KEYSTONE HEIGHTS – City Manager Lynn Rutkowski submitted her letter of resignation during last Monday night’s City Council meeting.

She was hired as a part-time Code Enforcement Officer. She was promoted to the Planning and Zoning Clerk and hired by the council as the City Manager in 2016.

When former Mayor Karen Lake questioned her education, the council voted 4-1 not to accept her resignation in 2022. The city is currently embroiled in controversy over its Keystone Heights Airport Authority.

Rutkowski told the council during its September meeting she planned to leave city government. Her current contract expires on Dec. 25, but she offered to stay longer so the city can find a replacement and avoid hiring an interim manager.

Councilman Stephen Hart said he wanted her to stay.

“Before we can agree to an extension, we first have to accept your resignation,” he said. “I hope you will reconsider. I, for one, will not accept your resignation.

“Keystone is small, but there’s a lot going on – and it’s all in her head.”

Her resignation letter was brief. It read:

“This letter is to notify Council of my last day. At the Council meeting on September 25, 2023, I publically informed Council of my resignation. My last day will be Wednesday, January 10, 2024. It has been my honor and a privilege to serve this community since June 28th, 2012.”

She will leave after the city gained international acclaim as a “smart city.” Engineers with Manzana Consulting have mapped every inch of the city, compiling locations of every tree, building and garbage can so it can be monitored electronically.

“That way, we can work smarter, not harder,” she said.

Publications from as far away as Venice, Italy, and Seattle, and as close as Washington, D.C., Tampa and Miami have studied the benefits of using sensors, not human resources, to monitor the city.

At October’s Northeast Florida League of Cities meeting, Keystone Heights was also recognized for its innovative city initiatives.