More News

The Chevy Chase Village manager announced his resignation from his position effective at the end of next month to start a new job with the private sector.

Geoffrey Biddle said he will resign from his position July 31 to take a position with a Bethesda company that he declined to identify. He said he had a standing job offer from the company for several years and that he felt it was time to leave despite requests from the Board of Managers that he remain in his position.

Biddle had been the village manager since 2003 and worked for the village for 15 years, according to a statement from village government posted on the community's e-mail listserv.

"The board asked me to come back, offered me a new contract to come back," Biddle said Friday, adding that the new contract was offered around the middle of May.

Biddle had been the target of criticism recently from former board secretary Susie Eig, who herself resigned from the board May 12. Eig had criticized village management policies behind a rise in the village's legal fees over the past three years. The day before her resignation, the board approved a $250,000 supplemental appropriation for administrative legal fees, bringing the fiscal 2009 total for such fees to $400,000.

In fiscal 2007, the village originally budgeted $139,000 for administrative legal fees, but ended up spending $226,000 that fiscal year. In fiscal 2008, the village budgeted $313,000 for the legal fees at first, but eventually allocated $335,000. Village attorney David Podolsky said the village's changes to its building regulations in June 2008 accounted for some of the additional legal work.

An April 27 session of the board closed to the public also dealt with the compensation and evaluation of Biddle, along with a "pending ethics investigation" related to village personnel. Biddle and Douglas Kamerow, chairman of the board, have repeatedly declined to comment on that closed session, along with a subsequent May 11 closed session that also dealt with an evaluation of Biddle and his compensation.

In response to Biddle's resignation, Eig said Friday, "I'm pleased that Mr. Biddle is doing the right thing."

Douglas Kamerow, chairman of the board, said the board was disappointed that they were unable to convince Biddle to stay. He also praised Biddle's experience and knowledge of the issues facing the municipality.

"He's going to be a hard guy to replace," Kamerow said.

Asked if Biddle's resignation was related to the ethics investigation mentioned in the April 27 meeting minutes, Kamerow responded, "I can't tell you what Geoff's decision involves."

Biddle said he was "absolutely not" pressured to resign, and that the two closed sessions had nothing to do with his decision to resign. Kamerow also said Biddle was not pressured to resign.

"It's a great place with great people," Biddle said about the village.

In a statement, the board announced that Shana Davis-Cook, the village's director of administration who has worked for the community for 10 years, has been promoted to assistant village manager. Davis-Cook will serve as acting village manager when Biddle leaves until a replacement is found. Kamerow said there is no timeline for finding a permanent replacement for Biddle.