Former longtime Manteca city hall worker Jose Jasso is being tapped to serve as interim assistant city manager.
Jasso — who is currently the assistant city manager and city clerk in Rio Vista — worked for 22 years as a City of Manteca administrative assistant. He was elevated to Assistant City Clerk in 2009. It was a position he held for seven years before being hired to serve as the assistant city clerk of Santa Clara.

Sixteen months later, the Manteca High graduate became the Assistant City Manager and City Clerk for the City of Rio Vista. In that role, Jasso assisted in coordinating, directing, and evaluating the city’s departmental activities and operations, while supporting the city manager in day-to-day duties.

The city up until Miranda Lutzow’s departure as city manager in February  had three administrators in the city manager’s office — city manager, assistant city manager and duty city manager. It was reduced to two under Interim City Manager Mike Harden.

It was also only two positions deep when Toby Wells took over on October only to depart several months later.

Since then, there has only been one administrator in the city manager’s office — Toni Lundgren — who was elevated from her role as deputy city manager first to acting city manager and now to interim city manager.

 Jasso’s contract has a base salary of $189,756 for a term running from May 2 through Dec. 12, 2022.

That is concurrent with Lundgren’s term as interim city manager as well as the term of the current council.

A provision in the contract notes both parties acknowledge that under no circumstances during his term will Jasso be elevated to the position of permanent assistant city manager unless he achieves it following an external recruitment.

The City Council will consider the contract when they meet Tuesday at 7 p.m.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwuyatt@mantecabulletin.com