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This past January, the Westland City Council chose Michael P. Londeau to fill the vacancy left by Mayor William Wild who resigned to pursue employment in the private sector and spend more time with family. Londeau will fill the mayor's role for the remainder of this year and says he plans to campaign to retain the role this August and November. Londeau, 44, is Westland's 9th mayor. A lifelong resident of Westland, Londeau decided to try a run for city council and was first elected to a two-year term in 2017. He had also previously served on the Parks and Recreation Advisory Council, the Youth Assistance Advisory Council, and has served as chairman of the Downtown Development Authority.

"I grew up here and I still live in the same house I grew up in. All my neighbors know me and I know them, I've never left," he says with a smile. "I'm very passionate about my city. I'm in a different position now and it's extremely humbling and rewarding, it's extremely, extremely gratifying and I'm living my dream job. I'm exactly where I need to be."

Having most recently served as city council president pro-tem, Londeau knew right away as mayor the work that needed to be addressed by city leadership. His first priority was public safety. "I saw that our police and fire departments were really behind the curve as far as pay and benefits," he says. Londeau and his team sat down with representatives from the three unions representing the city's public safety workers and discussed pay scale and benefits, and also examined why the city was unable to recruit and retain police officers and fire fighters. He adds that currently the police department is understaffed due to officer retirements and a lack of qualified candidates, while the fire department is facing similar issues."We came up with a really good recruitment and retention plan; we think we fixed the problem involving wage scale. A lot of homework went into this and I really want to thank my negotiating team that has been working with this along with both police unions that worked with us to come up with a number that works within our budget but also will be sustainable in the future as well. I think we fixed both our police and fire recruitment and retention issues, all three unions are extremely satisfied and I think that we're going to be able to recruit and retain great, qualified candidates now and in the future."

Londeau also believes it is important that a mayor be accessible to the residents. With that in mind, he is introducing Community Summits, which will basically be a continuation of community gatherings Mayor Wild had hosted during his administration. He hopes the casual atmosphere will give residents a chance to interact with city leaders in a setting other than a formal city council meeting. The first Community Summit will be a movie night on June 14 at Central City Park. "I'll be out there the whole time, my staff will be out there to address and answer any questions. I think you've always got to be available, transparent with people, and accessible. I've got a customer service background and you hate to call residents customers but they really are, they're paying my salary so I think we owe it to them to always answer them and work with them on issues," he says. In addition, Londeau says he meets with residents when he gets out into the community riding alongside workers in the department of public service and the police and fire departments. He has made an effort to let Westland residents know he hears them, returning phone calls and emails and working to resolve issues brought to him.

Two initiatives Londeau says the city plans to implement are residential sidewalk improvements and return of the curbside bulk leaf pick-up at the request of residents. He adds that because the city is in good financial shape, costs associated with these initiatives will be covered by the city of Westland.

Another goal the mayor says the city still has hopes for is the creation of a community recreation center. The city had previously planned to transform the old Marshall School building into a YMCA but that plan was abandoned due to rising costs. Londeau says the city continues to explore options for a rec center and hopes to see that goal accomplished in the coming years. "One of my goals as mayor is to bring the rec center back," he says.

Londeau says he wants to see the city continue to grow, innovate, and remain a safe place to live, play, and work. He adds, "While we're the 10th largest city in Michigan, I still feel like it's a small town. We have the small town feel and everybody knows your name or you know their name. It's incredible and we have some of the best residents around. That's why I've never left, I'm almost 45and I've never left this city and don't plan on leaving this city for a long time."

Mayor Michael P. Londeau can be reached at [email protected]