By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent
BUCHANAN, MI – After an eventful year that featured the completion of the nearly $20 million downtown infrastructure project, Buchanan City Commissioners expressed their gratitude to City Manager Tony McGhee for guiding the city through it all.
Commissioners met with McGhee in closed session for a half hour at the end of last week’s commission meeting to conduct his one year evaluation. Commissioners came out with praise for McGhee and the work he has done since becoming the city manager in January, 2025.
“Congratulations to Tony for his first year,” Commissioner Larry Money said. “It’s been a hectic year. You came in at a bad time and took charge. You’ve done a great job and the staff did a good job settling you in.”
“I also want to say thank you to Tony for yet another great six months,” Commissioner Raquell George said. “We couldn’t have gotten through the last year without you. We really do have the best man at the wheel for capital planning and community involvement.”
Mayor Mark Weedon said after the meeting that commissioners had rated McGhee on his performance in several categories and had given him high marks. Weedon said the commission gave McGhee marks of four and five on a scale of one to five and an overall score of 30.4 out of 35. He had received similar scores in an August mid-year evaluation.
The categories were communication and implementation of city policy, organizational management and staff development, fiscal management, policy and procedure development, community engagement, management of major projects and infrastructure, and leadership, judgment and problem solving.
Weedon said McGhee declined to take a raise. “He’s looking out for the community and the budget,” he said.
For his part, McGhee said that he had decided last year during the development of the current year’s budget to not take a raise if one was offered. The city’s fiscal year runs through June 30.
“When we developed the budget during my first few months with the city for the current fiscal year, which went into effect on July 1, I was aware that we would be entering the most intensive phase of construction and that it would have significant impacts on the community and local businesses,” he said.
“With that in mind, I did not want to accept a raise if one were proposed by the Commission while we were managing the effects of this transformational work. As a result, no raise was included in the budget during the development process.”
As for his positive evaluation, McGhee thanked the commission and the city staff. “I am obviously happy to receive another strong score from the Commission, but a significant part of the credit goes to the team we have here and their commitment to public service and the community,” he said. “None of what we have accomplished in my first year here would have been possible without them.”
Weedon said that McGhee’s evaluations will now be done on an annual basis without mid-year evaluations.
Weedon also passed along praise from State Rep. Brad Paquette of Niles. “Brad Paquette sent a message about our recent audit,” he said. “He said he believes congratulations are in order for completing the $20 million downtown project and coming out of it with money to spare. He said that speaks highly of us as a commission and as a staff.”
Also last week, commissioners held two public hearings, approved a tree stump removal bid and received year-end reports from the city’s fire and police departments. No public comment was received in either public hearing.
A public hearing on responsibility for sewer laterals was held and an ordinance adopted to codify existing city policy. The city’s policy has been and will remain that sewer lines from the main to people’s homes will be the property owner’s responsibility.
The commission held the first of two public hearings about the regulation of sidewalk cafes and outdoor dining areas. McGhee first introduced the idea last month, saying it will streamline the process for restaurants to get permits to have outdoor seating. A second public hearing and possible ordinance adoption will come March 9.
Police Chief Harvey Burnett gave an overview of the department’s activities in 2025. He said that the department’s complaint load was up primarily due to having more personnel. “The statistics are pretty much similar to the previous year, Buchanan is a pretty safe place to live,” he said.
Fire Chief Mike Adams said 2025 was a record year for his department with firefighters responding to 172 calls. He highlighted the department’s activities month by month and also said he expects the city’s ISO insurance rating to be lowered which would translate into savings for property owners.
Adams and a number of firefighters were on hand to show off and demonstrate the new self contained breathing apparatus recently purchased. The department is replacing its outdated equipment in a phased approach.