One way or the other, this was the year that the Colorado Springs Utilities Board of Directors was going to replace its chief executive officer.

The current CEO, Jerry Forte, announced Wednesday that he would step down of his own accord at the end of May. But board members say they’ve also given him both friendly and more adamant nudges in that direction.

Already, Utilities’ past chief financial officer, Bill Cherrier, has reportedly expressed a strong interest in returning as the agency’s head. He left late last year to become CEO of the Central Iowa Power Cooperative.

Forte said the time is right for him to step down. He even considered stepping down at the end of 2017, but felt the need to stick around to fill Cherrier’s position and another position left open by the retirement of Chief Water Services Officer Dan Higgins.

Board Member Don Knight said the recent completion of the Southern Delivery System and the installation of scrubber’s on Utilities’ coal plants – including the Martin Drake Power Plant downtown – means this is a good time to start a national search for a new executive.

“We’re at a good pause now and we were asking Jerry, ‘What are your plans?'” Knight said. “And my personal thing was, ‘Jerry, you need to give us a date, for the good of CSU, being a billion-dollar company, or we’ll pick one.'”

The board consists of all nine members of the City Council.

Board member Richard Skorman said the group hadn’t given Forte any kind of ultimatum. Although he and board member Jill Gaebler did agree that they were gently nudging him to retire sooner rather than later. Because the group boasts a broad spectrum of viewpoints, it’s well outfitted to select a new CEO, they said.

“I would also like this board to select my successor,” Forte said. “It’s a great board and they’re going to do a great job.”

But Knight said for him it’s less about the mix on the board and more about the timing.

Three at-large seats on the council are up for grabs in 2019. Councilman Merv Bennett, who holds one of those seats, is term-limited so there will be at least one new person on the council and the board next year. Councilmen Bill Murray and Tom Strand, who is currently board president, are also up for re-election.

“If we don’t do it while this board is in place then you’re going to have to give a new council six, seven months or so to really come up to speed on Utilities before they would even be comfortable,” Knight said. “If it’s not done in 2018, then 2020 would probably be the next window where a board is really qualified to pick a new successor.”

Murray, however, said he’s been calling for Forte’s retirement a bit more aggressively behind the scenes. The two have had some significant disagreements, perhaps most notably the appointment of City Attorney Wynetta Massey as Utilities’ head attorney, Murray said.

Instead, Murray said Utilities should have a team of attorneys separate from the city.

Plus, Forte’s dozen years as CEO, is too long, Murray says, maintaining that a healthy turnover for executives should be around five years.

Knight said he and Forte have also disagreed, generally on budgetary decisions. But considering the Southern Delivery System, which had been in the works since the 1990s, Forte’s longer tenure has provided Utilities continuity, he said. The system funnels about 50 million gallons of water a day from the Arkansas River to Colorado Springs, Fountain, Security and Pueblo West and was widely considered as a necessity for those communities to expand in the coming decades.

The new CEO, however, will likely revert back to a four- or five-year career span, Knight said.

The board will soon open a national search, but will also look at internal candidates.

Strand said Cherrier called him in January and expressed interest in returning to Utilities for the yet-to-be-opened position, despite having been gone less than a year. He moved to Iowa to be closer to family and because there was no upward mobility at Utilities and the Central Iowa Power Cooperative offered him a CEO position.

Cherrier declined to comment for this article.

Since Cherrier left, Strand said he’s heard the local business community sing his praises.

Knight said he could back Cherrier as the next CEO, but noted that there are others with high-level Utilities experience who might also apply for the job. Before he makes a decision, Knight said he wants to review all the potential candidates.

The next CEO of Utilities will be an important legacy of the sitting board and will greatly impact the city’s future, Skorman and Gaebler agreed. Some of the important upcoming decisions include the impending closure of Martin Drake and the decision of whether to enter into a regional transmission partnership, where Utilities would buy and sell electricity wholesale with other utilities.

Skorman said he’ll be looking for a candidate that can help close Drake and replace the power it generates. The plant is currently scheduled to be closed by 2035, though the board might decide in the coming years to close it sooner.

Knight said he’s more interested in a candidate with experience in regional transmission partnerships.

The search for a new CEO is expected to take upwards of six months. The board will name an interim CEO within a week.