Longtime city attorney to step down after 48 years of service

The City Council meeting Monday was the last one for Jep Rose as city attorney, and he received a rousing standing ovation for serving in the position since 1976.

“I’ve enjoyed it. It has been a lot of fun. I’d like to stay on forever, but 48 years is enough,” Rose said in a brief statement he made near the end of the meeting.

Mayor Sandy Roberson made the announcement of Rose’s upcoming departure shortly after the start of the meeting and quipped, “I don’t know if we’ve ever had another city attorney since I’ve been alive.”

Roberson expressed appreciation to Rose for his nearly half a century of service.

“But I’ll tell you what: I saw him this morning, and he had the biggest smile I’ve ever seen on his face,” Roberson said.