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A longtime city manager and finance director in Riverview is taking his talents to Southgate.
Douglas Drysdale, who stepped down from his job as city manager in Riverview on Aug. 19, has been hired as Southgate’s new finance director and assistant city administrator. Riverview officials referred to Drysdale’s resignation as a retirement.
Drysdale’s retirement was short-lived as he will begin his new role in Southgate on Oct. 3.
Southgate City Administrator Dan Marsh said Drysdale will work together with current Finance Director/Assistant City Administrator David Angileri for the month of October, as Angileri will retire on Oct. 31.
The soon-to-be-vacant position of finance director/assistant city administrator was posted on Southgate’s website, as well as with the Michigan Municipal League.
“However, after we learned that Doug was leaving Riverview, we called him to see if he’d be interested in the role in Southgate,” Marsh said. “The position is the appointment of the mayor. It was a ‘receive-and-file’ item on the Sept. 21 council meeting agenda.”
A receive-and-file item means that the appointment is not on the council agenda and is not subject to debate.
Southgate Mayor Joseph Kuspa said with the retirement of Drysdale’s predecessor, Angileri, the city knew it had to find someone who could fill that very important and critical position.
“Doug Drysdale has a wealth of knowledge and experience in the area of municipal finance and is familiar with many of the issues we face as a community,” Kuspa said. “With Doug, I am confident that we have found the right person.”
Drysdale worked for the city of Riverview for 19 years, much of that time as its finance director. He was promoted to city manager in July 2013, but also retained his position as the finance director.
However, he said the workload was too great, so the city hired Rob McMahon for the finance director position in 2016. Drysdale kept the position of city treasurer.
Although there appeared to be some confusion as to whether his departure from Riverview was a resignation or retirement, Drysdale said it was both.
He said a retirement opportunity was presented to him in Riverview and he opted to take it. Drysdale grew up in Riverview, so he said it was satisfying to be able to give back to his hometown.
But he has now lived in Southgate for 28 years, so he feels the same way about giving back to the city he has called home for almost three decades.
“I am looking forward to working with Mayor Kuspa and Dan Marsh,” he said. “It’s nice to be able to help the city you live in — a chance for me to give back.”
As a Southgate resident, Drysdale has taken an active role in city government, including serving on the Board of Review and the Tax Increment Finance Authority board for the past four or five years. With his hiring as a city employee, he has stepped down from those volunteer positions.
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