A top Detroit city employee has announced plans to step down. Victor Mercado, the city's highest paid employee, has announced that he's stepping down as head of Detroit's Water and Sewage Department.

During a brief and tightly controlled news conference, Mercado said he is leaving his 240-thousand-dollar a year job to lead a public water utility in Florida.

Mercado says the department has faced a lot of challenges since 2002 and that they've also enjoyed a lot of success.

AFSCME Local 207 President John Riehl, who represents water department employees, says Mercado has shrunk the department. Riehl believes Mercado is leaving because he knows Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's reign is coming to an end. 

Detroit mayoral spokesman James Canning said that June 20 will be Victor Mercado's last day on the job he's held since 2002. Mayor Kilpatrick has not named a replacement.