Five years after joining the City of Traverse City as the first new planner in over three decades – and three days after returning from extended family medical leave – City Planning Director Shawn Winter was fired from his position Wednesday. Winter, who says he was offered no explanation for the firing and was not on any type of performance improvement plan, is the latest in a series of high-profile staff departures in recent months.

Winter says he was let go Wednesday afternoon effective immediately. “I’m the city manager’s direct report, but he did not inform me himself,” he says. “He sent HR to let me know and left the building. Despite asking, I was not given any reason for why I was being fired. I’m not on any type of performance improvement plan, so it feels a little unresolved. I’ve been gone for three months on family medical leave, and the first day that myself, the city manager, and the HR director were all in the office, I was terminated.”

City Manager Benjamin Marentette sent an email Wednesday to city department heads – which was forwarded to employees and planning commissioners – addressing Winter’s departure. “I wanted to let you know that, at my direction, our Human Resources Department executed my termination of Shawn Winter’s employment with the city,” he wrote. “This termination is effective immediately. I’m sharing this particular employment action with you solely because of the level within the organization Shawn previously occupied. Shawn is not authorized to enter any non-public areas of city facilities, and employees are prohibited from granting him any such access.”

Marentette continued: “If the media contacts you, you are not authorized to speak on behalf of the city. I know that decisions like this can trigger emotions; please know that this action does not reflect on any of you, and I appreciate the work each of you does. As you may have experienced in your role as a leader, information leading up to decisions like this is not shared, so the action can seem sudden. If you have any questions, please reach out to me, though of course, I’m limited in what I can say.”

Marentette sent a separate, similar email to city commissioners informing them of Winter’s firing. He did not explain the termination but said he made the decision “following consultation with our labor counsel.” Marentette said if contacted by media, he would only confirm the termination and not comment further. Marentette did confirm the firing to The Ticker and indicated he does not plan to disclose publicly why Winter was fired, noting Winter held an “at will position.”

Marentette requested that city commissioners tell media that employment decisions other than the city attorney fall under his purview, as provided by the city charter. “Please say absolutely nothing beyond that,” he wrote, adding that “employment actions like this are serious” and commission statements could be “used against the city.”

Winter says he’s unsure of what precipitated the firing. He was briefly suspended in 2024 for declining to issue an apology to the planning commission after being caught on mic criticizing Commissioner Jackie Anderson. That occurred under former City Manager Liz Vogel, and Winter says there was no “ill will” between he and Vogel after the incident. “That’s behind us at this point,” he says.

Otherwise, Winter says he’s never received an annual review during his tenure with the city, which could have flagged any performance concerns. When asked about potential tensions with Marentette, who was named interim city manager last July and the permanent city manager in December, Winter says he sought unsuccessfully to engage more with Marentette over the course of their working relationship.

“I’m his direct report, so if there was any tension there, I would hope to be provided an explanation for it,” he says. “Unfortunately, that didn’t occur. There was very little interaction, despite my request to engage. Again, there was no cause given.”

Winter says that despite the termination, he feels “very grateful for the opportunity to have worked for the city. The staff in the planning department are some of the best people I’ve worked with. Beyond my department, I’ve been amazed by the depth of the talent bench across the organization. The planning commission completed an entire master plan rewrite, a mobility action plan, and comprehensive housing and zoning reforms in eighteen months. It’s a really dedicated group.” Winter says he plans to spend more time with his family this summer while evaluating “what options are out there next.”

In a written statement to The Ticker from Planning Commission Chair Anna Dituri – which was co-signed by past Chair Debbie Hershey – Dituri said she was “deeply disappointed and disheartened by the sudden termination” of Winter. Dituri called him a “dedicated public servant, a thoughtful and intentional leader, and a genuinely kind person.” With the hiring of a new planning director “likely taking months, followed by the substantial time necessary for onboarding, the loss of continuity and institutional knowledge will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the commission's work,” Dituri wrote.

“Experienced planners are not easy to find,” she continued. “They bring a unique combination of long-term vision, technical expertise, and the ability to balance competing community interests. Shawn consistently embodied those qualities, and his dismissal leaves big shoes to fill. I hope we receive some explanation justifying this loss to the city's capacity to support intentional and thoughtful development.” Marentette noted in his comments to The Ticker that the planning director “serves at the city manager’s pleasure, not the planning commission’s.”

Winter is the latest in a series of high-profile staff departures in the past year. Several of those were employees who exercised retirement options, including Director of Public Services Frank Dituri, Fire Chief Jim Tuller, Executive Assistant/Purchasing Agent Kim Sheridan, and Deputy City Manager Deb Allen. Allen experienced a personal tragedy when her husband died in an accident this spring; she announced her retirement directly after returning from leave.

City Attorney Lauren Trible-Laucht also departed in June. She described in March stepping down as a personal decision. When asked about the trend of recent departures, Mayor Amy Shamroe says: “Obviously the stability of the city is our number one priority. We’ve known since former Interim City Manager Nate Geinzer that we’ve had a retirement wave coming. Anticipated changes in leadership have already been forcing us to have conversations about the future and succession planning.”

Shamroe declined to comment on Winter’s firing and Marentette’s handling of the termination. When asked about Winter’s replacement process, Shamroe said that commissioners are “not involved in the hiring or firing of any positions other than city manager and city attorney under the city charter.” Marentette says he has a meeting scheduled for next week to discuss next steps for the open position.