Steve Rymer set to transition out of role as Rochester City Administrator

Rochester City Administrator Steve Rymer is working with the city council to transition out of his position in the coming months as he looks to permanently relocate to Portland, Oregon to be closer to family.

Rymer first notified the council of his timetable earlier this month; however, news of the departure was not made public until today’s council meeting. Rymer has been in the role for less than three years.

“Serving as Rochester’s City Administrator has been a highlight of my career, though my family and I have decided that it is the right time for me to begin transitioning permanently to the Portland area,” Rymer wrote in a letter to council members.

Rymer’s eventual departure has been discussed since 2019, when, according to him, the council “indicated it would look for me to develop a transition plan if the time came for me to be permanently closer to my family.”

The former Morgan Hill, Calif. manager had moved to Rochester in 2017 to be closer to family here. However, six weeks into his tenure, his daughter Michelle, who lived in Mankato, died of complications from heart surgery.

His wife, son-in-law and granddaughter later moved to Orgeon in order to be near relatives out west. Prior to the pandemic, Rymer had been commuting regularly between Rochester and Portland.

“As all of you and many others have expressed to me the past year, my family must be my main priority,” Rymer wrote to the council. “I appreciate this support and it demonstrates why Rochester is a special place.”

Rymer plans to work — for the most part, remotely — with the council on a phased transition plan. His primary focuses, he said, will be leading the 2021 budget process, starting the recruitment of a successor, and getting the city through the upcoming election cycle.

“Since 2020 is an election year and we now know there will be new council members, I recommend remaining as City Administrator through 2020 to provide continuity through the election,” Rymer stated. “This will also provide the new City Council the responsibility to interview and hire the next City Administrator. This is a common practice and reduces the potential for highly qualified candidates from not applying due to the uncertainty of who the City Council will be once the election occurs.”

Council President Randy Staver said the replacement process could start as soon as possible, while working to include new members of the council after Election Day. Staver noted the process of selecting a new city administrator would most likely stretch into 2021, when the council is guaranteed to have at least three new members.

"Quite frankly, the council that's sitting right now probably has the best idea of what the city administrator does, and what our expectations are,” said Council President Randy Staver. “It would be somewhat unfair to drop it on a brand new council. So, I would like to kick off the process, and also allow for some opportunity for a new council to participate in the final stages."

Rymer is just the fourth city administrator in Rochester’s history. 

Sean Baker is a Rochester journalist and the founder of Med City Beat.

Cover photo: Rymer (left) in 2019 / William Forsman