Ithaca City Manager Deb Mohlenhoff resigned from her position at the Common Council’s request, according to a City of Ithaca press release on Wednesday. Her resignation will go into effect on Dec. 31.
Mohlenhoff’s departure comes after the discovery of an unexpected $2.1 million budget shortfall in the proposed 2026 Ithaca City budget, just weeks before it was due for a final vote on Nov. 5. Mohlenhoff had attributed the deficit to a software “synchronization error” where the removal of a line of the draft revenue did not transfer to the underlying budget dataset.
During the Nov. 5 Common Council meeting — where members approved budget amendments to address the multi-million-dollar deficit — several community members used the public comment period to call for Mohlenhoff’s termination.
“Terminate Miss Mohlenhoff. I can give you 2.1 million reasons why you should do that," said James Smith, an Ithaca paramedic for Bangs Ambulance at the Nov. 5 meeting.
The press release stated that the Common Council does not claim “any wrongdoing” by Mohlenhoff, but rather they have “opted to seek fresh leadership before the new year.”
The City Manager is appointed by and serves at the will of the Common Council. The position is responsible for leading all City operations, and its core duties include managing labor relations, budgeting and intergovernmental relations.
Quoted in the press release, Mohlenhoff acknowledged that the departure was “not at [her] initiative,” but added that she “respect[s] the Council’s authority.”
“I have tendered my resignation in accordance with the Council’s decision. It has been my honor to serve as Ithaca’s first city manager and to work alongside the extraordinary City staff whose unwavering commitment to public service has meant more to me than I can express,” Mohlenhoff stated.
Mayor Robert Cantelmo announced Mohlenhoff’s departure during the Dec. 3 meeting.
“I thank Ms. Mohlenhoff for her years of service and her contributions to the professionalization of city administration,” Cantelmo wrote in the City of Ithaca press release.
Mohlenhoff served as Ithaca’s first ever City Manager, beginning her term on Jan. 1, 2024, overseeing all of the City’s departments, facilities, operations, programs and services.
According to the city’s press release, Deputy City Manager Dominick Recckio will serve as acting city manager beginning Jan. 1, 2026.
Taehee Oh is a member of the Class of 2026 in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is a senior writer for the News department and can be reached at toh@cornellsun.com.
