After a rocky 2022 Rochester's city manager says it's time for new leadership

City Manager Blaine Cox at September's State of the City event at the Frisbie Conference Center. . (Rochester Voice file photo)

ROCHESTER - Rochester City Manager Blaine Cox, who stumbled through a rocky 2022 that included a somewhat botched City Council trial that removed a sitting councilor and a thoroughly botched purchase of an East Rochester parcel to house a third city fire station, has announced he will retire in July.
Cox began working for the city in 2010 when he was hired as Deputy City Manager under former City Manager Daniel Fitzpatrick. He replaced the retiring Fitzpatrick in April 2018.
Cox' retirement becomes effective on July 6.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Cox said he would always consider his time in Rochester "the highlight of my professional career."
"It is with mixed emotions that I inform you of my intent to retire from my position as City Manager for the City of Rochester," he said in a letter to staff. "Working with all of you and my service to the City of Rochester has been the highlight of my professional career. If I have been successful in my time here, it is because of you."
He ended the letter by saying it was time for the city, and him, to move on.
"It is time to let the city benefit from new leadership, new ideas and a fresh perspective." he said.
Cox went on to say that his decision to retire was a personal one, based on his desire to spend more time with his family and pursue new professional challenges.
Mayor Paul Callaghan expressed his gratitude for Cox' service, stating, "Blaine Cox has been an exceptional city manager and a true asset. His tireless dedication to our community has made a lasting impact, to say it lightly. We will miss him and wish him all the best in his future endeavors."
Cox came under fire in May in the run-up to the Chris Rice removal from office trial when he refused to release details of the trial process to The Rochester Voice and even sitting city councilors. Many in the community agree the Rice trial was poorly executed and became an embarrassment for the city.
Another gaffe was exposed the next month when the City Council was forced to purchase land at 181 Highland St. due to a flawed purchase and sale agreement signed by Cox.
It was also around this time that Cox told The Rochester Voice that it was not a legitimate news source and that he need not provide the award-winning digital daily with comment on city matters.
The last straw for Cox may have come last fall when, with inflation running around 10 percent, he received a paltry 4.5 percent pay hike, compared to police and fire who both got almost 15 percent pay increases in the first year of a four-year contract.