Gilroy’s City Administrator Jimmy Forbis announced his retirement Tuesday, ending nine years of working for the city.

“Serving this wonderful community … has been the highlight of my career and a profound honor,” said Forbis in a written statement announcing his retirement. “I am truly thankful for the opportunity to work alongside such a dedicated community that is passionate about what’s best for Gilroy and committed to making it a vibrant and thriving city.”

Forbis, 52, began at Gilroy as its finance director in 2016, where he pushed to modernize some of the city’s technology to allow citizens to interact with the city remotely and online.

That move paid dividends in 2020. After the former city administrator, Gabriel Gonzalez resigned, Forbis was appointed as the interim city manager on the night before the city was ordered to shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In October 2020, Forbis was appointed full time and has held the position since.

In the intervening years, Forbis played a role navigating the pandemic, the lock down, and the recovery, and more recently in taking part in the builder’s remedy lawsuit that had bedeviled the city for the past year.

“From my first day in office, Jimmy has approached his role with the utmost professionalism, optimism, and a deep sense of responsibility to our residents,” said Mayor Greg Bozzo in a statement. “We are thankful for his many years of dedicated service.”

Prior to his time at Gilroy, Forbis had worked in local government in the cities of Monterey and Morgan Hill and for San Mateo County.

Forbis said he will “ride off into the sunset” with no plans to return to the public sector. “It’s the best job I’ve ever had. I love every day of it, but it takes a toll,” said Forbis of his work as a city administrator. He added that he hopes his tenure has helped to set up the next city leaders for success, pointing to multi-year projects like the proposed Sharks Ice skating complex as an example. “I really think we’ve laid the foundation … that’s the defining moment is how you set up the next generation.”

Forbis’s retirement will be effective July 31. Bozzo said the city will begin discussions immediately on appointing an interim city administrator, and Gilroy City Council will begin discussing their search for a permanent replacement after they return from summer recess at the end of July.