Community Speaks Out in Support of Elle Cole

Public discussion around the City Manager position of Saline continued at the city council’s June 9 meeting, where several business owners and residents spoke in support of Acting City Manager Elle Cole.

Previous City Manager Colleen O’Toole departed earlier this year, and Deputy City Manager Cole was appointed Acting City Manager until a hiring decision was made. Cole was not one of the four finalists for the position, and since the announcement members of the community have noted positive experiences with her time working for the city and have questioned why she was not one of the final four.

“While we respect the process that has taken place so far, it is important to acknowledge that among the four candidates interviewed, two appear to lack the necessary experience or alignment with unique needs of our city at this time, and the remaining two, though they have prior city manager experience, did not demonstrate anything that meaningfully set them apart from Ms. Cole, who already understands Saline, has earned the trust of city stakeholders and has shown a deep, active investment in the city’s future,” said Mary Dettling, Executive Director of the Saline Main Street group.

Additional members of the community also came forward at the June 9 meeting to speak on the ongoing hiring process.

“I’m here today as a member of the community to express my deep disappointment in the situation regarding the city manager position,” Williams said. “It’s been frustrating to see how our city government has treated a dedicated and valuable city servant such as Elle Cole. In her time working for the city of Saline, both as treasurer and city manager, Ms. Cole has demonstrated her commitment to bringing diverse groups together, created space for all the city residents to share their own ideas and listened to the needs of the community.”

A total of four people spoke about Elle Cole during the two public comments offered at the meeting, along with two written comments submitted before the meeting and read by City Clerk Terri Royal.

“There will be clarity on the city manager hiring process in the very near future,” Mayor Marl said at the end of the meeting.

At this time, no further information on the timeline and hiring process has been released by Council.