WATERVILLE — City Manager Steve Daly submitted his resignation Thursday, explaining in a letter to Waterville city councilors that “personal and urgent circumstances” led to his decision.

Daly, who has served as city manager for almost two years, said his resignation is effective Friday.

“It has been my honor to serve you and this wonderful community,” Daly wrote in the letter. “I wish the city, the council and all of our employees the best in the future.”

Waterville City Manager Steve Daly. Photo courtesy of Steve Daly

Daly could not be reached for comment Thursday to further explain his decision.

Mayor Jay Coelho declined to comment on Daly’s departure or tenure in Waterville.

The City Council is scheduled to hold a special meeting Wednesday to accept Daly’s resignation and consider terms of his contract, including whether to pay him four months of salary and a health insurance reimbursement in a lump sum.

City Councilor Claude Francke said a payment covering four months of work is “more or less standard,” adding that the council wishes Daly well. Francke applauded Daly for his oversight of recent projects, including the newly opened Paul J. Schupf Art Center at 93 Main St. in downtown Waterville.

Francke said he could not comment further on Daly’s abrupt departure.

Daly was hired in January 2021 on a three-year contract. He was chosen from among 70 applicants to succeed Michael Roy, who was city manager for more than 16 years.

Before coming to Waterville, Daly served as the town manager in Bedford and Salem, New Hampshire. He also was the town administrator in Bedford, Massachusetts, from 1980 to 1984, and North Reading, Massachusetts, from 1989 to 1995.

Prior to that, Daly worked as a regional and statewide Homeland Security program administrator, multistate government collective procurement entrepreneur and municipal management contractor.