At least once - if not twice a month - for over 30 months Richard Hansen made his way to the City Council podium to ask basically the same question: When is City Manager Steve Pinkerton going to move to Manteca?

He was told - until Mayor Willie Weatherford got a bit wary of repeating the same answer - that it would be within a “reasonable time.” That wasn’t political vagueness but the language in a city ordinance governing city manager residency requirements.

Apparently three years isn’t considered an unreasonable time to comply with an ambiguous employment requirement.

Hansen isn’t exactly the No. 1 fan of Steve Pinkerton.

His frustration over residency requirement for the city manager, though, shouldn’t be directed at Pinkerton but his five bosses.

The City Council is now going through the expense of time and money to modify the ordinance to include a mileage provision that allows Assistant City Manager Karen McLaughlin to assume the top post without moving from her home in Modesto near Kaiser Hospital.

It needs to be noted that Councilman John Harris - who apparently is a fan of requiring a city manager to live in Manteca but is confident enough not doing so won’t impact the effectiveness of McLaughlin one iota - is not willing to let city managers after McLaughlin off the hook.

He asked City Attorney John Brinton if the ordinance was amended to reflect residency of a city manager within a certain distance if a council in the future could change it back. The answer, of course, was in the affirmative.

Which begs the real question: Why even have an ordinance delineating city manager residency requirements?

It’s obviously situational when it comes to the wisdom of whoever the five elected leaders are at a given time that hire a city manager. One would want them to get the best available person. For Pinkerton’s successor, the council all agreed it was McLaughlin. She made it clear she wouldn’t take the job unless the ordinance was changed.

The reasons for a city manager living within the jurisdiction they oversee runs the gamut from being closer to the day-to-day fabric of life to having a stake in the city through the payment of various taxes one spends while simply living. They clearly are accessible to more people when they shop or go out to dine. They also have a tendency to be more active in attending community events which allows them to come into contact with the people they serve ultimately which are city residents.

On the flipside, city managers who reside within the community they help run have a tendency to build up constituencies outside of the council chambers. That means if the time ever comes to part ways, a big backlash can ensue from city manager’s supporters who happen to live in his neighborhood, play golf with him, attend the same church and such.

The ultimate goal should be to get the best possible person to serve as city manager.

As for the residency requirement, unless the city manager doubles as night watchman, it doesn’t seem to be that critical except for political purposes.

It is understandable why many people believe the city manager should live in town. After all, that person should be all about Manteca, right? But what if the person who is determined to be the best candidate to generate more jobs in Manteca and make local government more effective and responsible wants to live on a ranchette south of Manteca because the love of their life’s passion is raising farm animals?

Police Chief Dave Bricker’s ability to serve effectively hasn’t been compromised because he lives a mile outside of the city limits. Nor has the council given any reason to believe Pinkerton was a less effective city manager because he lived 25 miles away.

So when push comes to shove, the ordinance is nothing more than political window dressing.

If residency in Manteca really mattered it would be an ironclad requirement.

The last three years has proven it isn’t. And what the council is about to do to accommodate McLaughlin re-enforces the fact it isn’t essential.

The council needs to end the political charade and get rid of the ordinance dealing with city manager residency requirements. Instead, they should be driven by the need to get the best person for the job - period.