A face that’s familiar to many Los Banos residents is back on the dais at City Hall.
Gary Brizzee, the city’s longtime police chief who retired in 2023, was hired by the City Council during its Monday meeting to serve as interim city manager.
While Brizzee is best known as the city’s veteran lawman, he’s certainly no stranger to the interim city manager seat. He’s served in that role on more than one occasion since 2013.
Monday’s public hearing to approve Brizzee took just over six minutes, with all of the council members voting in support.
“I just want to say, Mr. Brizzee, thank you for coming to our aid at this very crucial time in our city. We appreciate you and your willingness to do the job and we all know you are going to do an excellent job,” Mayor Michael Amabile said during the meeting for the city.”
A city in transition
Brizzee’s hiring comes amid a significant shift in leadership in Los Banos, in the aftermath of November’s election.
As reported by The Westside Express, Amabile defeated Paul Llanez to win the mayoral seat, and two members of the City Council were recalled by voters. Plus, Councilmember Kenneth Lambert resigned last month, citing health issues. The city will hold a special election to fill his council seat.
Much of the turmoil in recent years stemmed from the city’s controversial prior city manager Josh Pinheiro, who resigned last month.
According to Westside Express reporter Mike Dunbar, the city hired Pinheiro in 2021, even though he had no experience working for any public agency.
Pinheiro lasted only eight months in the job and was dismissed from the city. But he returned after his attorney insisted he had been unduly dismissed.
By then, the council had changed leadership. Pinheiro was rehired with only Councilmember Deborah Lewis voting against it. Plus, two months later the council voted to give Pinheiro $1.8 million.
The city’s employment liability insurer refused to honor the payment and outside legal counsel recommended against it. Despite that, the council still voted to pay Pinheiro from the pockets of city taxpayers, Westside Express reported.
Los Banos lost about half of its staff while Pinheiro was in leadership. Plus there was a vote of “no-confidence” by the city’s five largest employee groups and a rebuke by the civil grand jury.
Brizzee’s experience in leadership, law enforcement
Brizzee, who was born and raised in Los Banos, was first hired by the police department in 1995. His career in law enforcement spans nearly 30 years, and also included a job with California Department of Justice Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement.
He holds a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in criminal justice.
As interim city manager, Brizzee will be paid an hourly rate of $102.50, which is not less than the minimum, or in excess of the maximum, paid by the city to other employees performing comparable duties, according to Westside Express.