Jonathan Leopold resigns position with City of Burlington

Submitted by tim on Thu, 04/14/2011 - 05:16

The City of Burlington announced today that Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Jonathan Leopold has tendered his resignation and will leave his position as of July 1, 2011. Leopold is one of the central figures involved in the on-going problems with the municipal Burlington Telecom. He has struggled with health issues the last few years stemming from an auto accident in 2007, which has caused him to reduce his workload.
‘I have accepted Jonathan’s decision with regret,’ said Burlington Mayor Bob Kiss. ‘I want to thank him for his hard work and personal commitment to the City throughout his career. Among many other accomplishments, Jonathan’s management of the budget has resulted in 5 straight fiscal years of a level general services tax rate and an increase in the City’s undesignated reserve fund from $75,000 to over $5 million. Jonathan has also built a strong management team in the Clerk-Treasurer’s Office which will ensure a successful transition.’
In his letter to Mayor Kiss, Leopold states that, ‘I have been committed to and worked for our community for nearly 30 years. I have strived to do my best to serve and protect the City's interests and am proud of the success of this administration to address the challenges the City faced in 2006. We have rebuilt the City’s financial reserves, maintained a stable tax rate, improved the status of the retirement system, repaved City streets, strengthened Burlington’s energy sufficiency and improved City services and programs. I truly love Burlington and want to assure that it continues to prosper.’
In his letter, Leopold also cites issues related to Burlington Telecom. ‘Over the past several years, these successes have been overshadowed by the Burlington Telecom controversyâ ¦.The City’s efforts to overcome the financial and legal problems have been daunting but worth the effort. I regret the difficulties the City has faced as a result of the BT controversy and I hope the City is able to resolve these issues. In hindsight, I believe that we could have made a more complete disclosure of the violation of Condition 60 when we first learned of it in November 2008. This has resulted in an unfortunate division within the city. I believe it is time for Burlington to come together and move forward.’
Leopold expressed confidence in the strength of his management team in the Clerk-Treasurer’s Office. In the coming months he will work with the Mayor and Council to develop the City’s FY12 budget.
Leopold was appointed the City’s CAO by Mayor Kiss after the Mayor was first elected in March of 2006. He previously served the City as Treasurer from 1981-1988 and was widely-lauded for his management of the City’s finances during that period.
Leopold’s entire letter can be found below or at through this link:: http://www.ci.burlington.vt.us/docs/4175.pdf. Mayor Kiss received Leopold’s letter this morning.