Acting City Manager Sheila Hill-Christian will leave City Hall next month for a job in Cincinnati, Ohio, creating a second executive-level vacancy as the city continues its search for a new permanent manager.

Hill-Christian was the assistant city manager before filling the role of acting manager. And, with no assistant to step up, it’s not immediately clear who will take over the top administrative job in Maine’s largest city.

City councilors called the news a loss for the city, and one blamed the mayor for not doing more to keep Hill-Christian in Portland.

Hill-Christian will leave the city May 8 to become assistant city manager in Cincinnati, Ohio. She informed city staff on Wednesday before announcing it publicly in a press release. She will start her new post on May 18, according to Cincinnati officials.

The news comes as Portland is in the midst of a search for a new manager and as it is embroiled in a budget showdown with Gov. Paul LePage over the city’s welfare programs. And it comes days after Hill-Christian presented a $222 million municipal budget proposal for fiscal year 2016 that includes the elimination of 24 positions, including 15 that are occupied, to help close a $10 million funding gap, largely driven by the loss of state funding for public assistance.

City councilors publicly encouraged Hill-Christian to apply for the permanent city manager position, but last month she notified councilors she would not seek the top administrative position, prompting them to extend the search from March 6 to March 31. The City Manager Search Committee is scheduled to meet April 29.

Hill-Christian said in a written statement Wednesday that she was recruited by Cincinnati officials and decided the job was a better fit for her personally and professionally.

“Portland is a wonderful city and I have thoroughly enjoyed working here. I am truly grateful for the opportunity that the Council has given me to serve,” she said. “While my decision was a difficult one to make, I believe that our recent new hires, the solid team of department heads, and the structure provided by the recommended FY16 budget leaves the Council and the City of Portland in a good place.”

City Councilor Jon Hinck called Hill-Christian’s departure a “big blow” for the city and blamed Mayor Michael Brennan.

“I’m not convinced he adequately did what he could to make it a good place for Sheila Hill-Christian to contribute what she could for the City of Portland and feel fulfilled,” Hinck said. “I think the mayor would be happy to share in the glory when the city of Portland does well, and he should recognize his responsibility when things at City Hall closely connected to his job go the wrong way.”

Brennan said he was surprised by Hill-Christian’s announcement, as well as by Hinck’s comments.

“I don’t think there is one shred of evidence to support Councilor Hinck’s claim,” said Brennan, the city’s first popularly elected mayor in decades. “I don’t supervise the city manager or the acting city manager. The City Council does that….. Obviously, Councilor Hinck is disappointed that Sheila is leaving and he’s trying to find some explanation but the one he gave is wrong.”

Brennan heads the city manager search committee and said it may meet within the next two days to discuss whether it will be able to fill the manager’s position by July 1. Councilors will also have find an interim manager. Brennan did not indicate who that person might be.

City Councilor Jill Duson, who serves on the committee, was among those councilors who wanted Hill-Christian to apply for the full-time post. She said the city will miss her clear direction, insightful analysis, openness and consistency when dealing with city staff and councilors.

“I, for one, think this is a major loss for the city,” said Duson. “She’s an experienced professional and she’s brought a level of balance and consistency to the city’s decision-making process.”

Hill-Christian’s announcements continues an exodus of top city officials in recent years, including the city manager, police chief, fire chief, finance director and human resources director.

In the last year, much of that turnover has been in the city’s Health and Human Services Department. Last June, HHS Director Doug Gardiner said he was leaving after nine years on the job. The following month, Josh O’Brien said he was leaving as the director of the homeless shelter. His replacement — Rob Parritt — recently left the city. Longtime Social Services Director Robert Duranleau retired in December.

That department also has been facing intense scrutiny from the state as the LePage administrations moved to reduce funding for the city’s assistance programs. The budget proposal presented by Hill-Christian Monday includes 15 layoffs, mostly in the city’s GA and HHS departments. Hill-Christian also warned that changes in the budget are forcing city officials to rethink Portland’s role as a social services center for the state and could lead to difficult discussions and decisions.

Hill-Christian was hired as the deputy city manager in 2013. Before that, she led the Hill-Christian Consulting Group in Richmond, Virginia, which provides services to municipal and nonprofit agencies. She also has worked at a variety of municipal and quasi-municipal agencies, including a stint as chief administrative officer for the mayor of Richmond, where she managed day-to-day operations and oversaw a budget of more than $1 billion. She also has served as executive director of the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority, and chief operating officer of the GRTC Transit System

Cincinnati City Manager Harry Black said he has known Hill-Christian for years and recently called her to catch up. Around the same time, his assistance manager position opened up and after several conversations, he convinced her to take the job.

“Sheila will be a high impact member of my team,” Black said. “She’s highly competent. She’s a consummate professional and she has good human relationship skills. She’s the kind of person you want on your team.”

Hill-Christian is the second city employee to be recruited by Cincinnati in recent years. In 2013, Police Chief James Craig left Portland to become the police chief in that city.

Randy Billings can be contacted at 791-6346 or at:

rbillings@pressherald.com

Twitter: @randybillings