Miranda Lutzow — who quit 10 months into her contract as city manager — is receiving $220,000 from the city’s insurance consortium.

City Attorney Dave Nefouse Tuesday announced the City Council and Lutzow ended their litigation that started four years ago this month.

The filing of a claim against the city and then a lawsuit came after Lutzow suddenly quit on Feb. 26, some 10 months into  a three-year contract that paid her $240,204 a year.

Highlights of the settlement:

*Neither side admitted any wrongdoing.

*Both sides will refrain from making disparaging remarks about the other.

*Lutzow will drop her lawsuit.

*Both sides must pay their own attorney fees

*The city’s insurance will pay Lutzow $18,000 in lost wages.

*The city’s insurance will pay $202,000 into a  trust account that Lutzow’s attorney set up on her behalf. Typically, such accounts in cases where legal fees are contingent is where the plaintiff’s attorney will be paid with the balance going to the client.

The City of Manteca is only out the $35,000 deductible the insurance consortium they are in with other California cities requires to be paid.

All outside legal costs were covered by the insurance consortium.

In previous employment lawsuit battles with city managers — as well as department managers when they were not at will employees as they are now — who were dismissed or fired, the city most of the time had to pay part of the settlement. That did not happen in the Lutzow case.

Lutzow also is apparently the only city manager in at least 40 years, if not ever, who sued the city after they quit on their own.

Her departure in February 2021, since she quit, came with be no severance payments such as the city forked out with the last two city managers prior to her 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.

If you combined the time she was acting and interim she served 16½ months in the city manager’s post. Manteca, with Lutzow’s departure, had  gone through three city managers — including retired Modesto Police Chief Mike Harden that was a placeholder, so to speak – in 4 years and 5 months.

*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. Pinkerton is now Mountain House’s city manager.

*McLaughlin was hired shortly thereafter on Sept. 1, 2011 as the city. McLaughlin, the first female city manager in the city’s history, served for almost five years.

*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.

After Lutzow’s departure, Tim Wells served as city manager for 132 days before departed.

Toni Lungren was named acting city manager.

Lundgren has now been either acting, interim or the permeant city manager for more than four years.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com