Elle Cole will serve as Acting City Manager while the city works to identify a new permanent manager
The City of Saline has announced a change in leadership as City Manager Colleen O’Toole prepares to leave her position at the end of January. While O’Toole remains in her role for the next few weeks, the city appointed Elle Cole as Acting City Manager. The new responsibilities are in addition to her current role as City Treasurer and Deputy City Manager.
Cole’s new role is temporary, in effect while the city works to identify a new permanent city manager. According to a January 13th letter from Saline Mayor Brian Marl to the city council, Cole will be supported by an ad hoc transitional team comprised of various city leaders, including the Chief of Police and representatives from the City Council. The team will meet with Cole regularly to ensure continuity of operations and maintain momentum on the city’s critical infrastructure projects. The letter read in part, “The goal here is to have the transition be as seamless as possible.”

Though a definitive timeline for finding O’Toole’s replacement was not discussed at the meeting, the Mayor’s letter indicated that details of the search process would likely be discussed at one of the council’s two meetings in February.
Mayor Marl told STN that the process for identifying and retaining the right candidate for such a crucial role begins with the assembly of an internal Hiring Committee. Once that committee is formed and a search firm has been selected, it can often take between six and ten months before the person is in place. As such, Marl is hoping to have someone in place before the end of August.
In a separate statement, he thanked O’Toole for the work she has done in the last several years. “The City of Saline thanks Ms. O’Toole for her dedicated service to the Saline community over the past several years. Many important initiatives have been spearheaded since 2020, and a number of long-term, systemic problems, have been addressed.”
When contacted, O’Toole shared the following statement with STN:
“For personal reasons, I felt it was time for me to move on from the City of Saline. Recognizing that the City had an interest in wanting more certainty around that timeline and that we did not want to lose momentum on so many essential projects, there was a mutual agreement with Council leadership to begin implementing a transition. My final day with the City will be January 31st. This date allows me to take ample time off to welcome a third child with my wife in early February before starting in a new role. I sincerely wish the team here in Saline the very best and remain committed to serving the City and its residents to my absolute fullest through the duration of my tenure.”