Council places City Manager on paid administrative leave

Menifee City Manager Armando Villa has been placed on paid administrative leave. (File photo)

By Doug Spoon, Editor

On the eve of an event scheduled as a positive, upbeat State of the City address and 15th birthday celebration, the Menifee City Council on Wednesday took action that probably won’t be addressed Thursday night in the MSJC football stadium.

By a 3-2 vote, council members in closed session voted to place City Manager Armando Villa on paid administrative leave “during the completion of a comprehensive and internal personnel investigation,” assistant city attorney Ajit Thind reported at the start of Wednesday’s City Council meeting. Because it is a confidential personnel matter, details of the investigation were not released, and all City Council members have been told not to comment, according to Mayor Bill Zimmerman.

According to Thind, the three council members who voted in favor of the action were Dean Deines, Ricky Estrada and Mayor Pro Tem Bob Karwin. Zimmerman and Lesa Sobek voted against the action.

An outside counsel representing the City’s insurance company is handling the investigation, of which details are purposely vague. According to a City statement, “This action is not punitive or disciplinary; it is simply to allow the personnel investigation to be completed.”

That leaves the reasons for the action to be left to the imagination of residents who will attend Thursday’s “State of the City and Birthday Bash”, in which they are urged to wear their favorite sports jerseys and “have a good time.” Prior to a carnival-like celebration at MSJC’s new HCN Bank Stadium, city officials are scheduled to make a presentation highlighting the positive accomplishments in Menifee.

Rebekah Kramer, currently Assistant to the City Manager, was appointed Acting City Manager by a 5-0 council vote. She has been with the City of Menifee for about two years since coming over from the City of San Bernardino, where she served as Associate City Manager.

Rochelle Clayton, No. 2 in the City hierarchy as Assistant City Manager, was not present at Wednesday’s council meeting. The closed session lasted more than two hours.

“Certainly, the investigation is not something I can talk about,” Kramer said after Wednesday’s meeting. “We’re going to carry forward with a really strong team to take care of people’s business … and make sure nothing falls through the cracks during this interim time period.”

Reached by phone Wednesday night, Villa had no comment.

Villa, who was hired away from the City of Calexico in December 2017, is working under a contract extension that is scheduled to pay him through 2026 at a salary of more than $380,000 per year, including benefits. This current three-year contract extension was awarded Villa by the City Council two years before the previous contract had expired.

Villa’s contract also includes a six-month severance package if he is terminated by the City.