The Southfield City Council unanimously approved City Administrator Fred Zorn’s appointment of Patrick Ryan as the new Director of Public Works at the May 2 City Council meeting. 

“I am pleased with City Council’s approval of my appointment of Mr. Ryan as the new Director of Public Works,” commented City Administrator Fred Zorn. “He comes to us with a great deal of experience in all facets of municipal public works and I am confident that he will be a great asset to the City.”

Mr. Ryan is a public works professional with 31 years of experience in the public and private sector. He has extensive experience in water, wastewater, and stormwater utility operations, debris removal, solid waste, environmental, grounds, parks, forestry, roadway, bridges, and facilities construction and maintenance. He most recently worked as the Director of Public Works for the City of Rochester, Michigan in addition to serving in several other public works positions, including Public Works Director in two Illinois municipalities, Public Works Director for the City of Hyattsville in Maryland, and Assistant Public Works Director for the Village of Homewood, in Illinois. 

He has successfully secured grant funding and administering federally-funded contracts in accordance with all federal and state regulations. Additionally, he has procured numerous state and federal grants for environmental remediation and improvements as well as disaster relief and mitigation and successfully executed contracts including roadway reconstruction, debris management, wastewater treatment plants and collection, and energy efficiency. Mr. Ryan has also served on numerous state and local advisory boards and commissions responsible for disaster planning and environmental improvement.

As the new Director of Public Works for the city of Southfield, Mr. Ryan will oversee 73 employees and a $100 million budget.