Longtime Birmingham City Manager Thomas Markus has been hired to lead the city of Royal Oak, five months after the previous city manager was abruptly terminated.
The Royal Oak City Commission unanimously approved the hire during their regular meeting Monday. Terms of Markus’ employment weren’t immediately available.
He brings more than 40 years of municipal leadership experience to Royal Oak, said City Attorney Niccolas Grochowski during the meeting.
Markus’ background includes work in “financial stewardship, infrastructure and redevelopment initiatives, strategic planning, organizational leadership and succession planning,” Grochowski told the commission.
Much of his experience comes from his time leading the city of Birmingham, just a few miles north of Royal Oak. He was Birmingham’s city manager from 1989 until 2010, then came out of retirement to again oversee the city’s day-to-day operations from 2021 until 2023.
He also previously served as city manager in Iowa City, Iowa, and Lawrence, Kansas.
Markus said he was “humbled, excited” to begin work in Royal Oak.
“I will endeavor to make you very proud and feel like you made the best decision you could for your city manager,” Markus told city officials.
He joins the city after former manager Joseph Gacioch was abruptly terminated in December 2025 after spending less than a year on the job. Officials have not explained what led to Gacioch’s departure, except that he was let go without cause, meaning it was not related to issues like insubordination, unbecoming conduct, criminal acts, moral turpitude or gross negligence.
Gacioch received a lump-sum payment of $136,000, according to his separation agreement.
Since Gacioch’s termination, Grochowski has served as interim city manager while Police Chief Michael Moore worked as the interim deputy city manager alongside Deputy City Manager Susan Barkman. Vettraino Consulting was paid $29,500 to lead the job search that brought Markus into Royal Oak.
Grochowski said Markus was chosen from a field of more than 70 applicants.
His leadership experiences “uniquely position him to help guide the city forward during this exciting and positive period involving substantial organizational, operational, infrastructure and long-term strategic initiatives currently underway throughout the community,” Grochowski said.
Markus, 75, also is expected to serve as a mentor and a “bridge to the city’s next generation of organizational leadership,” Grochowski said. Markus told officials his tenure in Birmingham included mentorship of an assistant city manager who eventually succeeded him in that role.
Commission member Brandon Kolo stressed that Markus isn’t being hired on an interim basis.
“This is a multiple years Mr. Markus is going to be here,” Kolo said.
According to the Michigan Municipal League, Markus earned a bachelor’s degree from Minnesota State University and a master’s degree from Roosevelt University. He has three children and seven grandchildren. He told commissioners that he will be moving to Royal Oak in the immediate future.
mreinhart@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Royal Oak hires city manager after monthslong search
Reporting by Max Reinhart, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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