Flint, MI– Mayor Sheldon Neeley has announced that the position of Department Public Works director has been filled, after being vacant since September of last year.
Michael Brown started March 1, and is currently serving as interim DPW director. His appointment must go before the Flint City Council for their consent.
Brown has worked in multiple wastewater plants in the past, according to a press release sent out by the city today. He was the utilities administrator at the wastewater treatment plant until 2011, the chief chemist for the city of Saginaw’s Wastewater Treatment Plant, and most recently, an operations supervisor for two wastewater plants in Oakland County.
He holds multiple licenses related to wastewater and water, as well as a State of Michigan teaching certificate in secondary education for mathematics and chemistry, which are two subjects he taught for the I.G.N.I.T.E. program in Mt. Morris.
In this role, Brown will oversee infrastructure systems including water, sewer, transportation and the water treatment plant.
“It is great to be back serving the community I love,” Brown said. “We have a strong team here at the city of Flint and I look forward to working together to serve the residents.”
The former director of the department, Rob Bincsik, retired last year, and the job posting had been up ever since. According to the city, the position had previously gone unfilled for more than two years after the previous director resigned in November of 2015.
City Administrator Clyde Edwards was filling that role until the new director was found.
“We are happy to have Michael on board serving the residents of the City of Flint,” Neeley said in the press release. “His expertise and experiences are an ideal match for this critical role.”