“I was the assistant to the city manager in Grosse Pointe for 10 years,” said Vick. “Some of the day-to-day operations included solving personnel matters (such as) grievances and code enforcement.”

He held that job from 1995 to 2005, when he left to become the city administrator of DeWitt, a small mid-Michigan community.

“I was attracted to that position because it was near Lansing and I could be close to football tailgating,” Vick said. During that time, his wife had also gone back to school so it was a good fit for the family.

Vick worked in DeWitt for three years before coming home again, this time as city manager of the Shores, the job he holds today.

The biggest challenge of public administration, said Vick, is to have non-partisan, non-political management.

“We have to ensure that, professionally speaking, we are adhering to a code of ethics,” said Vick. “It is a huge issue; people are concerned with transparency. As city manager I have to make sure people perform in their jobs.”

The poor economy that has decimated property values and tax receipts has not spared the Shores, and Vick is concerned about revenue sharing from the state government. But administration still has to provide the best for their residents.

“In a general sense we ensure that we provide the high level of services that our residents expect,” said Vick.

They have had to get creative with controlling costs and providing services for the community with less money than previous years. One way of doing that is by working with the other Grosse Pointe communities to combine services.

One positive about living and working with the people of Grosse Pointe Shores is that the vision for the community is established by the people and the city council. The goals for the community are set by the people, said Vick.

“We make sure that the city council policies are carried out with our staff,” he said. “Our job is not to create policy, but to carry it out.”

Some of the new projects that they are working on include road construction under the new economic stimulus plan and the proposed construction of a water tower. And after 98 years as a village, the Shores officially became a city in April.

“We have added three new members to the city council so the transition has kept us busy,” said Vick.

When he’s not working for the community Vick can be found spending his spare time with his family. He and his wife, Jennifer, have two children, so free time revolves around family activities. When he gets some spare time to himself, he can be found skiing, on the golf course, or playing tennis.

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