Modesto’s two acting deputy city managers made permanent

Modesto’s two acting deputy city managers have been given the permanent jobs.

Joe Lopez and Brent Sinclair had been serving as acting deputy city managers since February 2015. City spokeswoman Amy Vickery said Friday that they now have the permanent jobs. Their salaries will stay the same, with each earning $168,251 annually.

City Manager Jim Holgersson appointed the two to the acting positions as part of a reorganization the City Council approved in February 2015. The city charter allows for two deputy city managers but one of the positions was cut from the city’s 2004-05 budget. Dee Williams-Ridley had been serving as the city’s only deputy city manager until she left in January 2015 to become Berkeley’s deputy city manager.

A 2013 reorganization study by the consulting and accounting firm Moss-Adams, which serves as the city’s auditor, recommended the creation of the second deputy city manager position. The study said the city manager had too many day-to-day responsibilities and a second deputy would give the city manager more time to look at big-picture issues facing the city and develop relationships with the city’s key partners.

Lopez had been Modesto’s administrative services director, and Sinclair had been the community and economic development director.

Lopez oversees human resources, finance, information technology, public relations, and innovation and performance management. Sinclair oversees public works, utilities, community and economic development, and parks, recreation and neighborhoods.

This story was originally published February 21, 2016 at 4:19 PM with the headline "Modesto’s two acting deputy city managers made permanent."