Tiffany Tillman announced her resignation as Hennessey town administrator Monday morning after 17 years on the job.

She did so in an email to the town board and “to the citizens of Hennessey.”

She has accepted an offer from “a governmental financial software company,” and told the KT&FP she will be able to work at home.

Her last day is Feb. 24. Mayor Bert Gritz called a special meeting at Town Hall for 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 16, to accept the resignation and discuss appointment of an interim town administrator.

Gritz also commended Tillman for her many years of loyalty and commitment to the Hennessey community, its businesses and people.

“She will be sorely missed by many,” Gritz said.

“I have truly enjoyed working for some great trustees and townspeople,” Tillman wrote in her Feb. 12 resignation letter, “…and some of the greatest co-workers who have the same dedication to making Hennessey a great place to live.”

In addition to Gritz, other trustees are Vice Mayor Clif Vogt, Richard Simunek, Harold Shaw and David Jones.

Terms for board seats held by Gritz, Vogt and Simunek are up for election April 4 and all three filed for re-election.

Others who filed are Frank Patton and Randy Bohnstedt.

Voters will pick their top three among the five candidates.

No Surprise

Tillman’s resignation came as no surprise to some because of conflicts among trustees during the past year, or more.

Most recently Simunek, Shaw and Jones voted against going into executive session to discuss Tillman’s salary increase.

She’d asked for an evaluation – and not a raise – last October, but never got it.

A January agenda item by Vogt to give Tillman a 5% raise was moved to next month after Jones wanted to put it off.

Tillman’s last raise was in 2014.

In 2017, trustees fired the public works director for lack of funding, then gave Tillman his responsibilities.

She has supervised 24 full-time and 23 part-time employees since 2017.

In addition to Tillman, there are two other employees who office at Town Hall: Shelley Burch, a long-time accounts receivable clerk, and Denise Meloy, who was hired in December as the accounts payable clerk.

Burch is also the elected town treasurer.

Hennessey Ties

Tiffany (Pollard) Tillman is a 1991 HHS honors grad and attended Oklahoma State University.

Before joining the town staff in 2006, she was the city clerk and treasurer at the City of Crescent.

When her husband, David (1988 HHS grad ), was stationed in Hawaii, she worked her way up from secretary, executive secretary and office manager at Aloha Care in Honolulu.

The Tillmans have been married almost 32 years and have three daughters: Abby Steward (husband Jacob), Meagan Tillman and McKayla Henning, and one son, Patrick Tillman. They also have three grandchildren: Parker, 6, Sam, 4, and Jovie, 2.