There is clearly new culture at city hall.

After a period where people were practically tripping over each other as they were headed for — or were pushed out — the door, it indeed looked like the “Team Manteca” that Mayor Gary Singh started promoting back as a council member.

The Manteca Police and Manteca Fire brass were out in force the Fourth of July.

City Manager Toni Lundgren was out and about from the Manteca Rotary pancake breakfast and the Sunrise Kiwanis parade in the morning to the fireworks pool party at Great Wolf at night.

Lundgren even found time to spend a number of hours riding around with Manteca Police to see firsthand how the stepped up illegal fireworks enforcement was working and make observation on how to improve the city’s effort next year.

Elected officials were out in force as usual but arguably not to the degree they were this year.

Councilman Charlie Halford was busy keeping the Manteca Rotary pancake breakfast moving.

The parade had its share of council members along with Mayor Singh.

Singh and Vice Mayor Mike Morowit were at the pool party at Great Wolf that served as the official countdown point for the city’s aerial fireworks display over the Big League Dreams sports complex.

There were a number of Manteca residents that purposedly booked a stay at the indoor water resort to celebrate the Fourth with family and friends who joined Singh and Morowit poolside to watch the aerial display.

Singh — as well as Morowit and Councilman Jose Nuno — accompanied officers assigned to illegal fireworks patrol to observe efforts and to find ways to further reduce their use next year by making those that break the law pay for it.

“It’s a bit of a different culture at city hall,” noted Morowit who got elected to the council in 2022 after being off for four years. “It is a lot of Toni Lundgren’s doing as city manager.”

Morowit pointed out is was the first time the entire command staff of the police and fire departments were working on the Fourth of July.

It allowed maximum enforcement. And given they are salaried, there was no additional cost to taxpayers.

The extra help came in handy. Morowit, who was riding with Paul Carmona, noted the captain was called to the serious motorcycle accident on Yosemite Avenue as he was the closest command officer.

By being on duty, it allowed the regular stepped up patrol staffing needed to keep on top of increased calls not to be spread too thin. It also assured that officers assigned specifically to illegal fireworks patrols wouldn’t be pulled away from that task as they had been in previous years when the police department was swamped with calls on the Fourth of July.

“I get that a lot of officers would not like to work on the Fourth because they have families,” Morowit said.

Morowit, though, noted no one seemed to be complain and that everyone actually seemed to enjoy working together on the holiday.

It’s an attitude Morowit said starts with Lundgren’s approach to the City of Manteca being a team effort and the fact that she puts in the hours as well in such endeavors as the Fourth of July events.

Morowit said the last city manager that came close to Lundgren in making sure she wasn’t just a pencil pusher and was out on the community was Karen McLaughlin.

Arguably, the last time there was such a strong city presence on the Fourth of July for municipal brass was in the 1980s when Manteca was 50,000 residents smaller.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com