Mr Ross said the timing — early on in the three-year term of the elected councillors — "just felt . . . right".
"I’ve discussed it with the council over the last couple weeks," he said yesterday afternoon.
"It’s goodwill on both sides. It’s a nice end to my career."
Mr Ross began as chief executive in January 2004. He had already confirmed he would not continue when his contract expired at the end of this year.
Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher said with the process under way to replace Mr Ross, an appointment could be made before he leaves the council.
If an external applicant was appointed, and a three-month period of notice was required, an internal acting chief executive would be appointed and the transition would remain "fairly seamless".
Ratepayers would not be paying out the remainder of Mr Ross’ salary. He would stay on as a director of North Otago Irrigation Company until the end of the year.
He praised Mr Ross as a strong negotiator who was brought on to the council when Project Aqua, a since scuppered hydro-electric project in the Waitaki River, was an important issue for Waitaki.
"Project Aqua was big at the time. It was a major issue for the community and what we wanted was someone who was a strong negotiator, who had good networks and had good experience, both in the private sector and local government," Mr Kircher said. The attributes that recommended Mr Ross for the job in 2004 "continued to show through in a variety of ways" in his performance.
But there were also new focuses for the council the incoming chief executive would be required to address.
"We’re focused on improving our customer service and our communication," Mr Kircher said.
"Those are some things that have been under way for the last three years, maybe more. We’ve still got some way to go."
Mr Ross felt he had made progress on several key projects for the council recently. Bringing in a new chief executive would complement the long term plan budgeting process for the next three years.
"There are a few [projects] that I would like to try and get closure on, including the Alps 2 Ocean Cycle Trail, the Oamaru Courthouse and the direction set for the former RSA building project. By the end of June all these will be closer to completion."
