BH Commission Appoints Ellis Mitchell City Manager

ellismitchell272
ellismitchell272

It’s official. Ellis Mitchell has been appointed the city manager of Benton Harbor. At a meeting on Wednesday night, the Benton Harbor City Commission interviewed Mitchell. He’s been serving as interim city manager since July. During his interview, Mitchell said he moved to Benton Harbor before even getting the interim job as he values the community. He also said it’s important to delegate, evaluate staff, and train staff.

“People management is the hardest part of this job,” Mitchell said. “Projects don’t do anything but sit there and wait until you do something.”

Mitchell told commissioners it will be his task to work directly with them, noting developers always want to know about the local government in a community.

“Businesses coming into your city are looking at you. They’re not looking at me, the city manager. They’re not looking at the staff first. They’re looking at the city commission. The first thing we need to do is make sure that we’re conducting business as business people.”

Mitchell said it’s saddened him to see city buildings fall into disrepair, like the Armory and the building at 200 Paw Paw. He wants to hold a retreat with the commission and told WSJM News he’ll hold off on announcing major initiatives until getting guidance.

“I’m going to wait until I hear what the commission’s plans are for the future. That’s where it has to start because they’re the ones who were elected by the people.”

Mitchell was the only applicant for city manager to be interviewed by commissioners. That’s because the other candidate they invited to be interviewed declined due to already finding another job. The vote to hire him was unanimous, and contract negotiations will now begin.