BY DAVID ECK
Enquirer Contributor
HAMILTON - City Manager Hal Shepherd will leave his post at year's end, nearly three months before his official March 31 retirement date.
Mr. Shepherd, a city employee for 27 years and city manager for the past 10, will be on administrative leave until the end of March. He estimated he has sufficient compensatory time to trade for the leave.
"That wasn't the intent to collect those," he said. "Why wait until April 1 when (his successor) could start in in January?" Assistant City Manager Steve Sorrell, who will succeed Mr. Shepherd, will serve as acting city manager through March.
Since Mr. Sorrell was announced as the next manager, he has been working on issues that will extend beyond Mr. Shepherd's retirement. The dual roles caused some confusion.
"There are a number of issues that are more than 90 days in duration," Mr. Shepherd said. "I thought it would simplify matters if I became an adviser to Steve. I brought Steve up to speed on the other issues he hasn't been working on."
Mr. Sorrell was off Friday and could not be reached for comment. Having Mr. Sorrell take the reins earlier also will allow him to become involved with the city's budget, Mr. Shepherd said.
"We're in the process of putting the 1999 budget together," Mr. Shepherd said. "He's going to be living with the budget long after I'm gone."
Council is expected to approve Mr. Shepherd's arrangement by year's end, Mayor Tom Nye said.
"We haven't worked all those details out, but it's something to that effect," the mayor said. "It's just somewhat cumbersome at this point."
Mr. Shepherd will be available to consult during the leave, but the city will not force him to do that.
"We are not going to be requiring anything of him," Mr. Nye said. "What he chooses to do upon his active separation from us, that will really be his choice. I think really it's a win-win for everyone involved."
But the mayor pointed out he does not expect Mr. Shepherd to stay at home.
Mr. Shepherd still expects to be a familiar face around Hamilton and will remain involved in the community, particularly with the city's downtown renovation efforts.
Meantime, Mr. Sorrell knows his predecessor's knowledge and experience will be just minutes away.
"We talked about it and it wasn't a problem," Mr. Shepherd said. "I'd be happy to meet with him on any subject."
