WILMINGTON — Tony Caudle has announced he will leave his position as Wilmington city manager in May 2025, after more than three years in his current leadership position. Caudle’s retirement will close out a 44-year career in local government.
READ MORE: Wilmington City Council names Tony Caudle city manager
He came to Wilmington in 2008 as deputy city manager and was named city manager in 2021. Prior to working for the city, Caudle served as manager for the communities of Black Mountain, Wrightsville Beach, and Topsail Beach, and in Woodruff, South Carolina. He began his career in Asheville as a city planner.
Mayor Bill Saffo commended Caudle for his service.
“Tony Caudle has been instrumental in Wilmington’s downtown redevelopment, emergency preparedness and recovery, and achieving the ambitious goals of our City Council,” Saffo wrote in a statement. “He has consistently demonstrated that by working together we can achieve great things for our community. We thank him for his tremendous career not only for Wilmington but as a manager in the State of North Carolina for many different communities that are better off today because of his service.”
In the coming weeks, city council will determine a process to select a new city manager.
Caudle announced his intention to retire on May 30 to employees on Monday in a letter. In reflecting on the last few years, he expressed pride for having implemented the city’s five-year strategic plan, five-year capital plan, multi-year departmental business plans, as well as seeing through the opening of Riverfront Park/Live Oak Bank Pavilion, the revitalization of northern downtown, a new police and fire training center, as well as helping the city through the Covid-19 pandemic and recover from Hurricane Florence.
“We have done so much good together,” he wrote to staff. “I count Wilmington’s city employees among the very best in the profession, working day in and day out to create a better city. Your accomplishments, service, and resilience in the face of hardship have inspired me and filled my work with a deep sense of purpose. … Thank you for making these years more meaningful than I could have ever imagined.”
He vowed to continue putting forth the best during his remaining six months as council begins to take steps in finding his successor.
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