Chapel Hill Town Manager Roger Stancil will retire in September after 12 years of service to the town.
Stancil announced his retirement in an email to the Town Council and Mayor Pam Hemminger on Wednesday. Councilmember Michael Parker said the council was not entirely surprised by Stancil’s announcement, and had expected that he would be moving on in the near future.
“In September of this year, I will have been here twelve years and I believe I have accomplished the goals I was asked to achieve,” Stancil said in the email.
When Stancil was first appointed by the council in 2006, he initially planned to serve for only five to seven years. Building a collaborative relationship between the town and the University and keeping the town financially strong despite economic challenges have been two of his proudest accomplishments, Stancil said.
In nearly a dozen years as town manager, Stancil has guided Chapel Hill through an economic recession and numerous state and federal budget cuts faced by the town.
During difficult economic times, maintaining the town’s high level of core services without significantly raising taxes was one of the greatest challenges Stancil said he encountered in his time serving Chapel Hill.
Stancil has spent his career serving local governments across North Carolina. In October, the Rocky Mount native was recognized for 45 years of municipal service at an International City Management Association conference. In 1982, Stancil received a Masters in Public Administration from UNC.
Stancil also served as assistant director of human relations in Rocky Mount and as Fayetteville’s city manager from 1997 until the council appointed him town manager in 2006.
Before leaving office Stancil hopes to continue to address the lack of affordable housing in Chapel Hill, possibly increasing town resources for affordable housing through a bond referendum. Stancil said he will work to prepare new council members alongside the new town manager to facilitate a smooth transition for the town.
