Theodore J. Staton City Manager 410 Abbot Road East Lansing, Michigan 48823 (517) 319-6920 tstaton@cityofeastlansing.com Over the past 15 years, East Lansing City Manager Theodore Staton has spearheaded a dramatic redirection of the City of East Lansing. Under his leadership, the City has experienced unprecedented expansion and economic development, transforming it from a typical Midwest college town to a key regional anchor. During Staton’s tenure, East Lansing’s land area increased by nearly one third and the value of land and property in the City more than doubled. In October 2009, East Lansing was named one of the top ten U.S. college towns in which to start a business by Entrepreneur magazine, based upon the City's innovative efforts to promote entrepreneurialism. East Lansing’s downtown has experienced a renaissance with tens of millions of dollars of new private investment. The City's art and music festivals have become regional destinations and have further cemented East Lansing's role as a cultural anchor. Over $25 million of new recreation facilities and trails have been developed under Staton's leadership. According to a citizen opinion survey conducted in fall 2008, 97 percent of respondents agreed that East Lansing is a good place to live. Since 1995, customer service approval ratings have improved 52 percent and trust in government has increased threefold. The City received its highest ever ratings for police services and overall satisfaction with City services as a whole. The perceived climate of university community relations have improved due to Staton's support of a number of community building initiatives. The City has secured two bond rating upgrades during Staton’s tenure, most recently in September of 2006. The City’s current AA+ rating is a reflection of the targeted approach to long-term strategic and fiscal planning spearheaded by Staton, along with a collaborative labor-management method used in contract negotiation. This upgrade allows the City to finance infrastructure projects and other projects at lower interest rates. Under the council-manager form of government, Staton, as city manager, directs the City’s day-to-day operations. His responsibilities include developing and administering the City’s $95 million annual budget and appointing all top administrative officers. His duties also frequently extend beyond the corporate boundaries of the City, taking him to Lansing and Washington, D.C. to advocate for community funding. Staton maintains critical affiliations with Michigan State University and other regional partners in order to enhance regional and statewide initiatives that benefit the City and he has also shared his experience and expertise on the international front through specialized work in Africa and Eastern Europe in the areas of strategic planning and economic development. Staton’s work to advance local government management with Romanian officials followed the passage of national legislation authorizing the creation of city manager positions in that country. With three decades in public management, Staton’s work has been recognized nationally in the highly acclaimed Reinventing Government Series by David Osborn and Pete Plastrik and in March 2003, he was given the prestigious Outstanding Service Award by the Michigan Municipal League. In 2006, he was honored by the Michigan Local Government Management Association (MLGMA) with and Outstanding Leadership Award. He was selected by his peers to serve as president of the organization in 2009. Ted is also a two-time recipient of awards from the American Society of Public Administration, honoring his distinguished work in the field of local government management. He also currently serves on the Greater Lansing SmartZone Board. Prior to his appointment as city manager of East Lansing, Staton served in a number of senior administrative positions with the City of Dayton, Ohio, including director of the Department of Public Works, the Office of Management and Budget and the Dayton International Airport. While there, Staton was credited with building the largest financial reserves in the history of local government in Ohio and obtaining for Dayton the prestigious designation as an All-America City. His efforts also contributed to the reform of public school finance and parental involvement in the Dayton Public School System. He concluded his tenure in Dayton serving as assistant city manager for five years. This immediately preceded his appointment to East Lansing’s top administrative job. Staton holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in political science/public management from Wright State University where he also served as adjunct professor of urban policy/public management for ten years. He is a 1984 graduate of the Advanced Government Finance Institute at UC Berkley as well as a graduate of the Senior Executive Institute at the University of Virginia. Most recently, Staton completed the Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government in 2003. He also holds various professional affiliations, including memberships with the National Civic League and the International City Management Association, from which he earned the distinction of “Credentialed Manager". In 2009, Staton became one of only 25 ICMA members to earn the status of "Legacy Leader". Ted is married to Carol Uhlenbrock Staton, with whom he has two sons, Paul (11) and Ben (9).
George Lahanas Deputy City Manager 410 Abbot Road East Lansing, Michigan 48823 (517) 319-6821 glahana@cityofeastlansing.com Deputy City Manager George Lahanas began his tenure with the city in 1999 as its labor relations specialist. Since that time, he has served the City in numerous capacities including that of human resources director and more recently, director of administrative services. His responsibilities as director of administrative services included oversight of several divisions including communications, city clerk, information technology and human resources. In September of 2008, George was again promoted, this time, to the position of deputy city manager. In addition to his new responsibilities, George retains oversight of administrative services. As deputy city manager, George serves as acting city manager in the absence of the city manager, represents the City on the regional 911 collaboration committee and provides leadership in numerous internal policy areas. George's ongoing responsibilities include serving as chief spokesperson for the City of East Lansing during collective bargaining negotiations, co-chairing the city's collaborative Health Care Task Force and acting as staff liaison to the Human Relations Commission. As a former member of the Board of Directors, George has also maintained a longstanding affiliation with the Michigan Public Employers Labor Relations Association (MPELRA). Originally from New York City, George came to Michigan to attend Northern Michigan University where he earned a BS in Criminal Justice with a minor in English. He subsequently completed his master's degree in Public Administration, also from Northern Michigan University. Following graduate school George was hired on as the human resources coordinator for the Eastern Upper Peninsula Mental Health Board, later moving into the position of director of administrative operations for the Shiawassee County Mental Health Board before coming to the City of East Lansing. Over the nearly ten years that George has been employed by the city, he has distinguished himself by upholding a high standard of professionalism in the organization. He notes that one of the most rewarding aspects of working for the City of East Lansing is the relationships he's forged with fellow employees. He also takes pride in the East Lansing community and all that it has to offer. George resides in East Lansing with his wife, Shelley and young daughters Eleni and Marina.
Marie McKenna Assistant City Manager 410 Abbot Road East Lansing, Michigan 48823 (517) 319-6920 mmckenn@cityofeastlansing.com
Date of hire December 3, 2005 As a proud 1981 graduate of East Lansing High School, Marie McKenna jumped at the chance to serve the citizens of her hometown when the opportunity arose in late 2005. And in January of 2006, Marie was hired on by East Lansing City Manager Ted Staton. As such, her responsibilities as assistant city manager include departmental communications, project work, strategic planning and directing the activities of the administrative assistant to the City Manager/City Council. Most recently, she participated in the planning and implementation of the 2007 East Lansing Emerging Leaders Program with partners Wendy Wilmers Longpre (Parks, Recreation & Arts) and Annette Irwin (Code Enforcement and Neighborhood Conservation). Certainly, as she is pleased to note, "There is never an idle moment in the office of the city manager and this department faces new challenges and opportunities every day." Prior to joining the City of East Lansing, Marie was employed for three and a half years by the Michigan Municipal League (MML), the statewide non-profit association of cities and villages. While there, she worked in the Ann Arbor location as an information coordinator providing research and support for local governments, serving as the liaison to the Cool Cities for Michigan Blueprints Downtowns program, and writing about special topics for the Michigan Municipal Review. She also worked in Municipal Consulting Services as the program administrator for the League's Executive Search Program, assisted local officials with pay system development and contract analysis, and participated in numerous consulting projects entailing job evaluation, job description development and market surveys. Most recently, Marie transferred to the MML's Lansing office where she served as legislative & communications coordinator. Her duties in Lansing included compiling and generating weekly updates on legislative issues and communicating extensively one-on-one with local officials regarding issues affecting local government. In 1999, Marie returned to college to earn a master's degree in Public Administration. While in graduate school at Eastern Michigan University she served as a graduate assistant in the Political Science Department, at the same time completing an extensive management internship with the City of Wayne. She notes that she has greatly enjoyed her experience working for the City of East Lansing, in part because it is her hometown (and she frequently encounters EL grads) but also because it is a vibrant and well-managed organization with terrific employees. She is eagerly looking forward to the years ahead! Marie is married to Meridian Township police officer, Jon Wicks and is the proud "bonus parent" of Nicholas Wicks (16) and Allison Wicks (19).
Laurie Hoffman Administrative Assistant to City Council/City Manager 410 Abbot Road East Lansing, Michigan 48823 (517) 319-6920 lhoffma@cityofeastlansing.com Laurie Hoffman is "the voice of the city manager's office" and, like Marie, is a relative newcomer to the City of East Lansing. She began her tenure with the City in May of 2006 as the City Hall receptionist, and early on accepted a temporary assignment as the human resources assistant. Laurie also spent time working for the Department of the City Clerk. Laurie's cross-training, enthusiasm and team approach to work earned her an assignment to the Office of the City Manager where, not surprisingly, she does double-duty as the administrative assistant to the city manager/city council. Her duties and responsibilities include schedule management for the city manager and members of council for city-related events. Laurie also compiles the weekly City Council Agenda, maintains the Board and Commissions database, handles all incoming calls to the office and provides administrative support for the East Lansing Emerging Leaders Program. Laurie's outstanding customer service skills are the result of an extensive history of working with the public. Prior to working for the City of East Lansing, she was employed by Consumer's Energy as a customer service associate, by the accounting firm of Robinson, Robinson & Associates as an administrative assistant and spent more than six years with Standard Federal Bank where she was cross-trained as a customer service associate, ATM card services associate and supervisor help-desk associate. Laurie is a graduate of Waverly High School and is married to City of Lansing fire fighter, Josh Hoffman. They are the proud parents of Alyssa (15) and JJ (6).