Ecker receives raise, positive one-year review

By Lisa Brody

At their meeting on Monday, August 12, Birmingham City Commissioners came out of a closed-session to evaluate city manager Jana Ecker's performance giving her a six percent raise on her one year anniversary.

Commissioners voted 5-1, with commissioner Brad Host dissenting and commissioner Andrew Haig not in attendance, to provide Ecker with the raise, worth $10,500 on top of her original $175,000 salary and directed city attorney Mary Kucharek to make an amendment to her five-year employment agreement. Her contract goes through 2028.

In a memorandum, Ecker stated that since she was promoted to city manager in July 2023, she had initiated and overseen a number of accomplishments. Among the initiatives noted are extensive work involved with the new Next building; worked with state representatives to draft bill to reduce vehicle noise on roadways, including providing professional testimony during hearings in Lansing; implemented 15-minute short-term parking pilot in the downtown area; transferred the collection of revenue from all parking decks from a third party collector to the city treasurer’s office; created and distributed a New Business Welcome Packet to help new and prospective businesses to easily navigate the city’s processes, to connect businesses to city resources and to enhance city business recruitment efforts; and completed first draft of the Birmingham Green: Healthy Climate Plan; completed first draft of the Aging in Place Action Plan, continued work with the Aging in Place Committee, among other work.