By By JESSICA SIEFF / Niles Daily Star
NILES – Sitting down with Terry Eull in his office at City Hall feels almost opportunistic.
Button tufted leather chairs and dark woods and the big desk with the big bookcases feels so formal. But Eull's casual, easy going demeanor opens the door to a wealth of insight into local government – the benefit of a career more than 30 years old.
This August, Eull will mark his 10th year as City Administrator for Niles. Born in North Dakota, Eull came to Niles at the age of 10, when his father took a job here. He is a Brandywine High School graduate of the class of 1967, who went on to serve a tour of duty in Vietnam with the United States Air Force. And his career in local government began in 1977.
As city administrator, Eull is responsible, he said, "for all day-to-day operations of the city." Those day-to-day operations amount to 115 employees and a 31 million-dollar budget. "If problems are big," he said. "They usually land on my desk."
Eull's job almost seems to demand a love for working with people. He has that love – as well as a good grasp on what is needed from local government – and how those needs have changed over 30 years. Managing a city or a township today, Eull said, is getting more and more difficult. "It's a different ball game completely," he said. "It's just a difficult climate today."
Giving insight into the problems and challenges that face the city today, Eull says they are primarily financial. He's seen difficult times before, when the nation struggled in the 80s. But this time is different. Eull said the current economic situation of the state of Michigan is going to have long term effects. Planning and monitoring of goals are also a part of the job, but local government officials are being forced to look at those goals and those plans more often in order to adapt to times that seem to be in the midst of constant change.
"Basic life supports," such as water, sewer, utilities, fire and police protection will always be in need by the people of the city. But Eull said the ability to provide those to the community under financially stressful times is the challenge. In order to maintain those supports, the city is trying to consolidate positions. For example, when someone retires from a position, such as Fire Marshall for example, officials are finding ways to delegate those responsibilities to existing positions in order to save money.
"We're doing well," Eull said. "We're okay because we're conservative."
Still, he admits it is a "relatively real possibility in the future" things may get tougher.
Considering such challenges, which wait for Eull on his desk everyday – just what is it that has kept him there for 10 years?
"I find the position very challenging," he said. "And I think it offers a lot of personal satisfaction." Eull has an open door policy, ready and willing to listen to the concerns of those who need him. He's realistic. He knows there are some problems he can't fix – some may not even fall under his umbrella of responsibilities. "I feel like I'm here to serve," he said. But, "you can't solve all the ills of society."
Eull does what he can – and gives credit where credit is due. He believes in ideas and believes that often, "a lot of ideas that happen in a community don't come from the top, they come from everyone else." He listens and he explains himself clearly.
"In my opinion," he said. "Local government is the most responsive of any government in the United States."
And Eull seems confident in the city's ability to respond. "We have a detailed plan for everything," he said. And he feels its important to know when to stand back and when to let others do the jobs they've been trained to do.
"I didn't plan to do this," Eull said about his 10 years as City Administrator. "I always say when I grow up, I'll figure out what I want to do." He laughs. "I think I'm running out of time.
"My time will come to retire," Eull said. "And the reality is it's getting closer."
But in a time of constant change – many may rather focus on the now. And as of right now, the City of Niles still has the opportunity to rely on Terry Eull.