His goal: Restore trust in Stevensville
By Shawn McGrath / H-P staff writer
Published: Monday, April 5, 2010 1:09 PM EDT
STEVENSVILLE - Meet the new boss - much different than the old boss.
Derek Perry, 35, St. Joseph's deputy city manager and public services director, was named Stevensville's part-time village manager in November after the financial scandal that enveloped former Village Manager Todd Gardner. Perry's first day on the job was March 1, and he's worked for St. Joseph since 2006.
Gardner is scheduled to stand trial in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids later this month on charges he took $293,140 from the village.
Herald-Palladium Staff Writer Shawn McGrath sat down with Perry in his small office in the Stevensville Village Hall recently to talk about Perry's work in Stevensville and St. Joseph, why he went into public service and what he enjoys doing when he's not working.
Originally from Burr Oak in St. Joseph County, Perry lives with his wife, Angela, and five children - Benjamin, 9, Keegan, 7, Olivia, 6, Hailey, 5, and Melanie, 4 - in St. Joseph. The Michigan Technical University graduate has nearly completed the requirements for a master's degree in public administration at Western Michigan University.
Why did you go into public service?
"I've always had a strong desire to give back to the community, and I think public service is a good way to do that. It seems to fit my skill set. I think public service is a public trust. I think that's important."
What do you mean by "skill set?"
"I think I have a good ability to interact with people and communicate with people on a one-on-one basis. I think I have a good ability to problem-solve. And I think those are important characteristics to have for a public servant.
Why were you interested in being Stevensville's village manager after Gardener's alleged crimes?
"Part of it was the challenge itself. I mean, I like a good challenge. I saw some potential to make a difference. Once again, going back to that desire to want to make a difference. ... I'm a big believer that public service is a public trust. ... It feels like in Stevensville that public trust has been shaken and I had an interest in trying to strengthen that over time."
Other than dealing with the financial mess, what's the most challenging aspect of being village manager?
"I would say the most challenging thing is just the number of things that need to be done or are on the work list. Like we want to update the personnel manual, we want to ... well there are 32 items (required under the state's audit) that need to be addressed, but different policies. The difficult part is trying to get all that done in 10 hours a week."
When do you think those 32 items will be addressed?
"A good chunk of them actually are done already. And each month the Village Council meets, and at the last council meeting they adopted a couple of different policies that were required by the state audit, and we'll keep doing that. So hopefully, within the next three to four months we'll have those items addressed."
What's your favorite book and why?
"I would say the Bible. I just think it has a lot of good lessons in there that a person can take away on a daily basis. It seems there's always something you can find in there."
How did you meet your wife?
"She actually grew up in Burr Oak, too. She's actually six years younger than I am. I came back from college, Michigan Tech, and was working for the city of Sturgis at that time and we met playing roller hockey; a bunch of us would get together."
What do you like to do on your days off?
"We like to go to the beach. We like to walk in the woods. My children really like to do that. We like to go camping. In fact, last spring we bought a used RV. With seven of us, it's actually the most economical way to go, so a lot of times, we'll go to one of the state parks and spend the weekend there."
If you could have dinner with any historical figure who would it be?
"I really like reading about presidents and I've always been intrigued by some of the early ones, like Jefferson and Monroe and Madison. It would interesting to sit down with those gentlemen and just discuss not only what their vision was in their time, but what they think of the country now. That would be very intriguing."
