CARBONDALE – Carbondale’s City Manager is resigning.

Gary Williams said in a City of Carbondale press release Tuesday that he notified Mayor Carolin Harvey and the City Council last week that he will be resigning effective at the end of this month.

Williams says over the 8-plus years that he has served as City Manager, the city has accomplished a tremendous number of projects, improved its financial position, and set the standard for transparency in everything it does.

Williams says he is extremely proud of how far the City Council and city staff have moved the city forward during this time. Equally important, Williams is grateful for the community partners and supportive residents that helped make these accomplishments possible.

Williams says as he approaches the last stage of his career and evaluates his long-term goals, he acknowledges the toll that the City Manager role takes on you personally and professionally. In order for Williams to be his best for the people that matter the most to him, his family, he says he needed to make a change and decided to pursue another opportunity within the region.

Mayor Harvey says Williams has done an incredible job for the city and is a great asset that it hates to see go. But the mayor understands his decision and wishes him the best.

Williams went on to say that the past 13 years at the City of Carbondale has been the best work experience of his career. He says as a community, you should feel confident that your city government is stacked with very talented, dedicated professionals at every level. They are the reason that the city has been able to pursue and accomplish so many transformative projects like rebuilding downtown, securing $22 million of funding to build a new multimodal facility, adding miles of bike paths, improving street conditions, attacking sustainability initiatives, and restoring several distressed parks that were transferred to the city in recent years. Please support these folks as they continue to provide these essential services while keeping you safe.

Williams says the mayor will be speaking with city staff this week to evaluate directors that have expressed interest in assuming the Interim City Manager role. The City Council will discuss possible appointments at their March 12 meeting. The process to find a permanent City Manager will occur at a future date.