Elgin City Manager Jeff Coffee resigned Tuesday, saying he wants to open his own consulting firm.
Coffee told the Advertiser there was “no conflict” between him and the city council and that he just wanted a change of pace. His resignation is effective on June 1. He had served nearly four and half years as city manager and his current contract is due to expire in December, he said.
While several council members praised Coffee’s tenure with the city, at least one council member was critical of Coffee’s relations with the council and disagreed that Coffee was under no pressure to leave.

Resignation letter
In a letter to Mayor Marc Holm and the council, Coffee wrote, “I want to express my sincerest appreciation to all five of the councils that I have worked with for their unwavering guidance, support and encouragement as we tracked major projects and initiatives.”
Despite some published reports that Coffee and the council had been at loggerheads at times, on Thursday Coffee said, “There was no animosity with the city council or city. And I had a good job review in December 2009.”
Coffee said his plans for the future include going into business.
“I will be opening my own consulting firm in Central Texas,” Coffee said.
As for any more details about his new endeavor, Coffee added, “I’d just like to keep (the information) general for right now.”

Council members disagree
Council member Stephen Kylberg said he would not comment on Coffee’s last job evaluation, but he added, “I will say that I do not believe that Jeff was under any direct or indirect pressure to resign. Jeff’s actions have brought positive regional attention to Elgin.”
Kylberg said Coffee’s involvement in regional transportation planning has put the city “miles ahead in discussions on commuter rail. He has been tenacious in negotiations for city contracts.”
Kylberg added that Coffee had worked to implement “the different goals and objectives of each of the councils he has represented. He has been an asset to the City of Elgin and I really hated to see him resign. I wish him well in his future endeavors.”
Council member Pat Frenzel also complimented Coffee’s performance.
“The Elgin City Council has had a very good working relationship with Jeff. He has done an outstanding job for our city these past four years. And his recent evaluation gave him a very good rating. We are sorry to see him leave,” she said.
However, council member Chris Cannon had a different take on Coffee’s relations with the council.
“I, for one, was very critical of Jeff and gave him an extremely poor evaluation,” Cannon said. “I wouldn’t say he was under any direct pressure to resign, but he would have most certainly been in the future.”
Cannon added that he thought Coffee “is shrewd enough to see the hand writing on the wall. The council is very split when it comes to Jeff.”
Mayor Marc Holm declined an Advertiser request for comment.
Coffee praised his fellow workers.
“We accomplished a lot and our employees are an extremely good group of folks. We made large strides in the police department,” he said.
The council was due to meet in regular session Tuesday and said they would discuss the city manager post.