Mayor Angie Issues First Executive Order
 
Two days into the official start of her term, Mayor Angie Nelson Deuitch issued her first executive order Wednesday morning – one that will save the city more than $71,000 annually.
 
Specifically, Deuitch moved the role of clerk for the Michigan City Board of Public Works and Safety out of the City Clerk’s Office and into the Mayor’s Office.
 
“Thank you to City Clerk Gale Neulieb for her support over more than a decade of handling all the duties for the Board of Works,” Nelson Deuitch said. “She and Deputy Clerk Amanda Pickens have a lot on their plates and have been so helpful in the transition to our new administration. We’re glad we found a way
to lighten their load.”
 
In past years, the City Clerk’s Office has employed three individuals: the clerk, deputy clerk and assistant deputy clerk. However, former mayor Duane Parry eliminated funding for the assistant deputy position for 2024, substantially increasing the workload for the two remaining clerks.
 
“… I believe it is in the best interest of the City and residents herein to ease the burden currently placed on the Clerk’s Office…” Deuitch states in her executive order.
 
“I reasonably believe that the additional duties of the Clerk for the Board can be absorbed by the position of Administrative Assistant III in the Mayor’s Office and that this will be a cost-savings to the City as opposed to requesting an additional appropriation ordinance to fund the position of Assistant Deputy Clerk…”
 
As the new Board of Works clerk, Izabelle Galvin Ellis will be responsible for receiving agenda request items, drafting and posting meeting agendas, attending meetings, drafting meeting minutes, uploading agendas and minutes to the city’s website, posting agendas and minutes, appropriately publicizing notices, assisting the city controller in posting contracts, and maintaining files and records.
 
“I appreciate this opportunity to contribute to making sure the city operates more efficiently,” Galvin Ellis said. “I look forward to working with our new Board of Works as they continue to move Michigan City forward.”