By Eric Czarnik
C & G Staff Writer

BEVERLY HILLS — A second wave of job interviews has produced a new village manager choice for Beverly Hills.

After interviewing three more candidates June 28, the Village Council selected Chris Wilson, who has been Algonac’s city manager. Council members also picked Scio Township Manager Darrell Fecho as an alternate.

While Councilman Todd Stearn said the search process took longer than he had hoped, he was happy with the pick and called Wilson highly qualified.

“He was experienced,” Stearn said. “He has been a manager of several other villages and cities, and will make a great addition to the Beverly Hills team.”

According to Renzo Spallasso, the current village manager, Wilson has been the city manager of Algonac since 2004. Prior to that, he was the village manager of Edmore, Mich., from 2002-2004, and he was a management intern in Grosse Pointe City from 2001-2002.

Beverly Hills began planning its village manager search after Spallasso said in February that he wanted to retire. The Michigan Municipal League put together a list of 36 job applicants, and the council interviewed five people from that list in May.

Its first two picks for the manager slot, David Murphy and Jeffrey Muzzy, declined the job offer when it was given to them. Murphy has since become South Lyon’s city manager.

However, the rejections did not deter the council, which decided to interview fresh candidates. On June 28, it met with Wilson, Fecho and Christopher Rayes, community services director of St. Clair Shores.

The council had also wanted to meet with William Barlow, city manager of Winfield, Ill.; and Craig Dawson, former city administrator of Shorewood, Minn. But the two candidates canceled their interviews.

Spallasso said the cancellations made “a moot point” out of the council’s 4-3 decision to approve spending on Barlow’s and Dawson’s interview accommodations — namely travel and lodging. In June, former Councilwoman Pam Rijnovean accused the council of “acting like money is no issue.”

Stearn has since rejected that statement. “It would’ve cost a couple hundred dollars per person,” he said.

When Councilwoman Dorothy Pfeifer was asked about her satisfaction with the interview process, she declined to give details. “We are now in the process of working on the contract,” she said. “The council has made their choice, and I support their choice.”

Spallasso said he hopes that Wilson would be ready to take over village operations as soon as Aug. 1.

You can reach Staff Writer Eric Czarnik at eczarnik@candgnews.com or at (586) 498-1058.