Lahanas is Out as City Manger, Noel Garcia Jr. Named to Council

East Lansing’s City Council terminated its contract with City Manager George Lahanas tonight, naming retired Fire Chief Randy Talifarro as interim city manager effective Feb. 13. 

Because Talifarro will not take the office until that date, and because Deputy City Manager Tom Fehrenbach has just resigned, according to a succession plan created by Lahanas last June, Police Chief Kim Johnson will become acting city manager effective immediately. He will fill that job until Taliifarro steps into the city manager position next month.

Council will undertake hiring of a new city manager in the coming months. The process for filling that position has not yet been publicly discussed. 

Council also voted tonight to appoint Noel Garcia Jr. to the vacant fifth seat on Council. 

That vote was unanimous but not before a split vote to appoint Planning Commission Vice Chair Dan Bollman failed. In that case, Councilmember George Brookover and Mayor Pro Tem Jessy Gregg voted for Bollman, with Mayor Ron Bacon and Councilmember Dana Watson voting against, indicating they wanted Garcia in the seat.

Councilmembers would not say why Lahanas’ job ended abruptly with two years left on his contract. 

Lahanas’ severance package includes payment of a one-year base salary of $172,896 to be paid in a lump sum by Feb. 28, 2023. Lahanas will also be paid $46,036 for unused paid time off.

Additionally, Lahanas and his family will be provided continuation of their dental, health and life insurance through Feb. 29, 2024. The city has also agreed to pay for Lahanas and his family’s health insurance between his 60th and 65th birthday, when he becomes eligible for Medicare. (He is currently 52 years old.)

In all, the severance package is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to Lahanas. It follows the “golden parachute” terms set out in the contract that council made with him in September. 2020.

Before moving to accept the separation with Lahanas, Bacon said he wanted to make clear the agreement was made “out of respect” for Lahanas. 

He declined to say what moved Council to this decision, downplaying it as representing simply a choice to “move forward” in a different direction while also saying the decision impacted him “like some more catastrophic events we have been through.” (He didn’t clarify what he meant.)

Gregg said she wanted to echo Bacon’s sentiments. She said Council was “becoming used to having our motives questioned” and “encourage[d] everyone to squash that tendency.” She said the decision to terminate relations with Lahanas “was truly just a reflection of a desire to go in a different direction.”

Gregg praised the job Lahanas has done, saying “he inherited significant complications when he came into this position.” She named persistent problems of the debt on the Evergreen Avenue properties and the City’s pension liability. 

She said he had done a good job and did not want him to leave without expressing her gratitude and telling him “he should be justifiably proud” of the work he has done for East Lansing.

“This was not the result of any malfeasance or mismanagement,” Gregg said. “And wherever he ends up in his next community, they will have a strong manager and be lucky to have him.”

Brookover said only that he would “reluctantly” vote for the motion because Lahanas had already signed the agreement. Watson had no comment.

Talifarro has been named interim city manager, but Police Chief Johnson will serve for now.

When it came time to consider the proposed contract with Randy Talifarro for the position of interim city manager, Bacon said he had sought Talifarro for the position because Bacon is very concerned about public safety and budgeting for public safety. He noted Talifarro had simultaneously led East Lansing’s and Lansing’s fire departments, dealing with a sizable budget and public safety system.

Bacon said Talifarro will “steady the ship” and his appointment will “secure the public safety apparatus moving forward.”

While Brookover said he was “fine” with appointing Talifarro as proposed starting Feb. 13, “I’m trying to figure out who is going to be city manager starting tomorrow morning.” 

At that, City Attorney Tony Chubb said he had worked with City Clerk Jennifer Shuster to figure out the succession plan for the city manager position. They found that, on June 27, 2022, Lahanas had made a succession plan that named Director of Planning Tom Fehrenbach as next in line. 

But, since Fehrenbach’s resignation takes effect this Friday, Chubb said, the job would go to the next person in line named by Lahanas: Police Chief Kim Johnson. Council formally voted to name Johnson as acting city manager until Talifarro takes office.

Closing out that portion of the agenda, Bacon joked, “Everyone in East Lansing has two jobs.”

Noel Garcia Jr. has been appointed to City Council. 

Before arriving at the unanimous vote to appoint Noel Garcia Jr. to the seat made vacant by Lisa Babcock being elected to become judge in East Lansing’s 54B District Court, Bacon spoke of those who presented as finalists on Saturday as dedicated to public service and highly qualified.

Brookover led the two rounds of voting by nominating Dan Bollman for the position, a motion seconded by Gregg. Brookover did not speak to the reason for the nomination, and at this point in the process, Gregg did not either.

Watson said she found Bollman “incredibly kind and incredibly knowledgeable and very helpful” and said she wanted him to be on Council in the future. But, she said, for this nine-month appointment, she wanted Garcia because of his work on the Independent Police Oversight Commission and the current tensions between police and Council.

“I feel like our police are trying to walk back towards us,” Watson said, “and I would like to be able to walk back towards the police as a city council, and I think that Mr. Garcia offers that presence, where there is comfort with what he has done and perhaps more bridges can be created during this nine-month time frame.” 

Watson also praised Nichole Biber and said her environmentalist, land-based perspective “would be beneficial to the work we do.”

Bacon said he “led with Garcia” for the same reasons as Watson. He said his chief concern is public safety, as he had indicated in his choice of Talifarro for interim city manager. Bacon said he found Biber “always absolutely correct” and said he supported Bollman, but did not feel their interests spoke to what was most important in the city right now: public safety.

At that point, Gregg spoke in favor of Bollman. She said when she asks herself what expertise is missing on Council, she sees Bollman’s knowledge in planning, zoning and development as filling a gap. She said that since Bacon and Watson were both passionate about police oversight, it was best to fill the gap with Bollman.

Gregg also said she did not want to see Garcia leave his position on the Oversight Commission, because his work has been so critically important there. 

Before moving to the vote, Bacon praised Mikey Manuel and Abbie Tykocki, the remaining two finalists in the process. He said Manuel has been extraordinarily dedicated to learning about and serving the city since he ran against Bacon in the 2021 election. And, he said, Tykocki’s qualifications are “immense.”

Calling for the vote, Bacon voted with Watson against Bollman, and Gregg and Brookover voted for Bollman.

With the split 2-2 vote, the motion failed. Bacon then moved to appoint Garcia, with Watson as a second.

Watson said to Gregg she understood wanting to keep Garcia on the Police Oversight Commission, but suggested keeping him from rising further in the city’s power structure might not be the best thing for him or the city. Gregg called Watson’s point “fair.”

Gregg then indicated she would vote for Garcia, and Brookover voted in favor of Garcia with the rest of Council, making the vote for Garcia unanimous.

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