City Administrator Simon Dwyer Resigns

Olney City Administrator Simon Dwyer has resigned his post to accept a position with another city, Mayor Rue Rogers confirmed this week.

The Olney City Council is scheduled to formally accept his resignation and discuss an interim city manager at its meeting on Monday, Oct. 13.

Mr. Dwyer, a former Olney police officer and Young County reserve deputy, was hired as city administrator on May 4, 2024, a day after the Council voted in executive session to appoint him to the role.

At the time, Mayor Rogers described Mr. Dwyer as “the premier candidate for the position after the Council reviewed over 16 applications.”

His departure comes just months after tensions between Mr. Dwyer and former Olney Police Chief Dan Birbeck over the police department’s budget and operations. Chief Birbeck, who previously supervised Mr. Dwyer during his tenure as an Olney police officer, left his position earlier this year to become police chief in Vernon.

The city administrator is responsible for managing all aspects of city government for Olney. The position oversees 26 full-time and 13 parttime and seasonal employees across city departments, which include water, sewer, contract sanitation, streets, police, code enforcement, and the volunteer fire department, according to the City’s 2024 job listing..

The next city administrator will take on the oversight of several key projects, including the construction of the city’s new water treatment plant. Mr. Dwyer is the third city administrator to serve Olney since 2021.