Royal Oak’s ex-city manager to receive $151K in severance

ROYAL OAK — City Manager Joe Gacioch’s separation agreement has officially been approved by the Royal Oak City Commission as of Jan. 12. 

The agreement ends Gacicoh’s employment, leaving him with $135,950.22 in severance, according to the separation agreement document. 

The payment is to go toward Gacioch in the form of a one-time lump sum payment equal to nine months of his base salary, amounting to $151,487.39. 

“This lump sum payment shall be made at the second regular pay occurring in Jan. 2026 with deductions for any payment made to him after Dec. 8, 2025 which is the amount of $15,537.17,” the document states. “The lump sum payment after deductions will be $135,950.22 payable to Gacioch.”

Gacioch’s separation from the city was announced on Dec. 9 through a statement released by the city of Royal Oak. 

Gacioch served as city manager for nearly a year, and prior to his employment with Royal Oak, he served as the city manager of Ferndale for about five years and had worked for Ferndale since 2012. 

An interim leadership team was unanimously approved at the Dec. 8 City Commission meeting, including City Attorney Niccolas Grochowski as the interim city manager, and Police Chief Michael Moore serving as the interim deputy city manager alongside deputy city manager Susan Barkman.

At the Jan. 12 meeting, Grochowski’s position as interim was confirmed. 

“I am confident in the commission’s decision to move in a different direction,” Mayor Michael Fournier said via email. “We have amazing staff that have stepped up and we haven’t missed a beat.”

The reasoning for Gacioch to leave is still not being made public, according to Fournier. 

“Personnel decisions are always difficult to discuss publicly. The public voted for and placed trust in the commission to keep Royal Oak safe and vibrant and to make tough decisions like who should be a city manager,” Fournier said via email. 

City Commissioner Brandon Kolo said that the severance agreement is a normal thing that can happen within a city government. 

“A severance is something that many city managers get in this job. It’s a unique position, and there is only one per municipality, and it takes managers a while to find their next position,” Kolo said. “So, part of the industry is that almost every city manager contract has a separation agreement with a severance built into it.”

Looking forward, the city is on the search for a new city manager. On Jan. 12, the commission approved an executive search for a city manager with Vettraino Consulting LLC. 

The total professional services of Vettraino Consulting LLC will cost $29,500, according to the proposal document. 

“The proposal is designed to support a stable, transparent, and well-aligned process that not only identifies strong candidates, but also promotes long-term success once a City Manager is selected,” the proposal document states.

Vettraino Consulting will be conducting an assessment to understand the city’s organizational culture, governance dynamics, expectations and operational needs, the document states. 

“The assessment will help clarify priorities and inform the recruitment process to ensure a strong match between the city and prospective candidates,” it states.

Fournier said he is hopeful and confident in the search process.

“Plans are still being formulated and I feel very optimistic that we will find the right fit in our next City Manager,” he said via email. 

Kolo said that Vettraino is an experienced company that has helped surrounding communities find the same kind of leadership. 

“Jaymes Vettraino (of Vettraino Consulting, LLC) is a former city manager of Rochester, and a longtime consultant, and he professionally helps people with placement,” Kolo said. “He does this all around the state. Most recently he helped the mayor of Pontiac staff up all of their new positions with the changeover in administration there.”

Kolo said that the commission is feeling secure at the moment, with the help that it got from people already established in the community, like Grochowski. 

“Royal Oak has a deep bench of great employees, and we have some dedicated people who have stepped up to really fill in any gap that we have,” he said. “So, it’s a seamless transition. … I think that’s important so that residents won’t feel it, they won’t see a change. Staff will continue to have what they need to provide for our residents, so we continue to move forward, and look forward to finding the next leader to work with us to accomplish all of the goals we have.”

The search for the next city manager is slated to take around 12 weeks, according to Kolo. 

For more information, visit romi.gov.