Three Rivers to hold December special meeting for city manager search firm selection

During last night’s Three Rivers City Commission meeting, commissioners decided to hold off on selecting a city manager search firm — an item on Tuesday night’s agenda. Commissioners said they want more time to gather options and conduct research. 

During the October 6 meeting, City Manager Joe Bippus announced his forthcoming retirement, effective January 14, 2027. 

Going into the meeting, commissioners were expected to decide on which search firm they would contract with to search for city manager candidates across the country. The firm would select candidates based on the city’s criteria and present them with options to be interviewed. The agenda packet had two search firms, Walsh Municipal Services (WMS) and the Michigan Municipal league. Only WMS presented a proposal specifically for Three Rivers in the packet. 

As reported by Watershed Voice, Walsh’s president previously served as Meridian Township’s City Manager before leaving amid allegations of misconduct. He has not been charged with anything, however, resigned from his position and opened the firm Walsh Municipal Services, which helps municipalities find their next city manager. 

Prior to this week’s Tuesday, October 20 meeting, Mayor Angel Johnston told Watershed Voice she was frustrated with the lack of options and that the agenda item was added late, not giving her enough time to find additional firms. Going into the meeting, Johnston hoped to table the agenda item to a later date.

Public feedback and commissioner decisions

Once commissioners got to the search firm agenda item, residents were given the opportunity for public comment.  Nearly a dozen spoke out asking commissioners to wait until they could gather more options before voting on which firm to use. Many of those residents also expressed concern that Bippus himself would be involved in the process to select his successor. 

One resident, Linda Moulter, who served on the citizen committee last time Three Rivers was searching for another candidate said she was devastated when all of the committee’s recommendations were ignored after the commission decided to hire the then Police Chief, Joe Bippus.  

“We invested our time, our judgment, because we believed that our participation mattered. We were encouraged. We thought we were opening the door to a fresh experience, new ideas, and a different future,” Moulter said, adding that their first choice declined the offer. Moulter was later asked to attend a meeting for a telephone interview with another applicant. It was at that meeting, she said, that the idea of appointing Bippus was presented.

“Early in the process, an advisor from the state of Michigan had warned us, warned us that if the intention was to promote from within, we should not put outside applicants through a search. That warning mattered then, and it matters now. The applicants deserve an honest opportunity, citizens to volunteer deserve an honest role, and the residents deserve confidence that the outcome has not already been arranged.”’

Moulter suggested commissioners create a citizen committee again, however, with clearly defined roles and an explanation of how the committee’s recommendations will be considered throughout the process. She added that the departing city manager must be kept out of the process. 

Many residents echoed her ideas and shared that they too worry about Bippus being involved. 

After public comment ended, commissioners agreed. 

“Quite a few people came up here and spoke about our city manager, our current sitting city manager, being involved with the hiring process,” Commissioner Torrey Brown said. “That will not be done in any way, shape, or form.”

Commissioners decided they need to set a special meeting date down the road to allow for more firms to be reached out to and a Request for Proposal (RFP) be created and sent out by the city. Municipalities commonly use RFP’s to solicit competitive proposals from firms interested in providing contracted services. 

Commissioners unanimously agreed to table the agenda item and set a special meeting date for December 8, at 6 p.m. with a location to be determined. 

The commission will meet twice before then — on November 2, the Monday before Election Day, and November 17. The special meeting will take place after the elections, so there could potentially be two new commissioners. Commissioners Steven Haigh and Lucas Allen are both being challenged by Josh Hoeppner and Josh Williams, respectively. Watershed Voice has published candidate questionnaires on all four individuals, which are linked to their names. 

There were no further details discussed regarding the search for city manager. The search firm is the first step in a months-long process that includes building the city’s desired candidate, allowing the selected search firm to find candidates that fit those desires, and then interviewing those candidates. In Kalamazoo, the process took roughly four months, beginning in June 2025 and ending with the selection of their current City Manager Malcolm Hankins in October 2025.

Maxwell Knauer is a staff writer for Watershed Voice.