City Administrator Jacob Matthews resigns

By Cassandra Kyser

Lake City’s City Administrator Jacob Matthews announced his resignation at the City Council meeting on March 17, 2025. Matthews has served in that role since January 2023, when he was hired to replace Interim City Administrator Lee Vogt.

Lake City has posted the job opening on Indeed.com, with an annual salary range of $50,000 to $75,000.

Matthews’ resignation letter was included in the “Council Packet” for the March 17 meeting. These packets are emailed out before each meeting to City Council members and others who request them, and contain documents relevant to each meeting.

Earlier that month, at the March 3 City Council meeting, Matthews presented a proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2026, which showed a projected deficit of $238,710. 

Virginia Sheffield and Tamela Green were at the March 3 meeting. The two are members of the city-appointed Community Memorial Building Center’s Board and were present to discuss the Center’s budget.

In a series of interviews, Sheffield and Green said that they took a closer look at Matthews’ proposed budget and found that much of the projected deficit was due to an accounting error. 

Green is a retired CPA and served on the Council for 20 years. Sheffield worked as an economist for the Iowa Legislature from 1979 to 1983, was director of finance for a Fortune 500 company, and has PhD level studies in economics.

The Calhoun County Phoenix reached out to Matthews via email for a comment but did not receive a response by the time this issue went to press.

This is a breaking story. Updates will be posted here on our website.

Below is a copy of Jacob Matthews' two-page resignation letter.