In 2017, he added duties as Miami Twp. interim administrator when former Miami Twp. Administrator Greg Rogers went on an extended military leave. He served in both positions until May 2019, when he was named administrator.
“After 45 years in the public sector, I have decided that it is time to retire from the public work life,” Hess said in his resignation letter, which was dated June 27. “I have appreciated my time here at Miami Township.”
Hess said his last day in the office will be Aug. 1, at which time he will turn over his duties to assistant administrator Christopher Snyder.
“Ron has had a very long, multifaceted career ... and he’s done a great job in everything that he’s done for the township,” Trustee President Terry Posey Jr. told the Dayton Daily News. “We’re sorry to see him go, but I think he’s ready for whatever the next phase of his life is to bring.”
Miami Twp.’s Board of Trustees is expected to name Hess’s successor during its next meeting Aug. 3. The meeting had been scheduled for Aug. 2, but was postponed a day to avoid conflict with the National Night Out police event.
Hess said that as his time with Miamisburg Police Department wound down, he never dreamed he would come over to the township as chief, but “doors opened. Opportunities happened.” He felt the same way about being administrator, but remembered a saying he shared with his father of “service before self.”
Hess, 66, and his wife, Patti, have two adult children. He said he looks forward to spending more time with them, more time on his motorcycle and completing construction on a house in Greene County. He said he still plans to help Miami Valley Fire District get a levy approved by voters this November.
Hess said his greatest accomplishment as administrator is building relationships with other people, entities and communities, including the city of Miamisburg and the Montgomery County Transportation Improvement District, but said that wasn’t his accomplishment, but rather “our accomplishment.”
“The city and the township never used to talk to each other. Now we’re doing joint projects.”
Miamisburg City Manager Keith Johnson lauded Hess during Tuesday’s Miamisburg City Council meeting.
“I’ve had an opportunity to work with every township administrator they’ve had, and they’ve had a total of four, but Ron, by heads and shoulders, was the best administrator, I think, that we’ve worked with,” Johnson said. “All the work that we’re having to do with the township together on things like the cemetery and, more importantly, the fire district, Ron has really stepped up and his learning curve was relatively flat to do that.”
Staff Writer Nick Blizzard contributed to this report.
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