Staunton councilman says Rosenberg did an admirable job as city manager: Terry Holmes

ROBERT TERRY HOLMES
·1 min read

On Jan. 13, the mayor and three other council people terminated our city manager (The News Leader was working to confirm the situation; he was not officially fired). They had lost confidence in him. I guess I could see how that could happen.

Steve took over the city manager's job in 2019. Because of retirements, he had to replace the department heads of Public Works, Finance and Building & Inspections, and the city engineer and hire a new assistant city manager, not to mention the city secretary. Everybody he hired was professional, and soon it was a smooth transition.

Then came COVID-19. Steve got us into pandemic mode right away. Everyone was worried but Steve did not miss a blink. He kept us abreast of what was going on and implemented procedures to cut our risks to the minimum.

During the first part of the pandemic, we had two 500-year floods downtown in two weeks. He had the city workers clean up the mess and got businesses back on their feet in days. The closing off of Beverley Street and letting shops use the sidewalks as dining and shops saved most of the downtown businesses.

The numerous grants to improve the city topped it off last night with a $900,000 grant for Staunton Crossing.

We will miss Steve Rosenberg and his dedication to our city. He performed his job admirably.

Going to miss you, Steve!

ROBERT TERRY HOLMES

Staunton

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Staunton councilman says City Manager Steve Rosenberg served admirably