Grand Rapids City Manager Greg Sundstrom announced his retirement today.
Sundstrom has worked for the city since 1981 and has been city manager since 2009.
“I’ve worked nearly my entire adult life for the city of Grand Rapids. It’s going to be hard. I even have a hard time now imagining what it’s going to be like not to come back here,” Sundstrom said.
He says he’s accomplished what he was hired to do.
“I feel like the things I was hired for are largely complete, and that really was focused on the city's financial turnaround,” he said.
City officials credit Sundstrom with fixing the city's finances.
Mayor Rosalynn Bliss says he was hired during a difficult time for the city, "and we were grateful for your leadership and we thank you for getting us through the storm,” Bliss said.
Before Sundstrom was hired, the city had $32 million operating deficit. He turned that around and now, the city is projected to have a balanced budget for the next five years.
City officials say they will begin looking for his replacement over the next few months, before Sundstrom officially steps down.
It is unclear whether they will bring someone from outside the city in or hire from within.
