Surprise, AZ News blog

Surprise’s beleaguered city manager announced his retirement Monday, two months after Mayor Joan Shafer said she wanted him fired by the time she steps down at year’s end.   

Jim Rumpeltes, who’s been with Surprise six years, has been shrouded in controversy for months.

In June, he publicly accused the city council of violating open meetings laws by lining up votes outside of public view and of breaching city codes by asking him to fire department heads. He also alleged council members operated through “threats and coercion,” and labeled the council “dysfunctional.”

 

On Monday, 54-year-old Rumpeltes announced he will retire March 1. He said that he had been planning to retire for more than 10 years, and he wouldn’t speak on whether he felt pressured to step down following his foibles with the council.There are now three West Valley communities seeking permanent city managers. Buckeye is searching for a permanent hire after losing two controversial city managers, and Goodyear’s city manager is retiring after years of service.There are now three West Valley communities seeking permanent city managers. Buckeye is searching for a permanent hire after losing two controversial city managers, and Goodyear’s city manager is retiring after years of service.Rumpeltes, who earned a base salary of $180,000, said the post of city manager is a “24/7 job” requiring “tremendous focus and intensity,” which he cited as the chief reason for leaving. He will take a yearlong break before he returns to “a full-time endeavor,” which is still undetermined, he added.

There are now three West Valley communities seeking permanent city managers. Buckeye is searching for a permanent hire after losing two controversial city managers, and Goodyear’s city manager is retiring after years of service.Rumpeltes, who earned a base salary of $180,000, said the post of city manager is a “24/7 job” requiring “tremendous focus and intensity,” which he cited as the chief reason for leaving. He will take a yearlong break before he returns to “a full-time endeavor,” which is still undetermined, he added.Rumpeltes wouldn’t comment on his run-ins with the city council, except for saying “I hope that I am leaving the city better off than when I began.”

But in a written statement announcing his retirement Rumpeltes said the decision to step down was reached “with mixed emotions and (after) many hours of thought and prayer.”

“On a personal note, I would like to thank those people who have gone out of their way to contact me in the past 6 months with their words of encouragement and support,” he wrote. “It truly made a difference during this challenging time

Rumpeltes’ decision comes just days after Mayor-elect Lyn Truitt and three newly elected city council members were sworn in at a city council meeting. They assume their seats in January.Truitt couldn’t be reached for comment, but in a written statement on Rumpeltes’ impending retirement he lauded the city manager for his commitment to Surprise.

“Jim clearly loves our city and leaves Surprise better off than when he began,” Truitt said. “He constantly faced challenging issues on many fronts and handled the complexities of his job with intelligence, fairness and with the best interests of our community always in mind.”

Rumpeltes called his tenure with Surprise the most memorable of his 30-plus-years in public service.

Before coming to Surprise, he served as the budget director for Spokane County and the county administrator of Clallam County. Both counties are in the state of Washington.

Rumpeltes and his wife intend on keeping their home in Surprise and “will continue to serve the community in some way,” he said.