FRANKLIN—Dave Howe, director of Franklin Power & Light, resigned Monday from the city position he has held for 19 years.

According to City Manager Bucky Taylor, Dexter Trump, who stepped up from superintendent of electric utilities to FP&L’s deputy director when Paul Hartung resigned in late January, will serve as interim director.

Trump has been with the department for 32 years, 18 as superintendent.

Trump said he hated to see Howe leave.

“He has brought a lot to the department,” he said, noting the safety program and the lineman training program as examples.

Taylor said a time frame of four months has been selected to let Trump get familiar with the department before any formal discussions of filling the position permanently will ensue.

“We appreciate all of Dave’s work and efforts for the electric department,” Taylor said. “We wish him well in is retirement.”

Howe, who could not be reached Monday for comment, has expressed concerned with “unresolved issues” in the city, such as “high electric rates and recommendations that they be raised higher and large money transfers from the electric department to the general fund over 20 percent each of the last three years.”

In September, the city ran an advertisement seeking candidates for his job without a formal resignation or announcement of retirement from Howe, who said at the time that he felt he had been treated unfairly and felt “forced to retire.”

Taylor responded that if “we find out someone is (leaving), we try to have someone else in place so we don’t have so much down time…”