Patrick Burtch announced his resignation from the City Manager position this morning. Burtch has been with the City of Jackson for nearly nine years. He was first appointed to be Assistant City Manager in May 2011 before taking on the role of City Manager in 2012. A formal resignation letter is yet to be submitted to the Jackson City Council.
Burtch will be leaving the City toward the end of February 2020. He was recently hired as the new City Administrator for the City of Maumee, Ohio. Burtch says this new position will bring him closer to his family in the Toledo area. As he prepares to leave Jackson, Burtch is thanking City officials, residents and business representatives for their understanding and hard, collaborative work with City government to improve Jackson. “I am honored to have been part of an economic revival unprecedented over the last eighty years in our City. One that is illustrated by a renewed, comprehensive economic development program which boasts successes of over $100 million in new private investment in the urban core alone, significant property value increases through the neighborhoods following the recession of 2008-09, resurgence of employment and modest reductions in the our poverty rate, all of which enables our community to increase its fund balance promising not only budget stabilization, but economic power well into the future,” said Burtch.
Jonathan Greene, the Deputy City Manager and Public Works Director, will be in charge of the transition to new leadership. Greene says he’s grateful for the opportunity to lead. “It is important for me to provide continuity and stability for Jackson’s residents and business community. Myself and City staff are excited for Patrick and wish him the best of luck in his new endeavor just as we are equally excited to continue our service to the City of Jackson,” Greene said. Burtch intends to make himself available to aid the transition to new leadership once his employment ends. An Acting or Interim City Manager has not been chosen by the Jackson City Council. There is currently no timetable for hiring a new City Manager.
Mayor Derek Dobies says Burtch will be missed. “Pat is an incredibly hard worker and passionate about Jackson. It’s been a privilege to work with him over his long tenure here to stabilize our finances, clean blight from our neighborhoods, improve City services, fix our infrastructure, and attract new development and businesses to our City. He is a change maker that combined business acumen with a compassionate and equitable approach to redeveloping our City. Pat will be missed, but he is leaving a great team in place to carry forward our vision and ensure Jackson doesn’t lose any of the momentum we’ve built,” Dobies said.