Longtime Hills City Clerk Resigns

At tonight's council study session, the city clerk's budget was the last item discussed – and it came with quite a surprise.

Longtime clerk Kathy Dornan informed officials that she has submitted her letter of resignation to city manager Steve Brock. After more than 20 years as clerk, she is leaving for a position with a private-sector company.

"Once I retired from (attending) council meetings and went part-time ... I realized it wasn't enough for me," she said. "I got another part-time job at a company that has developed into more than a part-time job. With a heavy heart and a lot of different feelings, I'm going with that other company."

Dornan represents a company that sells election equipment in Michigan. She has been working as customer service manager, which has given her the chance to work with friends in other clerks' offices around the state.

Dornan said her "part-time" status at city hall really wasn't part-time either. She found herself working more hours, but from home.

"Once we get into elections, and next year, the presidential, it will be an impossible situation," she said.

Dornan said she believes the city needs a full-time clerk and deputy clerk, so there is a chain of command. Particularly with elections, she said, having a part-time deputy clerk will not work.

She left her official departure date open-ended, and said she would work another month or two to help with the transition. "I am sad to leave. It's been emotional for me," Dornan said. "The support ... and the grace you all work under is amazing to me ... I have the best council in the world."

To say that officials were reluctant to accept Dornan's resignation would be an understatement.

"It's going to be hard to imagine this place without you," council member Randy Bruce said. 

While it is said that everyone can be replaced, Farmington Hills Mayor Jerry Ellis said, "You're as close to irreplaceable as there is."