Miranda Lutzow is resigning as Manteca’s city manager effective Feb. 26.

The announcement following a special closed City Council session on Friday evening provided no official explanation beyond the council’s acceptance of her resignation. Given that she is resigning there will be no severance payments such as the city forked out with the last two city managers who departed ways with the city — Elena Reyes and Tim Ogden. Between the two previous city managers, the city issued final combined checks in excess of $400,000.

When Lutzow leaves at the end of the month she will have completed just over 10 months of her three-year contract. If you combined the time she was acting and interim she will have served 16½ months in the city manager’s post. Manteca, with Lutzow’s departure, will have gone through three city managers in 4 years and 5 months.

*Reyes started in August 2016 and was put on paid administrative leave four months later. She was dismissed seven months after she was hired. Greg Showerman, who was community development director when Reyes was put on administrative leave, served as acting city manager and then interim city manager until Ogden was hired.

*Ogden was hired in 2017. After being placed on administrative leave in September 2019, Ogden and the council agreed to mutually part ways in December 2019, some 2½ years after he was hired. Lutzow, who was the human resources director at the time, served as acting city manager from mid-September 2019 until January 2020 when she was made interim city manager.

*Lutzow served eight months as either acting or interim city manager until April 2020 when she was hired as city manager on a three year contract.

In a terse, 66-word City of Manteca issued press release after the council’s closed door meeting Mayor Ben Cantu is quoted as saying, “I have really enjoyed working with Miranda. I am thankful for her service to the City of Manteca and wish her the best in her future endeavors.”

Lutzow is still city manager through Feb. 26. Unless the council takes steps to do otherwise, the current management structure would make Assistant City Manager Lisa Blackmon the acting city manager. It is what happened when Steve Pinkerton in July 2011 resigned as Manteca’s city manager after three years to take a similar position in Davis. Assistant City Manager Karen McLaughlin became the acting city manager.

McLaughlin was hired shortly thereafter on Sept. 1, 2011 as the city manager without the council conducted an outside search. McLaughlin, the first female city manager in the city’s history, served for almost five years.

Lutzow, like McLaughlin, was hired without an outside search.

The council has yet to decide how to pursue a replacement for Lutzow.

Clean sweep of senior

management during
Lutzow’s tenure

Lutzow was the architect of the senior management overhaul that has effectively replaced every department head since mid-September of 2019 when she stepped into the role as acting city manager.

The last remaining department head that was in place — former Fire Chief Kyle Shipherd — departed from city employment on Feb. 1. The only department head back in September of 2019 who is still in the city’s employ is current Assistant City Manager Lisa Blackmon. She was the city clerk.

Lutzow did more than just replace department heads as they either retired, opted to go elsewhere or “mutually agreed to part ways” — an euphemism for being forced out.

She also led a reorganization that included adding departments. That ranged from creating an engineering department to keep more work in-house and to turn around public works projects quicker to elevating information and technology to department status instead of having it under the wings of the human resources director.

Lutzow also oversaw the creation of Manteca’s first in-house legal department in the city’s 103-year history after the retirement of John Brinton as the contract city attorney. L. David Nefouse’s first day on the job was Feb. 1.

There also were a number of mid-management and other positons that were created in March 2020. Many weren’t filled, however, due to the pandemic emergency. Positons that were filled included adding a deputy city manager.

The city is currently searching for a permanent police chief. They have yet to start the search for permanent department heads for fire, finance, as well as recreation and community services.

Lutzow has drawn criticism for many of her moves.

The personnel changes she made are based on her own judgment. City managers are hired to oversee the day-to-day operations and to carry out policies and goals of elected leaders acting in the majority. The only city personnel hired and fired directly by the city council is the city manager and city attorney.

That said the management structural changes and their funding must be approved by elected officials.

The council clearly did not disapprove of her handling of the removal and hiring of department heads as the majority on a 4-1 vote in April 2020 gave her a three-year contract as city manager by ending her interim status.

The only dissension was Councilman Dave Breitenbucher. He has been openly critical of some of her decisions and pushed for an open recruitment process for the city manager’s job stressing he did not believe Lutzow had enough experience.

Some of Lutzow’s detractors tried to turn the November 2020 council election into a referendum of sorts on how she ended former Police Chief Jodie Estarziau’s employment. In that election, incumbent Gary Singh was returned to office with a record vote tally while political newcomer Charlie Halford displaced 12-year incumbent Debby Moorhead.

Halford made fiscal accountability the cornerstone of his campaign and never campaigned on the management overhaul per se.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com