It's a good time to retire, Texarkana, Texas, City Manager John Whitson said after the City Council announced plans to bring his employment to an end.
The council will meet Friday and vote on two ordinances: one to amend Whitson's contract, setting an end date, and another to appoint an interim city manager to replace him. The city did not make the texts of those ordinances available Wednesday.
Whitson said it was his decision to step down and he has offered to remain on staff in a consultant role to smooth the transition to his replacement.
"It's really up to them if they choose to keep me on or if they say, 'No, thanks, go ahead and retire now,'" he said.
On Wednesday, Mayor Bob Bruggeman and each member of the council either declined to comment or did not respond to attempts to reach them.
"These action items follow discussions between the council and Mr. Whitson, and we will have more information to provide to the public at the Friday meeting," Bruggeman stated in a news release.
Whitson, 68, plans after retirement to join his wife in the Jenks, Okla., home he recently bought to be closer to the couple's only child and infant grandchild, their first.
"My wife's doing the full-time babysitting right now, and I think she's kind of thinking she'd like to get a little relief," he said.
The state of city government makes this an ideal time to make the change, Whitson said.
"We've got the perfect staff at the moment. Everybody's in the right place, they all know what they're doing. It's a good time for another manager to come on board while everything's sailing nice and smooth," he said.
Whitson said he has not been involved in selecting his replacement, though the council has asked about his two deputies and he has said either could do the job well.
In January, Whitson promoted two city staffers to new deputy city manager positions. Former public works director Kyle Dooley became deputy city manager for operations, supervising the public works, parks and recreation, fire, and police departments. Former assistant city manager Shirley Jaster became deputy city manager for development, overseeing inspections, community planning and municipal courts.
Friday's meeting will include the council's third closed session to discuss Whitson in less than two weeks. The first was almost an hour long at the end of the council's regular meeting Monday, July 24, and the second lasted almost two hours during a special meeting Friday, July 28.
Both Bruggeman and Whitson said last week the meetings were to discuss Whitson's normal annual performance review. The only thing unusual about the July 28 meeting was its scheduling on a night when there was not a regular council meeting, Whitson said.
In December 2016, Whitson informed the council that he was putting his Texarkana home on the market and buying the Oklahoma house. At that time he told the Gazette he did not plan to retire until 2020.
Whitson took office in January 2013 at a salary of $146,500 a year plus car and mobile phone allowances. His contract is for an indefinite term and can be terminated under various circumstances, including mutual agreement or Whitson's retirement.
Whitson served in various positions in the Army from 1968 to 1992, rising to lieutenant colonel, according to previous Gazette reports. He lived in Texarkana from 1983 to 1986, when he was director of resources management for Red River Army Depot. He was town manager of Morrisville, N.C., from 2003 to 2013 and town manager and finance officer of Lewisville, N.C., from 1992 to 2003.
Several other changes are coming to Texas-side government. The council is preparing to appoint a replacement for former Ward 4 Councilmember Brian Matthews, who recently resigned because he moved out of the ward. Ward 5's Christy Paddock has said she will not seek re-election in November.
Ward 2 will also elect a councilmember in November, and Willie Ray has suggested she may be ready to step aside after more than 20 years in that seat. Betty Williams will run for re-election to the Ward 3 seat, to which she was appointed in January after the resignation of Tina Veal-Gooch.
Friday's City Council meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. in City Hall, 220 Texas Blvd.
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