by Kathryn Dunn | editor@claremont-courier.com

In an announcement released late Wednesday, City Manager Tara Schultz announced that after three years in the position, she will be leaving the city of Claremont effective October 31.

“The city council would like to express its appreciation to Ms. Schultz for her hard work and dedication to the city of Claremont during a challenging and difficult time for the city,” a press release stated.

The press release highlighted some of Ms. Schultz’s accomplishments, including closing a $2.5 million structural deficit while maintaining essential services, spearheading new programs, including creating the city’s Community Core Values Campaign, leading the community through the districting process, and most recently managing the city’s response to a the COVID-19 pandemic.

Her most recent efforts have been finding solutions to support struggling restaurants during COVID with opportunities like the Al Fresco program and working with Tri City Mental Health and the police chief to devise a new program to assist Claremont police officers with non-emergency calls for homelessness and other mental health issues.

“In my three years with the city of Claremont, I have been honored to work with a team of dedicated and amazing professionals,” Ms. Schultz said. “I will miss the relationships I have built with the staff, community members, and the business community.”

The decision was mutually agreed upon between Ms. Schultz and the city council, according to the press release.

“The council is focused on the future of the city and will look for a permanent replacement for Ms. Schultz in November,” the city stated.

A special closed session meeting of the council will be held Tuesday, October 13, according to Bevin Handel, public information officer. The agenda for that meeting will be posted on the city website late Thursday afternoon.