Champine announces retirement as Center Line city manager

CENTER LINE — After nearly a decade as Center Line’s city manager, Dennis Champine has announced his retirement, closing a chapter that saw major investments in parks, downtown revitalization efforts and millions of dollars secured through grants and alternative funding resources.

Champine, who has served as city manager since Aug. 11, 2015, said he expects to step down in mid-to-late November.

While he remains proud of the work accomplished during his tenure, he said recent events prompted him to focus more on family and life outside of government service.

“It was a wake-up call,” Champine said. “I realized that I was getting older, and I needed to be able to spend time with my family more, because family is everything in my life.”

During his time with the city, Champine has worn multiple hats, including overseeing the city’s Downtown Development Authority and other administrative functions. He pointed to improvements in the downtown district as one of the accomplishments he’s most proud of.

Under his leadership, the DDA has invested in gateway signs, landscaping, flowers, banners and other beautification projects designed to strengthen the city’s identity and attract investment.

“We want to keep the small-town lifestyle,” he said. “People love it here because they know that they’re in the small, little town that’s surrounded by the third-largest city, and yet they are still in their little town, their unique little town that they love.”

Champine added that the district’s tax capture grew substantially during his time, reflecting increased property values and redevelopment efforts.

He also highlighted investments in multiple parks throughout the city, in which the city spent more than $6 million on upgrades including new tennis and pickleball courts, improved pathways, new football field lighting, parking lot improvements and other recreational amenities.

Much of the work was funded through grants and state or federal appropriations rather than local tax dollars — an example of finding “creative” ways to bring outside revenue into the city, another one of Champine’s accomplishments, he said.

“We’ve worked really hard on all of those things, but I think one of my biggest achievements as been being able to find other sources of income to help us reduce taxes over the past 10 years,” he said.

Those efforts included aggressively pursuing grants and state and federal appropriations, entering into partnerships such as the city’s intergovernmental service agreement with the U.S. Army garrison in Warren, and identifying new revenue sources that reduced reliance on local taxpayers.

Champine said that the city leveraged those funding opportunities to support projects ranging from park enhancements and infrastructure upgrades to sewer system improvements, allowing Center Line to invest millions of dollars into community assets while keeping tax increases to a minimum for much of the past decade.

Looking back, Champine said he believes Center Line is in a stronger position today than when he arrived a decade ago.

“I am very comfortable with the fact that I believe that the city’s in a better position than it was 10 years ago,” he said.

Although he plans to leave city government, Champine isn’t planning to fully retire yet. He said he intends to launch a government consulting business with his daughter while gradually transitioning into retirement alongside his wife.

Still, he said the biggest priority is spending more time with his six children, 11 grandchildren and extended family.

“I just want to see my grandkids grow up,” he said.

Mayor Robert Binson said Champine played a key role in helping guide the city over the past decade. The two took office around the same time in 2015.

“(Champine) has been a great city manager,” Binson said. “We worked very well together. I really liked working with him. I’ve enjoyed our time together, and I’m really proud of what we’ve done with the city.”

Binson credited Champine’s experience, willingness to learn and ability to build relationships with other communities as strengths that benefited Center Line.

He added that Champine leaves behind a strong leadership team and a city that is well-positioned for the future.

“I think he’s leaving the city in good hands,” Binson said. “I’m really happy with where we’re at.”

In addition to Champine’s retirement, Binson has also decided not to run for another term as mayor so he can focus on running his own business.

As he prepares to leave office, Champine said he remains grateful for the opportunity to serve the community.

“Residents, I appreciated the opportunity,” he said. “It was a great opportunity, and one that I immensely enjoyed, for sure.”