New Redding manager announces ‘assault’ style overhaul of city operations
During what was originally planned as a press conference about city electric rates, Redding’s recently-hired city manager William Tarbox announced a “new era” in Redding’s governance. Council members haven’t yet met publicly to discuss such a plan but some say they’re on board.
“Nothing is off the table,” Redding’s new city manager William Tarbox said this morning at a press conference as he discussed possible personnel cuts along with “whatever it takes” to make Redding run more efficiently.
His comments were made during a meeting originally called to address REU rate hikes, but Tarbox focused instead on an ambitious plan to disrupt municipal business in hopes of cutting costs.
Breaking with the usual operations of business in California government, Tarbox didn’t wait for an affirmative vote from the council before announcing a new initiative to restructure every city department with the goal of maximizing efficiency.
After the meeting Tarbox discussed how he envisions his examination of Redding’s operations at large, using the metaphor of battle. “The way I can best describe it is like an assault behind enemy lines… [consultants] are paratrooping in, going down the ladder into buildings.”
“Nobody is going to be exempt, not one department,” he concluded, declining to give an exact timeline for when he will complete his “360 analysis” of city departments.
Tarbox also told Shasta Scout that the city is considering contracting outside firm Circle 6 Consulting to conduct an efficiency study, which he said will be “budget neutral” as each department will pay for it proportionally through money set aside for operations savings.
The city’s agenda for the March 17 meeting includes a staff report with the projected financial cost of the consulting process which is estimated at no more than $300,000. Approving that contract will require the council to vote to bypass the city’s request for proposal process to award the contract to Tarbox’s chosen firm.
The staff report indicates the work is intended to include a five-year “financial deep dive,” “rapid field interviews and observations,” “lean waste identification,” and “cost leakage and control risk assessments.” Contract details reveal that the work is intended to be completed by September 30 but could be expanded beyond that to address additional areas of efficiency.
The new city manager took part in his first city council meeting only about two weeks ago. As he spoke today he was flanked by most of the city council who hired him, with only Council member Dr. Paul Dhanuka absent. Under his leadership, Tarbox said, Redding residents should expect to see increased transparency in how the city is making decisions, along with operational improvements and efficiencies that are tracked and measured.
Electrical rate hikes are no longer being considered, Tarbox confirmed, saying that the timing of REU’s proposed increase was misaligned with his entrance into the city government. If a change in rates does happen in the future, he said he wants to be part of the appraisal process first.
The new city leader, who was hired after a national recruitment process, has never run a municipality before. He came to Redding from Concord, California, where he served as the Public Works Director managing a budget of about $37 million. In contrast, Redding’s budget is about $557 million.
According to Tarbox’s LinkedIn, his educational background includes a bachelor’s degree in history, anthropology and theology but no education related to finances or organizational management. He has not yet responded to questions about what education or experience has prepared him to conduct an operational review of Redding.
In a conversation after the meeting, Council member Erin Resner responded to similar questions saying Tarbox is also Lean Six Sigma certified, a reference to an accreditation program focused on efficiencies in operational management. She said Tarbox’s decision to engage in major reviews of every city department isn’t a surprise to the council because he suggested the idea during his second interview for the role, saying that’s one of the primary reasons he was hired.
Mayor Mike Littau said while Tarbox may not have the credentials for financial and organizational restructuring on paper, he “speaks the jargon that 99% don’t” related to city budgets and finances. During interviews, Littau said, Tarbox discussed his work in San Francisco including the use of “forensic audits.”
Littau added that he’s aware that the announcement today has created concerns for some city staff but said he hopes making the city more efficient will result in workplace improvements overall.
“What I want to say to city staff is that I recognize they’re doing good work, and with efficiency studies we may be able to find more ways to get them more support.
“And just, trust the process,” Littau added.
What was the lead up to this press conference?
For about a month, the Redding Electricity Utility has been in conversation with the public about a potential annual rate increase of 4.5% for four consecutive years. On February 18, REU announced its initial proposal to raise energy costs, something which must be approved by the city council.
The process hasn’t gone smoothly. The council was originally slated to make a rate hike decision on March 3 but voted last week to postpone that decision to March 17, allowing for more community members to attend workshops. Since then, Tarbox has acted unilaterally to pull the discussions on REU from council members’ agenda without public discussions.
REU has said that rate hikes are needed due to multiple economic factors not within the city’s control, including rising labor and material costs from tariff-induced inflation, expenses related to California’s mandates for clean energy, and costs associated with addressing REU’s aging infrastructure and mitigating wildfires.
Some members of the public have responded with concerns about REU salaries, echoing a frequent refrain by a vocal minority related to city labor costs.
Both Resner and Littau said by phone today that they believe an in-depth look at the city’s operations is needed to rebuild trust with the public. Tarbox, they said, is willing to take that look.
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Council hired a little man who can’t do the job so they are allowing him to hire a consultant without following the rules.
If he’s “certified” why doesn’t he complete the review and save us some money? What a waste of time and money. Hire someone who is actually qualified!
Has Reddin’ hired their very own Donald Trump…?
Why can’t we discuss Tenessa’s jacket?
Also very interesting that there is a $300,000 contract on tomorrow’s Council Agenda (9.14(a)) for an attorney that worked at the City of Benicia… where Mr. Tarbox also previously worked.
Where is all this money coming from if we’re in a budget crisis?
“Mayor Mike Littau said while Tarbox may not have the credentials for financial and organizational restructuring on paper, he “speaks the jargon that 99% don’t””
lol holy shit, that just sounds horrible at face value, and they want to cut the jobs of people they pay enough, and never consider a pay cut for those paid too much at the top. Enjoy the future strikes, I guess
” Jolly Roger
● March 13, 2026 at 8:51 pm
Reminds me of another outsider who is running things into the ground.
.
Clint Curtis.”
Jolly, please take the time and explain how Clint Curtis is running things into the ground.
Oh, nik, you’re so silly.
The articles on here, they do a fantastic job of explaining it. Those pesky articles that are quite literally under your nose.
😀
Outside of an absolute emergency or a situation in which municipal processes would grind to a halt, I’ve never heard of the public bid process being circumnavigated. Those laws and regulations are there for a reason, for transparency, for GASB compliance and GFOA best practices. As a first step, what a misstep; Any findings of your hand picked consultant is now eroded and can be picked apart. Be firm, set the tone, put out a bit, freeze all new hiring, and do it the right way.
With city finances basically a dumpster fire, why is city finance director Greg Robinette not held accountable?
I suggest they start looking at RPD, which represents 39% of the city’s budget, the largest portion by far.
Tarbox was clearly hired by the council as an axe man since he apparently has no education on how to run a city’s finances or lead an organization. Oh, but he “talks the talk.” I am so tired of this stupid place and this stupid time.
Last I checked, about half of RPD’s employment budget for the last 15 years has gone towards paying the pensions of long retired officers. These overly generous dot-com era pensions can’t be cut without the city declaring bankruptcy.
Funding of ongoing RPD operations has been abysmal, which is why morale and services have been so bad for so long.
They also buy a bunch of new crap they don’t need. They don’t need new toys every year
Not to mention the pension funds of retired upper management.
Like Police Chief, you mean? We’re on our fourth in 10 years. Half of them have done at least three years at that level to make sure their retirement gets spiked. Brian Barner only has to make it to November, and I imagine he’ll either be shown the door or retire shortly thereafter.
There’s not really any other way to do it. The math forces this.
Anyone who is self employed has a spouse w a crappy job “for the benefits” or they’re both lifers in a system w subsidized benefits.
To give you an example of the self-employed, my wife is the homemaker (single income family)— my monthly health insurance premium, self insured, went from $300 a month pre ACA, to $3700 a month today. That is not an embellishment. Silver Plan, Blue Shield.
It now regularly increases 8%-12% every year. I’ve posted this before, but I dont feel it gets the traction it deserves. At some point, even someone who makes as much money as I am able to earn, cannot sustain an independent business. You either disrupt the stay at home mommy situation, or go “work for the city/county/state.”
‘After the meeting Tarbox discussed how he envisions his examination of Redding’s operations at large, using the metaphor of battle. “The way I can best describe it is like an assault behind enemy lines… [consultants] are paratrooping in, going down the ladder into buildings.” ‘
Sounds like Elon Musk and DOGE– and we know where that took us.
Consultants be damned.
Limited relevant experience and lots of techbro buzzwords. Just another day ending in Y in Shastanistan.
Selah
There’s a lot of missing context in how this situation is being presented.
The REU rate adjustments that have been criticized weren’t a surprise proposal. They were already included in the utility’s five-year financial plan and were reviewed by City Council during the City’s budget workshops in May and June. Staff had also spent months analyzing budgets and identifying reductions to bring the increases down before they were presented.
The suggestion that the proposal appeared without due diligence simply isn’t accurate.
Now the City is bringing in a $300,000 consultant while saying the cost will come from “existing budgets.” Considering the financial condition of the rest of the City’s departments, it’s difficult to see how that expense wouldn’t ultimately fall on REU — meaning ratepayers would be covering the bill.
At the same time, the financial planning that had already been reviewed and discussed publicly is being set aside. That combination raises serious concerns about leadership judgment and priorities.
Utilities depend on disciplined long-term planning. If experienced staff recommendations and previously vetted financial plans are ignored in favor of politically convenient decisions, the likely outcomes are predictable: increased financial risk for the utility, higher costs pushed to the future, and the loss of experienced employees who may decide their expertise is no longer valued.
And if they had hired an experienced city manager with the proper training, they wouldn’t need to bring in a consultant. The fact is, with the exception of RPD, the city has already been cut to the bone. It is boondoggles like Big League Dreams, Stillborn Business Park, and sprawling low-density growth that have hurt on the city’s budget.
I completely agree. It feels like a complete bait and switch. My understanding was that he was being brought in to conduct the evaluation himself, not to immediately turn around and hire a consultant because he isn’t actually qualified to perform the study.
That makes it even more important that the City follow its normal purchasing and procurement policies so any consultant is properly vetted and selected through a transparent process.
What’s especially frustrating is hearing this initiative described as a “new day” for the city centered on right-sizing and transparency. The City already operates in a transparent framework—major contracts and spending decisions are placed on public agendas and require Council approval. That structure exists specifically to ensure accountability to the community.
But in this case, the process appears to be the opposite of what’s being promoted. The $300,000 contract for Circle 6 was sole-sourced outside the City’s typical procurement process, and the item is buried in tomorrow’s Council agenda despite never being mentioned during the press conference announcing the efficiency effort. If transparency is truly the goal, the consultant selection process should reflect that. Running it differently while simultaneously promoting a “new day” of transparency comes across as hypocritical.
Watched the press conference, and that in combination with the info here has me very alarmed. I’m dumbfounded Littau thinks using jargon like “forensic audit” is a legitimate substitute for a lack of experience or qualifications “on paper”. That sounds like a punch line. He’s wholly unqualified for this job and he’s proving it. What normal, professional public administrator would, with 2 weeks under their belt, announce a citywide reorganization and bypass the bidding process to hand a $300,000 efficiency consulting contract to his preselected vendor? (Crony?) And what was that word salad about how much it costs doesn’t matter — it’s ‘budget neutral’ because being paid for with savings? Huh? How is that budget neutral? If you or I have an unplanned $300,000 expense we pay for out of savings, it definitely impacts our budget. That applies the same here and just doesn’t make sense. It’s confusing.Was he trying to deflect attention away from the cost? If so, that’s a red flag… If the path to his austerity plan starts with funneling $300,000 to an acquaintance, and this confusing mess of a plan is our introduction to the new city manager, it doesn’t bode well for how our city will be run.
I am highly concerned that the new City Manager hasn’t been in Redding for a full month and he’s already making decisions that aren’t the best for our community. Asking the Council to bypass the request for proposals process and award a $300,000 contract to Circle 6 is highly suspicious. For that sum of money, the City owes it to the citizens to make sure the company they select is the best out there at a reasonable price. I’d be curious to see if Mr. Tarbox has a history with this company.
Mr. Tarbox claims things are going to change within the City, but this seems to be another back door deal at the citizen’s expense. The Enterprise Fund, which includes REU, is going to make up $201,000 of this contact – if they have that much money, why was a rate increase ever floated?
As a city worker and I am a very conservative when it comes to the rate payers money, I will say that this new city manager is the highest paid person on the city payroll. He rolls in on your money to help him move to Redding as well as gets a vehicle and cell phone stipend. He remodels his new office and makes up rules that he can do what he pleases. While every single city purchase has to be approved. He has every city department bogged down in paperwork and spending double the time it takes to purchase as low as a $2 transaction. This guy will run the city into the ground while he rides high on the hog. This man is not qualified to run the city and needs to be investigated before drives us further under.
Reminds me of another outsider who is running things into the ground.
.
Clint Curtis.
.
Look, I don’t know Tarbox yet, so who knows?
.
But local leaders need to stop talking about local control when they don’t practice anything close to local control.
Dixie, your mom de plume is my favorite of all time. LOL!
I didn’t even pay attention to her name. But that’s hilarious.
If this guy worries me just about as much as Clint Curtis worries me. I wish we could just start over with reasonable people.
Dixie Normous – nice shout out to both Austin Powers and drag queens everywhere.
A good place to start on a cost cutting audit is with the highest paid individuals on the city payroll. For example, do we really need to spend $359,900 per year to attract and retain a competent city manager?