Ferndale City Council Selects Colleen O’Toole as Next City Manager
(Crystal A. Proxmire, Feb. 26, 2025)
Ferndale, MI – Ferndale City Council has selected Colleen O’Toole as the next City Manager. O’Toole has over fifteen years of finance, economic development, and municipal management experience.
Most recently she’s served as City Manager in Saline since December 2020. Prior to that she was City Manager in Durand from 2017-2020, where she served as lead project manager for all of the city’s capital improvement projects and participated in regional collaborations. Also in her history is work as Managing Director of Andersonville Development Corporation, helping to grow minority business owner assistance and local first initiatives in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood. O’Toole has a Masters in Public Administration from Depaul University and a Bachelors in International Relations from Miami University.
Council unanimously approved O’Toole, with several mentioning that she will make a good team with current Assistant City Manager James Krizan who had also applied for the position.
Mayor Raylon Leaks May and city council members spoke with officials in Saline to hear their input about O’Toole. “Everything that I heard about Colleen, everything that I’ve witnessed about Colleen, and of course going by my own gut instinct… I think that she has demonstrated her ability to lead projects and is the preferred candidate for the City at this time,” Mayor Leaks May said.
“Colleen just brought such a powerhouse approach and such a broad background of experience and knowledge in overseeing construction projects, handling difficult financial situations, she has all of these things in on person,” said Councilperson Donnie Johnson.
Councilperson Rolanda Kelly was impressed with O’Toole’s financial experience, and cited the upcoming vote on a Headlee Override in her decision. “Whether Headlee passes or it doesn’t, she can look for efficiencies as we move forward,” she said.
For Councilperson Laura Mikulski it was a difficult decision between O’Toole and Krizan, ultimately decided by a desire for “a fresh set of eyes.” Mikulski said “When I say that Colleen embodied everything that we’re looking for in a City Manager, I truly mean that. I thought she was very decisive, very succinct, [and] very prepared.”
Council voted Monday night to approve the employment agreement with O’Toole. Ferndale worked with Vetteraino Consulting on preparing documents to attract qualified candidates, to survey the Ferndale residents about what they were looking for in a City Manager, and to conduct the search and narrow down candidates.
Learn more about the City of Ferndale at https://www.ferndalemi.gov/
