A familiar face at Turlock City Hall: Council names acting city manager amid investigation
The Turlock City Council on Tuesday appointed Gary Hampton as acting city manager, bringing him back to the position he left in July 2017.
With City Manager Toby Wells out on investigatory leave, Hampton’s appointment became effective Wednesday, according to the report from closed session.
The council voted 4-1 to appoint Hampton, with Council Member Nicole Larson dissenting. Hampton previously served as Turlock city manager from April 2016 to July 2017, when he left six weeks before his planned retirement. Hampton claimed former officials, including then-Mayor Gary Soiseth, bullied him into an early retirement, and reached a $39,000 settlement with the city in 2018.
Hampton did not immediately respond to requests for comment about his appointment. He also served as Turlock police chief and interim city manager between 2006 and 2011. He was Tracy’s police chief and city administrator before returning to Turlock as city manager in 2016.
The council made the appointment five days after putting Wells on investigatory leave and giving no further details. Per Wells’ contract approved in March 2020, he will receive full pay and benefits while on leave. If the council fires Wells without cause, his contract requires the city pay him eight months of severance: about $147,000.
Since 2015, six different people have held the city manager position on either a permanent or temporary basis. Michael Cooke filled in as interim city manager before Wells was hired and after former City Manager Robert Lawton resigned in August 2019.
Before Lawton, then-Fire Department Chief Robert Talloni temporarily filled the position for a year after Hampton retired in July 2017. Prior to Hampton, Cooke served a previous interim stint after City Manager Roy Wasden retired in December 2015.
The council plans to approve Hampton’s compensation as acting city manager during the next regular meeting on Jan. 26, City Clerk Jennifer Land said. The council discussed setting his pay at step one of the city manager salary schedule, Land said in reports from closed session. Hampton stands to make a monthly salary of $16,308, per a salary schedule on the city website.
This story was originally published January 13, 2021 at 12:10 PM.
