DELAWARE, Ohio (WCMH) – A central Ohio city manager who’s been in the position for more than two decades is calling it a career.

Tom Homan, Delaware city manager, recently announced his plans to retire in 2024. By the time he retires, he’ll have been Delaware’s city manager for 25 years.

“The feelings are kind of mixed, obviously,” he said. “I recognize a quarter century is a long time and I think we’ve accomplished a lot. We’ve had some setbacks, but I really look forward to the next manager coming in and hopefully, over the next quarter century, being able to have some of the same opportunities that we had.”

Homan became city manager in 1999. Since being on the job, Delaware’s population has grown by more than 80%. He described the growth in Delaware and the region as a “remarkable change.”

“We have the challenges of growth, I’ll be the first to say it’s challenging for our residents to see that rate of growth but at the same time I maintain the vitality, the vibrancy of today’s community is due in large part to the fact you have people moving into the community and adding to the mosaic of who we are as a community,” he said.

Homan said the pandemic was the single most unique challenge he dealt with as city manager. He pointed to the revitalization of downtown and some of the partnerships the city has made as some of his big successes. 

He has worked with four mayors in Delaware and 24 council members.

“In October I will be receiving my 40-year service pin through the International City/County Management Association and 25 of those 40 years have been here, and it’s really by far been the most rewarding part of serving local government,” he said.

Homan will be the city manager through July 2024. City council plans to begin a nationwide search for the next city manager later this year or early next year.