To: All staff
Subject: My role at the City
Dear Colleagues:
I’m writing today to share some personal news with you. I will be leaving my position as the
City Manager of Vancouver in January 2021.
In the last 11 years, you’ve given me the privilege of serving you and our great city. This job has
been the most rewarding of my career. I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to lead such
an amazing organization with so many creative and passionate people, all working to make the
community better.
At the same time, succeeding in this role has taken my full attention, and has required sacrifices
for me and my family. My daughters are growing up fast and they have generously supported my
work with the City, but now it’s time to prioritize them.
I leave feeling deeply proud of what we’ve accomplished together at the City.
We created more rental housing than Vancouver has seen in decades. We successfully rolled out
the first Empty Homes Tax in North America, which generated tens of millions of dollars to
invest in affordable housing and served as a model for other cities. We were innovative addressing a housing crisis with temporary modular housing, another model being emulated
across the country, helping thousands of families find stability for the first time in their lives.
We also looked after our future generations. We created major public space legacies like the
Arbutus Greenway, the closure of Robson Street at the VAG and many more pedestrian-friendly
plazas.
When most cities were cutting funding to the arts, we increased our investments - because we
knew the critical role our arts community plays in the vibrancy of our city.
I’m also very proud that we were Canada’s first City of Reconciliation, hosting the first major
Reconciliation Walk attended by over 70,000 people. And I’m grateful for the leadership,
guidance and partnership of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations, as the
city continues to evolve.
We accomplished so much more together: the implementation of the Greenest City Action Plan
with carbon emission reductions, major waste diversion programs, separated bike lanes, electric
vehicle and car sharing proliferation across the city; and capital projects like the Burrard Bridge,
Killarney Seniors Centre, new childcare projects being built on our parking garages downtown
and the replacement of the Evelyn Sahler Centre and Roddan Lodge in the DTES. And while
taking all of this action, we’ve managed to be the only Canadian city to have a triple A credit
rating from multiple credit rating agencies.

 Working on this with you has been the honour of my life. I want to especially share my
appreciation and gratitude to the City Leadership Team (CLT) for their accomplishments and the
work we’ve done together to create a healthy culture across the organization.
Of course, there is so much more work to be done to address the challenges Vancouver and most
other North American cities face. Our city continues to struggle with a lack of affordable
housing, historic and ongoing racism, rising poverty and inequality, continued challenges with
homelessness and mental health and a devastating opioid crisis - all against the backdrop of an
unprecedented global pandemic. And this past week, with some of the world’s worst air quality
due to smoke from the devastating historic wildfires south of our border, all stemming from the
growing global climate crisis.
Yet, I have utmost confidence in the incredible passion and professionalism of the City staff and
your ability to tackle all of these challenges.
The CLT, alongside the Mayor and Councillors, face some of the greatest urban challenges of a
generation and continue to work diligently to address them. I’ve enjoyed working with all of our
elected officials over the last two years, and I wish them the best of luck with their efforts
tackling all the challenges we face.
You can expect updates in the weeks ahead regarding the City’s plans for recruitment of a new
City Manager, and any decisions regarding interim leadership.
Meanwhile, I’d like to thank you for your teamwork and dedication to our city. It’s truly been an
honour to work alongside you for the past decade.
Best,
Sadhu