This article was updated on Dec. 4 at 11:10 p.m. to include comments from City Manager Greg Usry and Councilwoman Sara Goddard.
City Manager Greg Usry announced plans to retire from his position next spring, delivering the news during Wednesday night’s Rye City Council meeting.
Usry will leave after more than five years on the job, having taken over on an interim basis in October 2019. He succeeded City Manager Marcus Serrano, who resigned after a four-year run. Usry’s role became permanent in 2021.
“The leadership of the city is extraordinary, the department heads are absolutely amazing. I thank you, this council and past councils, for the support you’ve given me and this team,” Usry said.
The City Council has already formed a subcommittee for its search for a new city manager. Mayor Josh Cohn said senior staff will be resources during the upcoming search and potential candidates as well.
“Your ability to take the city manager role and really realize it for what it’s supposed to be, which is the head of the administration and the head of the city manager form of government. You really did rise to the task,” Councilwoman Sara Goddard told Usry.
Usry initially signed a two-year interim contract with an annual salary of $195,000, rivaling Serrano’s pay. Once his role became permanent, however, his salary was boosted to $215,000 annually, according to city documents. His contract was set to expire on Dec. 31, 2025.
His departure continues a trend of regular turnover at the top of Rye’s city administration since longtime City Manager Frank Culross retired in 2000. Culross came out of retirement on three separate occasions in the years since, when each of his short-lived successors left the job.
Before assuming the city manager role, Usry spent 30 years in the private sector, with a background in municipal finance and executive leadership. For a decade before taking over the Rye position, he worked for a real estate development company.
He also chaired the city’s Finance Committee prior to his interim appointment, and has lived in Rye for 25 years.