Dan Swallow reaches six months as city manager

City manager Dan Swallow is approaching the six-month anniversary of his time working for the City of Tecumseh. Since taking the title of city manager, Swallow has already achieved several accomplishments, such as hosting a successful fundraising campaign for the Market on Evans, passing a balanced city budget, orchestrating street millage fund renovations, and securing a redevelopment plan for the anticipated Revival Commons at the former Tecumseh Products site.

“The support from Council, as well as the city staff, has been tremendous over the past six months,” Swallow said. “It was a very welcome surprise as I worked into this new role, and so far, things are going well.”

Swallow said his first impression of Tecumseh was positive with the cooperative attitude among city staff and residents considering taking on new and exciting projects. “It’s very refreshing compared to some communities that find it difficult to work together,” Swallow said. “It’s unique to Tecumseh and helps the city be successful. It’s evident in the projects we’ve worked on.”

Swallow is particularly excited about the growing relationship between the City and developer Jason Miller as construction of the Revival Commons takes place. “The partnership with Jason has been great, and it’s a new endeavor so we hope that works out on his end and that he is as successful as we hope he will be,” Swallow said.

Spearheading the fundraising campaign for the Market on Evans was one of his proudest accomplishments, according to Swallow. “The community really supported us, and it shows the pride amongst the patrons of the city,” Swallow said. “They’re ready to get projects off the ground and willing to put in a tremendous effort.”

Swallow also wants to look into developing condominium homes for families and retirees in the community. “These houses are in high demand with the millennials and the baby boomer generation, so it’s a high priority to have this type of housing,” Swallow said.

Some of the challenges Swallow faces ahead are financial challenges opposing the city, as expenses are continuing to grow faster than revenues, partly due to cuts from the State of Michigan. Pension plans for the city are still not fully funded, and some services need to be delivered at lower costs in the future. Swallow believes these problems have solutions, if the City of Tecumseh can devise creative ways to solve them.

“I’m certainly very excited to see all these new projects take shape,” Swallow said. “I’m looking forward to seeing how it will transform our neighborhood and our community.”