Redding council appoints interim city manager after death of William Tarbox
Assistant City Manager Michael Webb will be temporarily taking over the late city manager’s role. The transition comes as the city also looks to hire a new police chief and city attorney.
The Redding City Council appointed Assistant City Manager and Public Works Director Michael Webb as interim city manager at last night’s meeting, just two days after City Manager William Tarbox’s death.
Webb has held the assistant city manager role for less than a year. He was promoted as interim assistant city manager when former Assistant and Interim City Manager Steve Bade retired last December after being passed over for the city manager role, which went to Tarbox instead. City spokesperson Katie Hunter explained by email today that Webb was officially given the role of assistant city manager in May, which is when the term “interim” was removed from his title, though the city did not publicly announce a hiring process for the role.
Hunter also confirmed that not only does Webb hold the interim city manager role, but he also is still serving as the assistant city manager and the director of public works. Webb has the authority to determine whether additional leadership help is needed, she said, which includes deciding whether to appoint an interim assistant city manager or interim public works director. Hunter explained that since Webb was appointed as interim city manager just last night, “discussions regarding the City’s long-term organizational structure are only beginning,” and more information will be shared as decisions are made.
Tarbox only held the role of city manager for five months. One of his greatest accomplishments while in office was convincing the council to use a no-bid process to hire a consulting firm to conduct a city-wide efficiency study that analyzes city finances in order to achieve financial savings. At Tarbox’s request, Webb became the project’s manager, and he’s since been providing updates about the progress of the study, which is expected to be completed in September or October.
The city spent months searching for and choosing Tarbox, who was largely selected for what the council saw as his capability for leading the city through difficult situations, including the city’s struggling budget. Redding is expected to soon begin another search for someone to take on the challenges Tarbox began addressing, though there was no mention of such a hiring process at last night’s meeting.
With the current gaps in leadership, Redding will be facing more significant turnover in the coming months as it looks to hire not only a new city manager, but also a new city attorney and police chief, some of the city’s top staffers.
A recent recruitment process for the city attorney position was unsuccessful, Hunter said today. She explained that the city council will soon determine next steps, including whether to reopen the recruitment or continue with its current contracted legal services arrangement with the law firm of Burke, Williams & Sorensen.
Three seats on the Redding City Council will also be up for grabs in the November election, leading to potentially major changes to the trajectory of the five-person body — though some current council members are running to retain their seats.
Mayor Mike Littau shared emotional sentiments throughout last night’s meeting about Tarbox’s passing, noting how this transitional personnel period has put the city in a challenging situation moving forward. Discussing the need for some council members to aid Webb in the selection of the new police chief, Littau shared words emblematic of the city’s current situation.
“We need a lot of help moving forward,” he said. “This is a very, very difficult process. This is not how it was planned.”
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I assume Michael Webb as interim city manager will get the past managers pay scale while serving as the city manager, but will he go back to his original salary prior if not granted the manager’s position?
My sincere condolences to Mr. Tarbox’s family, and to the city staff who are feeling his loss.
Thank you to Mr. Webb, who is effectively juggling three new roles. Hopefully the city council will work quickly with Mr. Webb to identify some quality folks to place in interim positions while searches are conducted to fill vacancies.
Hopefully, Council will continue to seek professional outside consultant study, recommendations and action. That course could honor what Manager Tarbox wanted and Cotybrather desperately needs.