General City Info

Type of Government

Strong Mayor

Rochester Hills has a Strong Mayor (Home Rule) form of city government.  The voters of Rochester Hills elect a mayor every four years.  In 2007, Bryan Barnett was elected mayor by the residents of Rochester Hills.  Prior to being elected mayor, Mayor Barnett served for nearly six years on the City Council.

The mayor's job is a full-time position.  The mayor is the head of the city administration and is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the city government.

The Rochester Hills City Charter gives the mayor a long list of powers and duties.  Some of the Mayor's powers and duties are as follows:

• Enforce all laws and city ordinances and regulations.
• Hire and fire department directors and employees of the city.
• Prepare and administer the city's annual budget.
• Be the sole spokesperson for the city.
• Exercise a veto of actions of the City Council.

City Council

Rochester Hills also has seven City Council members who are elected to four-year terms.  Three of the Council members are at-large representatives (they represent the entire city); four Council members are district representatives (they are elected from a smaller area of the city).  The City Council meets three times each month.  Council members are not full-time city employees.  The City Council is responsible for adopting the laws and policies of the city and adopting a budget.
The City Council Members, and their terms of office, are as follows: 

• Ravi Yalamanchi, District 1 (term ends in 2009)
• J. Martin Brennan, District 2 (term ends in 2011)
• Greg Hooper, District 3 (term ends in 2011)
• Erik Ambrozaitis, District 4 (term ends in 2009)
• Vern Pixley, At Large (term ends in 2011)
• James Rosen, At Large (term ends in 2009)
• Michael Webber, At Large (term ends in 2011)

City Facts

From 1835 until 1984, the community that is now Rochester Hills was Avon Township.  On November 20, 1984, the voters in Avon Township elected to become a city.  The voters chose the name "Rochester Hills."

The population of Rochester Hills is approximately 70,000.

The city is 32.2 square miles.

There are two public school systems in Rochester Hills: Rochester Community Schools and the Avondale School District. Oakland University and Rochester College are located in Rochester Hills.

City Services

The city government has approximately 218 full-time workers.  These employees provide many services for the people of our community.  The City Hall offices are open Monday - Friday from 8:00am to 5:00pm unless noted otherwise.

Some city employees work outside:  they repair broken water mains; clean out sewers; fix potholes in streets; plow snow and put down salt to make the city's roads and pathways safe; read water meters; dig ditches to control flooding; put up street signs and traffic signs (stop, yield, speed limit, etc.); operate the city's parks; and do many, many other jobs.

The city also has a Fire Department with full-time fire fighters and paid-on-call (volunteer) fire fighters.  These men and women receive a lot of training and make sure the city of Rochester Hills can respond to fires and medical emergencies 24 hours a day.

Rochester Hills has a contract with the Oakland County Sheriff for our police protection with 59 deputies assigned to the City of Rochester Hills.

Many employees work at City Hall.  They give documents and information to people who call or visit.  Some of the jobs City Hall employees do are to collect the city's taxes; issue dog licenses; give out birth certificates; and issue permits for building new homes, additions or swimming pools.  City Hall employees help to plan new subdivisions and work with other governments (Oakland County and the State of Michigan, for example) on large projects like construction on the main roads.

City Mission and City Motto

All of the employees of the city work for the people of Rochester Hills. Our mission is to establish Customer Service as the primary goal for Rochester Hills City Government -- through continued, professional growth of our employees; through credible, proactive improvements to our procedures and technologies; through effective planning for our infrastructure needs; and through effective retention and attraction of residents and business.

The city's motto is:
 
"We live in peace and good will"