New Clayton manager ready to tackle staffing, budget

CLAYTON, CA (Oct. 22, 2024) — The recent Oktoberfest is a perfect example of what inspired Kris Lofthus to take the position as city manager.

“I come from the parks and recreation side of government, and community events are a phenomenal way to bring the community together and provide them a cultural experience,” said Lofthus, who earned a master’s in recreation administration from Sacramento State.

In 29 years in municipal government, he’s held posts in Sacramento, Vacaville and Richmond. He’s been Recreation, Parks and Marina director in Suisun City for the last nine years, as well as serving as interim Public Works director twice and deputy city manager for two years there.

He and his wife Beth live in Vacaville, where she works for the visitors bureau.

Calling Clayton a “fantastic community, small and charming,” Lofthus believes his “skill set and abilities” are compatible with the town’s needs.

“I really enjoy smaller communities. Richmond was well over a hundred thousand people, and it’s just a different feel working in an organization with a lot of staff vs. a small agency,” he said. “Suisun is larger than Clayton, but it still has that small agency feel where you’re involved in a lot of projects and a multitude of staff and really a hands-on approach.

“That’s what I thrive on,” Lofthus continued. “I don’t like to just be an administrator – I want to get to know people and work with people as a more collaborative leader. And that’s what Clayton needs. There’s not a lot of staff, so you do have to wear multiple hats.”

High staff turnover

As he begins his tenure in Clayton, staffing is a key issue. In the last five years, the city has gone through eight city managers, seven finance managers and five community development directors. In March, city manager Bret Prebula quit after less than a year.

According to an editorial in the Pioneer, City Councilmembers Jeff Wan, Jim Diaz and, to a lesser extent, Kim Trupiano repeatedly insulted and undermined Prebula during council meetings. Councilmember Holly Tillman has called for an independent investigation of the constant staff turnover, council/staff interactions, claims of harassment and charges of Brown Act violations.

“I really can’t speak to what’s happened in the past or specific opinions of others,” Lofthus told the Pioneer last week. “All I can base my opinion on is my relationship that I’m building with the council. I come into this situation with my eyes open and wanting to work with the council.”

Lofthus said that during the interview stage, council members stated that stabilizing city management was a priority.

“My job is to come in to work with the council and to work with the staff here to unify the work we’re doing,” he said. “It’s critical to get everyone to work together and going in the same direction.”

As he looks to fill vacancies, Lofthus said he is creating job descriptions and evaluating the day-to-day workload.

“We don’t have a deep bench, so when we hire, we have to make sure we’re getting the right position.”

Long-term budget concerns

Another top agenda item is managing the city budget. In 2022, the City Council sounded the alarm about budget deficits and floated the idea of a tax measure. However, a poll showed little voter support and the issue was tabled.

“In the current budget, 2024-’25, they’ve dipped into reserves, which is not a practice that the city wants to make a habit of to make the budget balance,” Lofthus said.

“Clayton doesn’t have an expenditure problem – Clayton has a revenue problem,” he noted. “With the rising costs of everything, the same thing that hits personal economies hits cities and hits them even harder when we’re talking about projects, staff and costs. Things like equipment, fuel purchase – those kinds of things we need – costs continue to rise. So we have to look at how to combat that.”

With a large chunk of the General Fund going toward labor costs for police, maintenance and city administration, making cuts is difficult.

“We don’t have ‘X’ amount of employees we can do without. So looking at ways moving forward on how to enhance revenue – there are taxes,” said Lofthus, who wants to develop a comprehensive approach to the budget. “We need to determine where that tipping point is and what we need to do to address it.”

Whether it’s issues with how the Master Fee Schedule impacts events like Oktoberfest or concerns about high-density housing, Lofthus says he values community input. But in the end, he emphasized, it’s up to the City Council to guide the city forward.

“I have a very simple approach to city manager. I’m the administrator. I operate the day to day. The City Council sets priorities, policies. My job is to enact them.”

Contact the city manager at KrisL@claytonca.gov.