Damakant Jayshi
Transit Director Matthew Rosenbloom-Jones has resigned from his role in Wausau citing a lack of support from city leaders, Wausau Pilot & Review learned Thursday.
“I have made the decision to step down because I feel like I was placed in a situation as Transit Director where I was not supported by City Hall,” he told Wausau Pilot & Review. He declined to share details.
Rosenbloom-Jones, who succeeded longtime transit director Greg Suebert after his retirement, spent just seven months in the position. His last day of work is Nov. 3.
This is the second exit at the department head level in the city. Wausau Police Chief Ben Bliven announced his resignation in June, saying he was accepting a job at a local company. His resignation was effective Sept. 1.
Mayor Katie Rosenberg confirmed that Rosenbloom-Jones gave notice last week..
“Transit Director is a big job,” she said. “Being the first new leader in a role for decades is a big job.”
She said the city has resumed the search for a transit director “who is ready to take on that big job in service to the people of Wausau.”
The city has announced the vacancy in the pay range of $96,948.80 – $137,051.20 annually. His predecessor retired in January after 40 years of service for the city and was drawing an annual base salary of $133,057. The transit director oversees Metro Ride, Wausau’s bus service.
Human Resources Director James Henderson did not respond to questions related to the transit director’s departure and about the vacancy announcement, which has a posting period from Oct. 18 to Nov. 18. This newspaper has also reached out to Transit Commission chair Becky McElhaney.
Unclear is how much funding will be required for the new search. In August 2022, the Wausau City Council approved a budget of $22,500 to launch a nationwide search for a transit director to succeed Seubert.
Rosenbloom-Jones took the Metro Ride’s top post in March. He said his service was not terminated nor he is leaving because of a new job.
“I have loved every day working at Metro Ride and have been privileged to be able to support our operators and mechanics who provide such an important service to our community each day,” he said. Working at Metro Ride has been a dream job for me, but I am looking forward to spending time with friends and family and planning the next chapter in my career.”
According to Rosenbloom-Jones’ LinkedIn profile, he came to Wausau from the City of Bowie, Maryland where was transportation specialist for about 10 months. Before that, he was the manager of scheduling for a Kentucky transit authority for about 16 months and prior to that, as a senior planner/scheduler for a transport company in Garden City in New York between January 2020 and November 2020.
