Manteca Mayor Gary Singh — and a council member — along with city staff are coming to a neighborhood near you.

A series of outreach meetings starting last evening with Arbor Bend Park in southwest Manteca are underway this month.

It is part of a concerted effort by elected officials and city management to improve transparency and output.

“It’s a two-way street,” Singh said. “We can explain what the city is doing and listen and take concerns people have back to city staff.”

Prior to Singh’s election as mayor in 2020, such outreaches occurred only when the city was seeking a sales tax increase such as Measure M in 2006. And they never included a mayor or sitting council member.

Singh got the ball rolling with periodic Facebook live sessions after his election as mayor as the pandemic made face-to-face gatherings off limits and then problematic to do.

He started doing in person outreach meetings with various groups after the pandemic restrictions were lifted.

That then transitioned into the unprecedented 100 plus community meetings in the lead up to the Measure Q election the mayor conducted along with various city management personnel.

Singh’s extensive outreach is credited by some with helping secure passage of the temporary 20-year three-quarter dent sales tax.

Singh’s commitment to the outreach meetings also reflects the changing dynamics of Manteca.

Unlike Ripon or Lathrop where there is a high chance of the mayor, council, and even city management staff interacting with residents sometime during the year outside of meetings dealing with specific issues, Manteca’s civic landscape has changed.

The switch to district elections now means the mayor is the only council member elected citywide.

And the fact Manteca is expected to surpass 100,000 residents in 2026 means there is the very real concern a severe disconnect between citizens and the city could take hold without a concerted and constant effort to have outreach meetings.

Not only do they serve as a way for the city to explain what they are doing and share how state laws and such may restrict what they can do, but it allows a forum for exchanges and finding out not just what people are thinking about overall community related issues but concerns unique to specific neighborhoods.

Singh, District 4 Councilman Mike Morowit, and a Fire Department command staff member  met with constituents last month at The Collective.

District 2 Councilman Charlie Halford and Singh met Thursday night at Arbor Bend Park with Southwest Manteca residents.

Upcoming community outreach meetings include:

*Wednesday, Oct. 15, at 3 p.m. at the Del Webb clubhouse featuring Singh and Morowit.

*Thursday, Oct. 16 at 6 p.m. at the Woodward Park picnic shelter with Singh and District 1 Councilwoman Regina Lackey.

*Tuesday, Oct. 21, at 8:45 a.m. at the Central Valley Association of Realtors, 531 E. Yosemite Ave, with Singh, Interim Director of Economic Development Vanessa Carrera, and Economic Development Analyst Joseph Viorge-Kaiden.

*Wednesday, Oct. 29, at the VFW Hall on Moffat Boulevard with Singh and District 3 Councilman Dave Brietenbucher.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com