New London – Tammy Daugherty, the director of the city’s Office of Development and Planning and someone who has played a role in nearly every major city economic and community development initiative during her six years with the city, is leaving at the end of January.

Daugherty, a licensed broker, said she plans to work for herself in the field of real estate development and project management consulting. Her last day will be Jan. 26, at about the halfway mark of Mayor Michael Passero’s four-year term and close to the planned retirement date of Economic Development Coordinator Ned Hammond.

Daugherty said she gave Passero ample warning so he would have time to build a new economic development team to carry him through his term.

“I want stability for him and his administration. He has a promise and my commitment to a smooth transition. Neither Ned nor I would leave critical projects hanging,” Daugherty said.

Passero said her resignation was not a surprise but still a blow to the city.

“She is a pretty remarkable person. I think a lot of people don’t realize just how much she’s done for this city,” Passero said. “Not only has she delivered for the city but she’s been a well-respected ambassador to the city, and we have benefitted greatly from it.”

A former broker and marketing director for Harbour Towers condominiums and the economic development coordinator for New London Main Street, Daugherty was hired by former Mayor Daryl Justin Finizio in 2011 as an office administrator.

Daugherty has acted as liaison to the Renaissance City Development Association, City Center District, New London Main Street, the Planning and Zoning Commission, OpSail, New London Port Authority and the Economic Development Commission. She had also served as the project manager in a regionalization effort that led to the sharing of an emergency dispatch radio system with Waterford.

Finizio appointed Daugherty to the director position when former ODP director Kristen Havrilla Clarke left in 2013. Daugherty would later play a key role in helping solidify the city’s relationship with the U.S. Coast Guard and a land transfer to establish the location of the future National Coast Guard Museum in downtown.

While Daugherty’s appointment was criticized in some circles because of her apparent lack of credentials for a department head, Passero said Daugherty had immediately proven herself to be competent and a crucial part of city operations. He said he did not hesitate to keep her on after he was elected in 2015.

She has also worked on public parking improvement plans, facilitated numerous grant applications, secured partnerships with local institutions, completed the downtown municipal parking lot overhaul and ushered in a parking and traffic study that will lead to some major future changes for traffic patterns in the downtown, Passero said.

Daugherty, who is a breast cancer survivor, also worked through some serious health issues that Passero said might have sidelined someone lacking her fortitude. He said plans are in the works to post her position in the coming weeks.

“Working for the city has been very meaningful for me,” Daugherty said. "There’s been a lot of really interesting public projects that I’m very honored to have assisted. Project management has been deeply interesting and I hope to leave the place better than I found it."

g.smith@theday.com