After a decade of service in the Oak Bluffs town hall, departing town administrator Bob Whritenour was surprised outside of it on Friday, as a parade of public safety, wastewater and highway department vehicles honored him with a procession on his last day of work.

“Supposedly no one told him it was happening, but I don’t think he’s very often surprised,” executive assistant Alice Butler said with a wink on Monday.

Mr. Whritenour, who lives off-Island in Falmouth and commuted daily, has taken a job as the town administrator in Yarmouth. Former administrative assistant town administrator and human resources director Wendy Brough will take over in an interim capacity while the town searches for Mr. Whritenour’s replacement.

The parade on Friday included blaring police sirens, fire trucks and other municipal vehicles, according to Ms. Brough, and was followed by a gathering in the town library. Gifts, as well as “Bob pops” — known in the five other Island towns as cake pops — were distributed to all.

“Everybody wanted in, to show their appreciation,” Ms. Brough said.

Hired during a challenging time for the town in the fall of 2011, with a nearly $1 million budget deficit looming, Mr. Whritenour was able to quickly steady the town’s financial ship, turning the deficit into a $900,000 free cash surplus, and steering it through a series of large capital projects during his tenure as town administrator.

Longtime Oak Bluffs officials lauded Mr. Whritenour’s efforts in interviews on Monday.

“There were a lot of things that needed to be repaired, or fixed when he arrived. He came at kind of a low time,” executive assistant Alice Butler remembered. “He was a great administrator.”

Ms. Brough said that Mr. Whritenour left behind important lessons in financial planning and professionalism.

“He taught us to do budgets and capital planning very well. It was the nuts and bolts,” Ms. Brough said. “He was quite a mentor for us employees.”

The town received multiple awards for its budget over the past ten years, and also embarked on a bevy of capital projects that included a new fire station, a new fuel facility at the marina, the North Bluff dune restoration project and an HVAC and roofing renovation for the school.

But changes to the town hall itself may be remembered as Mr. Whritenour’s biggest accomplishment, town officials said. After facing multiple rejections from voters, Oak Bluffs residents finally approved a $13.3 million project to completely overhaul the aging building at town meeting in 2020. Construction began early last winter, and is slated to be completed later this year.

“The town hall was certainly a big thing, to get that straightened out,” Ms. Butler said. “That was big.”

Mr. Whritenour’s departure comes at a heady time for the town, as it searches for a new fire chief as well as a new town administrator. Ms. Brough said that the search for Mr. Whritenour’s replacement is underway and is being conducted by UMass Boston’s Collins Center for recruitment. Local candidates have been identified, and a statewide search will begin soon.

At a selectmen’s meeting last week, Mr. Whritenour spoke highly of his time in Oak Bluffs.

“I can’t tell you how much I’ve enjoyed the last ten years of working for this town. It’s a place I just truly adore and I’m going to miss everyone tremendously,” Mr. Whritenour said.

An on Friday, with the town hall project in the background, town selectmen and officials wished Mr. Whritenour a heartfelt goodbye.

“He’ ll be very missed,” Ms. Brough said.

Aaron Wilson contributed reporting.