THOMASVILLE — The City of Cairo is looking for a new city manager.

William Whitson, who was hired in late 2006, submitted his letter of resignation at Monday’s Cairo City Council meeting. It was accepted 4-0.

“It was an agreed understanding between Mr. Whitson and the council,” Mayor Richard VanLandingham said Tuesday.

In the letter dated March 24, Whitson wrote:

“Over the last few weeks it has become clear that we have not consistently shared a common vision or direction for the city. If the City of Cairo is to move forward in a positive direction, council needs to have a united team.”

He continued by writing he was “pleased and honored” to serve as city manager and “proud of the accomplishments our team has made in a short amount of time in several key service areas ...” These include CNS, economic development, public safety, code enforcement and community services.

“Cairo has much potential and I wish the council well in all your future endeavors,” Whitson wrote. “In closing, I will always remember fondly my brief time as a member of the Cairo community and as a Syrupmaker fan.”

Whitson requested the full amount of severance in a lump sum in accordance with sections nine and 10 of his employment contract, “as we discussed and agreed upon.”

City Clerk Carolyn Lee explained the details of this Tuesday.

“According to the contract, the severance package includes nine months salary plus one month extra salary for each year of service,” she explained. “This amounts to 10 months or $83,333. It also includes six weeks accrued vacation (2007-2008) totaling $11,538, and a one-time 5.5 percent of salary payment to his 457 Deferred Compensation Retirement Account.”

This was previously done on a bi-weekly basis because Whitson did not use the city’s retirement plan, Lee said. Also included is health insurance coverage for six months, life insurance policy for six months and vehicle allowance for six months ($3,000) to be paid at one time because Whitson used his own vehicle and not a city-provided vehicle.

Whitson’s resignation is effective March 31.

VanLandingham said Tuesday the city has a temporary plan in place to fill the void until a new city manager can be found.

“We’ve set up an executive council (consisting of Lee, Chief of Police Keith Sandefur and Energy Services Director Rod Prince) to help manage the city until we replace our city manager,” he explained.

He said the council would discuss a plan of action at its next meeting, including considering recommendations and advertising for candidates.