Saskatoon city manager Murray Totland announced Friday he will retire at the end of the year.
Totland said this is not the end of his working career, noting he would still like to contribute to improving the city in "a different way."
“I don’t really see this as necessarily the end of my work life. I just think it’s the closing of a chapter of that work life – mind you, it’s an awfully big chapter,” Totland told CTV at Saskatoon City Hall on Friday morning.
Totland was the city manager for eight years, but has worked with the city for nearly 36 years.
He was the highest paid city employee in 2016, earning $305,985 a year.
Totland’s retirement comes at a time when city councillors deal with cuts in the provincial budget.
And in October, Saskatoon police Chief Clive Weighill will retire.
“This isn’t going to create turmoil. We’re starting from a position of strength and we can build on the contributions they’ve both made,” Mayor Charlie Clark said.
City council will begin recruiting for a new city manager in the coming weeks.
