“I am grateful for the support from the council members — past and present — who had the faith in me to allow me to serve as the city manager,” he said in a news release.
The announcement comes just a month after the end of Don Patterson’s 16-year run as Kettering mayor.
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
Patterson told the Dayton Daily News in December that Schwieterman has been “a tremendous asset” to the city.
“Without Mark, I don’t think we could have gotten things done and made the city better, because Mark was that consummate partner,” he said. “And I will tell you, Mark and I didn’t always agree. We had some pretty get-up-and-close-the-door-type of discussions ... but he has been such a tremendous asset to this community.”
“And if the city manager and the mayor don’t get along, that’s a problem,” Patterson said.
Patterson and other Kettering officials have commended Schwieterman for his fiscal management, and work to bring businesses and jobs to the city.
Newly elected Mayor Peggy Lehner said in the announcement that Schwieterman’s “highly professional leadership and foresight throughout his career have directly contributed to Kettering’s financial health, unique amenities and the care given to our infrastructure and public safety that enhance quality living for residents.”
Patterson cited Schwieterman’s leadership in the city buying more than 300 acres of land at Miami Valley Research Park in 2017.
Since then, employers such as Community Tissue Services Center and Life Connection of Ohio have relocated there, investing millions of dollars and more than 200 jobs.
In more recent years, two of Kettering’s largest employers have announced plans to leave the city. Synchrony Financial moved about 1,900 jobs out of Kettering Business Park at the end of 2020 while Tenneco late last year said by 2024 it would end operations on Woodman Drive, where it has about 650 jobs.
Schwieterman has been among the highest paid public officials in the Dayton area. An August 2021 Dayton Daily News analysis of public payrolls reported Schwieterman’s annual salary at $211,634.
Schwieterman earned a Master’s degree in public administration and a Bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Dayton.
He began working in Kettering’s finance department in 1989, later being promoted to tax manager, according to the city.
Schwieterman then became budget manager and later assistant city manager before succeeding Steve Husemann as Kettering’s top administrator.
Schwieterman took leave from the job in December 2019 to recover from what city officials termed a medical condition and returned the following spring.
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