TREASURE ISLAND, Fla. — Treasure Island Mayor Tyler Payne announced his resignation Monday afternoon. He cited personal and professional reasons for leaving his position.

In a social media postPayne said he can’t give the time needed to be the city’s mayor, especially as Treasure Island continues to recover from being hit by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

Treasure Island was covered in debris and many homes were destroyed by storms. Several area businesses were forced to close during and after the hurricanes. The city is popular The Sanding Ovations festival has also been cancelled as workers and neighbors continued to recover.

“While it is heartbreaking to make this decision in the midst of our recovery from Hurricanes Helene and Milton, this is the best decision for me and my family,” Payne wrote in the post. “As we recover from these storms, it will be critical that the mayor dedicates a significant amount of time to leading our community through the process. At this point in my professional and personal life, I unfortunately don’t have the necessary bandwidth. to meet this need.”

Payne has been Treasure Island’s mayor for the past three and a half years, but will now focus on his other full-time job in his family business. He will also leave town after storms cause his and his parents’ home to be flooded and badly damaged.

“Although my parents will rebuild and fortunately we will continue to have those roots in Treasure Island, my husband and I cannot afford to do the same,” Payne said. “That said, I completely empathize with the difficult decisions that so many of our residents face. We are not moving far and I intend to remain an active part of the Treasure Island community that I love so much.”

The said post Deputy Mayor John Doctor will serve as the city’s mayor in the meantime.