By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
St. Joseph City Manager Bryan Carter says there is a two-part reason he decided to resign as city manager.
“First part is that I had a good opportunity that presented itself. It offers an opportunity to return to a full-time legal practice, which is what of course I was doing before I was city manager,” Carter tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. “The other side to it is a personal side. My family dynamics are such that the opportunity’s going to allow me more time with family.”
Carter says he wants to spend more time with his one-year-old son.
Carter will not disclose exactly what the professional opportunity is, except to say it is full-time legal work in Kansas City.
Carter joined the legal team at St. Joseph City Hall in 2011. He became St. Joseph City Attorney in 2015. Carter took over as interim city manager when Gary Edwards resigned from the position after only two months on the job. The St. Joseph City Council unanimously removed the tag of interim and made him city manager in the spring of 2021.
Carter says leaving the job and the community was a difficult decision.
“Oh, exceptionally difficult,” Carter says. “This is a great community, a community that I’ve loved working for, for a number of years now. We have a lot of good, positive momentum happening right now. It’s tough to walk away from, but again it’s just kind of the right move for me personally at this point.”
Carter says it will be difficult to move.
“That’s one of the tougher decisions. I’ve really grown to love this community over the time that I’ve lived here,” Carter says. “As hard as it is to leave the job, it’s also very hard to leave the work with the community and the presence with the community.”
Carter says one of the highlights of his tenure as city manager was passage of the parks sales tax in August of 2021, which he says will be used to enhance one of St. Joseph’s strengths.
Carter says there are challenges ahead that he would like to see through, challenges that he understands won’t be easy.
“We’re like every community that way. The easy things get fixed when we take care of those,” according to Carter. “But there’s a lot a dedication to taking care of the hard things as well.”
Carter’s resignation is effective September 6th. City Community Development Director, Clint Thompson, will serve as interim city manager during the process to find Carter’s successor.
You can follow Brent on X @GBrentKFEQ and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.