Delaware City Council names Andrew Beare acting city manager as Paul Brake steps back Oct. 10

DELAWARE — Paul Brake’s final day overseeing the day-to-day operations of the city of Delaware will be Friday, nearly three months before his contract expires.

Delaware City Council unanimously approved an amendment to Brake’s employment agreement during a special meeting Monday, relieving him of his regular duties as city manager beginning Oct. 10.

Assistant City Manager Andrew Beare will become acting city manager that day as the city begins its search for Brake’s permanent replacement.

Brake is neither resigning nor being terminated. His contract will remain in effect through Dec. 31, and the city will continue paying his salary and providing the benefits outlined in his employment agreement through that date.

Under the amended agreement, Brake will perform his normal duties through the end of the business day Friday, Oct. 9, before vacating his City Hall office.

Afterward, Brake will have only “limited transition obligations” as Beare takes over the city’s day-to-day operations.

“From Oct. 10 through Dec. 31, 2026, [Brake] shall remain reasonably available to respond to requests from the Mayor concerning City matters and matters arising from [Brake’s] prior service as City Manager,” the amendment states.

The agreement requires Brake to respond within 24 hours unless otherwise agreed upon or circumstances prevent him from doing so, and it does not require Brake to be physically present at City Hall unless he and the mayor agree otherwise.

Additionally, Brake will still attend the 2026 International City/County Management Association (ICMA) conference in mid October on behalf of the city.

His employment with the city will formally end when his contract expires Dec. 31.

Brake was not in attendance during council’s special meeting on Monday.

Council previously voted not to renew Brake’s contract on Aug. 31. Council, city staff and community leaders’ evaluations of Brake’s performance this past year showed a mix of positive and negative feedback.

Beare talks about his new role

Beare told Delaware Source the city has a fantastic staff and he’s looking forward to continuing to build up Delaware.

When asked if the “acting” role changes anything about how he’s going to approach the role, Beare said it didn’t.

“[I’ll just] continue doing my job, taking over a few more departments that I normally didn’t oversee, but just continue to guide staff,” he said.

“I’ve been here for the last two years, been a resident for the last five years, so I consider Delaware my home and look forward to continue doing my job.”

As for any words of wisdom from Brake, Beare said Brake told him “communication.”

“Keep up communication with staff and continue working with staff on larger projects that we have on the horizon,” he added.

Beare added that he’s looking forward to a number of projects either continue to progress or start to wrap up including:

• The Kroger Marketplace opening on the city’s east side.
• PPG’s expansion announced earlier this year as well as Wieland Onda’s.
• Ohio AAA Blue Jackets facility.

But Beare’s new role does not mean he’ll have someone fill his assistant city manager role.

“[I’ll be] kind of running double duty in the interim,” he said. “A lot of busy nights working and keeping up with everything, but staff will jump in and help out as much as they can on things.

“Just going to work with council to the best of my ability and we’ll get the posting going for the future, full-time city manager position,” he said. “Going to work with them to find the best candidate possible.”