Ron Fithian — Photo by Jane Jewell
Ron Fithian is retiring as Town Manager of Rock Hall.
In a letter to the mayor and council, he wrote: “After approx. 21 years and 6 months of serving as the Town Manager of Rock Hall, I find that it is time for me to retire. I am hereby giving my 2 weeks notice. My last day of work will be April 10th, 2019. I wish the Town well in the years to come. I appreciate having the opportunity to serve the people of the town that I grew up with. Thanks for everything.”
A lifelong resident of Rock Hall, Fithian has served as Town Manager since 1997 and is currently a county commissioner of Kent County. Born and raised in Rock Hall, Fithian is a graduate of Kent County High School, He followed his father’s vocation and began working as a waterman on the Chesapeake Bay while still in his teens. In 1994, he was elected as a Kent County commissioner, serving two terms that ended in 2002. He returned to the commission in 2006 and served as commission president from 2010 to 2014. His current term as commissioner runs until 2022.
Fithian has also served on the Kent County Waterman’s Association, the Kent County Public Landings and Facilities Board, and the Kent County Local Management Board and Social Services.
Fithian and Rock Hall Mayor Brian Jones, along with the town council and administration, have come under public scrutiny after a recent unfavorable audit of the town’s finances. There has also been controversy about a sharp 15 percent increase in the town’s water and sewer rates.
The article above has been edited to change the percentage of increase to the correct 15 percent. Thanks to our eagle-eyed readers for noticing!
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John Michael Kramer says
Thanks Ron for all the good things you have done for Rock Hall.
Point of clarification, the water and sewer rates only went up 15 percent five years since the last increase. The council’s distaste for raising rate was the problem not the town manager’s management.
Gren Whitman says
Last January 10, a ordinance was introduced that would have raised Rock Hall’s water and sewer rates by 30 percent.
However, after a public hearing was conducted on February 14, the Mayor and Council raised the rate by only 15 percent on a 3-2 vote.
Vic Pfeiffer says
Two weeks notice after 21 years? Really bad form. Something must have happened, no?