LEHI – City Administrator Derek Todd abruptly announced his resignation Tuesday to the mayor and City Council.

“While I will never regret accepting your offer of employment on Feb. 23, 2012, and I feel that my efforts here have been greatly appreciated by many, a similar climate to the one that has historically caused vacancies in the administration of this organization is now making it necessary for me to resign as well,” Todd said in his letter to Mayor Bert Wilson and members of the City Council.

The resignation letter was dated Feb. 23, 2015.

Wilson has appointed Assistant City Administrator Jason Walker as the interim city administrator while city staff and elected officials go through the recruitment process for a new administrator.

A fast-growing city with an equally exploding tech hub, Lehi seems to have a love-hate relationship with its city administrators. In less than 10 years, the city has lost three. Ed Collins held the position from 1996-2006, Jamie Davidson took over and stayed in the position until 2011, and Todd assumed the post in 2012. 

Todd was hired one year after Davidson was offered and accepted a position as Orem’s assistant administrator. Davidson is now Orem’s city manager.

“Upon resigning my position in Lehi, I stayed with the organization for an additional 6 weeks before moving on to my new job,” Davidson said. “I have the highest regard for Lehi City, but at the time felt like a job change was in the best interest of myself and my family after five years of service in a community that was experiencing dramatic change and growth.”

Collins left under a different situation that, while humorous now, was not funny in 2006 — he was fought over by politicians.

According to council members who witnessed it, then-mayor Howard Johnson walked into an executive session of the new council in January 2006 and said he was unilaterally firing all 18 department heads in the city.

Council members battled with Johnson to retain Collins as the city’s administrator. After months of contention, Collins ended the dispute by stepping down.

“I had a long career with the city and I enjoyed it,” said Collins on Thursday.

He stayed on to help the city until June 30, 2006, two months after submitting his resignation.

A city representative for Utah Association of Municipal Power Systems, Collins remained until he was no longer needed. He continues as an Intermountain Power Association board member representing Lehi.

Lehi City Attorney Ryan Wood issued a statement to the Daily Herald about Todd leaving his position with the city.

“Yesterday, Derek Todd, Lehi city administrator, announced his voluntary resignation to staff and to the city council,” Wood said. “Since it was a voluntary resignation on Derek’s part, it is the city’s practice not to comment further.”