Greg Nyhoff's first week on the job as Modesto city manager looked deceptively easy in early June 2008. The City Council was about to pass a $120 million budget for its general fund, a sum that recognized a steady but slight decline in tax revenue from the previous year. It didn't take long for that negligible drop to turn into a gush of red ink. Nyhoff, 49, spent the next 11 months getting to know Modesto while trying to shore up a $15 million deterioration in the city's general fund revenue, a crisis that compelled a round of early retirements and layoffs that claimed roughly 100 jobs in City Hall. Modesto's economic emergency remains Nyhoff's most pressing challenge. More cuts are expected because of the state's inability to balance its budget."When you're a new city manager, you want to come in and make things better. That's not what happens when you're out $19 (million) or $20 million," he said.
But money trouble is an opportunity for Nyhoff to leave his mark on City Hall much more quickly than he imagined. Depleted coffers provide momentum to consider partnerships with private groups just as they enable Nyhoff to hire a roster of executives in the top ranks of city government. In coming months, he's expected to hire a police chief, parks director and human resources director. He's also pursuing shake-ups that will result in a couple more executives answering directly to him by creating a budget office and a Public Works planning department.
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City Manager's Big Moves May 26 Modesto Bee:
Modesto City Manager Greg Nyhoff can make five high-profile hires in coming months. They are:
— POLICE CHIEF: Roy Wasden is leaving Modesto after serving for nine years as police chief. Assistant Chief Mike Harden is acting chief and expected to be a candidate for Wasden's job.
— PARKS DIRECTOR: Jim Niskanen has opted to retire early, leaving a strong record as a versatile manager who helped bring the Amgen Tour of California to town and spotlighted troublesome spending in the Public Works Department. Deputy Parks Director Julie Hannon is the acting department director.
— HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR: Like Niskanen, Robin Renwick has chosen to take an early retirement package. She'll be hard to replace, having led the city's personnel department for 18 years. Barbara Santos is the department's deputy director.
— BUDGET DIRECTOR: Nyhoff wants to create a small budget office that would report directly to him, splitting that function from the city's Finance Department.
— PUBLIC WORKS- ENGINEERING DIRECTOR: Public Works is Modesto's largest department. Nyhoff aims to separate long-term planning from daily operations.
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