Welcome to the Club: Ferndale's New Mayor Gathers Former Mayors for Reception

Three weeks after , he'll finally get to chair his first City Council meeting. But not before he hosts

Coulter has invited former Mayors Robert McGee, Pam McCullough, Chuck Goedert, , and Mayor Pro Tem Kate Baker to the 6 p.m. reception at .

"I'm a student of history and respect where we came from," Coulter said. "I've looked at the challenges City Council has this year, and I take comfort that each of these mayors confronted their own challenges as mayor. It reminds us that we'll get through these (challenges) as well."

Coulter is filling the seat left vacant by Covey, who resigned as mayor to become commissioner of Oakland County's 25th District — a seat previously held by Coulter, who left it for a state Senate campaign that he lost in the primary. Coulter will finish out Covey's term, which will end Dec. 31.

Coulter will chair a City Council faces an , , continued cuts in services, and public safety union negotiations.

"It's a full plate, for sure," Coulter said Jan. 24, the night he was selected.

During the past three weeks, Coulter said he's had full days of meetings throughout Ferndale.

"After I was selected, I said I wanted to take up a listening tour with Ferndale," Coulter said. "And there has been no shortage of people taking me up on that.

"Most people know me as (county) commissioner. This is a whole other discussion as mayor."

Coulter said the support so far has been overwhelmingly kind and supportive, and he said he would continue to have "good, honest discussion about things happening in the city" with residents and organizations in Ferndale.

"It's interesting, the sheer number of issues that people want to talk about," he said. "It's much more so than when I was commissioner."

As for some of those issues, Coulter said he met with council in a special meeting to discuss the budgeting process. "Council's first priority is the budget," he said. "We're planning on meeting every Wednesday for a couple of months to work through the budget."

Because Ferndale residents won't vote on the Headlee Override millage proposal until May, the council will have to have two working budgets until then: one with the Headlee Override and one without.

Coulter also said the council has begun initial discussions with the Michigan Municipal League as a step toward locating a permanent city manager.

Coulter will be sworn in at Monday's City Council meeting after the Pledge of Allegiance.

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