Posted online November 14, 2017 | 9:44 am

Last edited 11:15 a.m., Nov. 14, 2017

Springfield City Manager Greg Burris signaled his resignation from the position, but he isn’t going far, the city announced this morning.



Burris is scheduled to step down on June 30 from the post he’s held since September 2008. He’s expected to start on July 5 as executive director of the city’s new Give 5 Program, which encourages retirees to become community volunteers, according to a news release.



“It feels like the right time to step aside and let someone else take our community to the next level. My goal, stated to the City Council members who hired me, has always been to leave this job as the most sought-after city manager position in the state,” Burris said in the release. “I hope that's the case and we attract an extraordinary pool of candidates eager to become part of this incredible team.



“Our community has a lot of momentum right now, and I think our progress on many fronts will help draw a lot of interest to this job.”



Council plans to start a search for a new city manager in January and hire someone to start on July 1. Details of the search process and timeline are scheduled to be announced later.



As city manager, Burris oversees a $334 million annual budget, $1.3 billion in assets and 2,300 full- and part-time employees. Burris originally intended to resign in February but agreed to stay on through the completion of the fiscal 2019 budget, according to the release.

The city credits Burris with leading teams that addressed a $200 million shortfall in the Police-Fire pension fund, presented a balanced budget each year without having to take money from the city’s reserves and saved residents some $400 million by launching a plan to shore up unfunded federal environmental mandates.



Officials announced the Give 5 Program earlier this month, which is designed to capitalize on the number of baby boomers entering retirement by connecting them with needed volunteer options. A news release on the program pointed to a recent Drury University study that found a need of 8,000 more volunteers in the area.



“We are not aware of any program like this anywhere else in the country,” Burris said in the release. “It has the ability to be a game changer and a strong economic development tool for our community.



“In addition to helping retirees find their next purpose in life and connecting those highly skilled volunteers with nonprofits in need, Give 5 also serves as a vehicle and next step in helping to address some of the issues uncovered during the Zone Blitz and Impacting Poverty initiatives.”