Carmel city administrator is leaving at the end of 2025 after nearly 10 years in the job.

Chip Rerig is leaving his post as Carmel's city administrator at the end of December, he told his staff by email on Wednesday, Oct. 29. Rerig was hired nearly 10 years ago in February 2016.

Under the subject line "Newest News," Rerig told staff that he is "excited to share I have a plan to spend as much time as possible with my teenage daughter, Rocket, before she graduates high school (about 970 days) and wife [Lesley Milton]."

Rerig says by text that his daughter was accepted into the International Baccalaureate school of Bologna, in Italy. 

"I just can't imagine missing another minute with her," he says. 

Milton was accepted into a master's program at the University of Bologna. Rerig says he's still figuring out a plan for himself but the family will relocate together.

This the second time Rerig is leaving Carmel employment. The first time around he was planning director for Carmel, having started working for the city's planning department right out of graduate school.

Rerig then went to work for the City of Monterey, eventually becoming chief of planning, engineering and environmental compliance there, before being hired as Carmel's city administrator.

Through his tenure as city administrator, Rerig kept close watch over city finances, including through the Covid-19 pandemic shutdown, which severely impacted tourism, the city's number-one business. Over the past couple of years Rerig has led City Hall through a period of rebuilding the staff back to pre-pandemic levels.

Rerig faced challenges during the shutdown, including inciting anger among some conservatives over closing Carmel Beach, along with neighboring cities, to prevent transmission of the Covid-19 virus. He helped the city navigate a period of outdoor dining to help bolster the city's many restaurants, until the Carmel City Council decided to end the program in 2022.

"It has been an honor and an extreme privilege to serve with all of you for the past decade (and for some of you well before that time)," Rerig told his staff. "It’s not cliché to say that I will most miss our people upon my departure. Please renew and restore your hearts of service on a constant basis, stay focused on our customers, and support City leadership through the succession plan.

"And remember what George Washington likely had it right—sometimes one needs to leave before it’s time to go."