CM candidate is well known in the area

By Charles Sercombe
The one and only candidate for Hamtramck city manager has a long history in the business.
Hamtramck’s search for a new city manager yielded only one viable candidate, according to GovHR USA, the search firm hired by the city to conduct the hunt for candidates.
The candidate is Stephen Duchane, a former city manager for Sterling Heights and most recently Eastpointe.
Duchane, 62 years old, was let go from the Eastpointe job last August after serving there for seven years. He has been in the city administration field for nearly 40 years.
The reason for the departure, according to a report in the Macomb Daily, was because a divided city council had a falling out with him. Duchane said the council wanted to “go in a new direction.”
But one councilmember, Cardi DeMonaco, told the Macomb Daily the issue with Duchane had to do with him not following Eastpointe’s bidding process when making purchases.
Duchane has been lauded in his handling of finances, notably turning around Eastpointe’s budget deficit as well as one in Lincoln Park where he served as city manager.
Duchane has written a number of papers on municipal affairs for the Michigan Municipal League and is part of a lawsuit challenging the state’s interpretation of the Headlee amendment and how tax dollars are distributed to communities.
He says the state is cheating communities out of their fair share of tax dollars.
In a brief interview with The Review, Duchane said he thinks Hamtramck has a bright future.
“It’s a very exciting time for Hamtramck,” he said in regard to the city’s potential for development.
Taking off of the city’s motto, he added: “The world in two square miles is appealing to me.”

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