Manteca officially has a new city manager.
Tim Ogden, the current Waterford city manager who previously served for the cities of Modesto and Ceres in economic development positions, was introduced Wednesday night at the start of the Manteca City Council meeting as the person hired to fill a vacancy that has existed since the person previously serving in that position was placed on administrative leave.
“It’s ‘The Family City,’ and I believe that Manteca has a lot of opportunities. “It’s a great location, it’s a strong community and there are lots of economic development taking place,” Ogden said. “I look forward to the challenge of getting to work and moving things forward with the staff.”
And Ogden has quite the resume and experience ushering a smaller Stanislaus County community into a new era and structuring to facilitate the growth that is forecasted for the wider Northern San Joaquin Valley.
During his tenure in Waterford, which began in 2011, Ogden was instrumental in the design and construction of the city’s first ever city hall complex and an award-winning program to revitalize the city’s downtown corridor.
He also played a role in negotiating for the outright purchase of the water systems for the cities of Waterford and Hickman from the City of Modesto, assisting in enabling local control for development and further establishing long-term water availability for the communities involved.
He also served as the Chair of the Management and Finance Committee of City Managers to the Stanislaus County Council of Governments and as the Vice-Chair of the Stanislaus Animal Services Agency.
He lives in Modesto with his wife, Heather, and their four children, and has previously lived in Canada, Greece, Italy and six other states — settling in California in 2001. He holds a Masters in Business Administration, and according to the City of Waterford’s webpage, worked in human resources and program management for a youth correctional facility prior to going into government work.
Manteca Mayor Steve DeBrum said additional details about Ogden’s hiring will be disclosed at a future Manteca City Council meeting.
Ogden will be replacing Elena Reyes, who was hired in 2016 to replace outgoing City Manager Karen McLaughlin. In November of 2016, Reyes was placed on paid administrative leave, and separated formally from the City of Manteca in April of this year.
Reyes was only formally Manteca’s city manager for 38-weeks before her employment was terminated, and half of that time was spent on paid administrative leave. She left the position with anywhere from $145,000 to $250,000 in additional pay per her contract, which stipulated that she be paid a year’s salary if she terminated and still willing and able to work.
To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.