The city needs a police chief as city manager to control the chaos.

On January 9 Fred Deltorchio, chief of police, will assume a most tenuous occupation–interim city manager. And it is not just because the last interim city manager was fired after only 51 days on the job.

Deltorchio’s task is unquestionably daunting. Charles Long–before he was fired, and possibly the reason he was fired–reported that the city’s financial condition is in dire straits. The implication is lost jobs, lost projects, and reduced services, such as recreation and police.

Deltorchio will report to a council with a majority that faces a recall effort in its infancy. He will be accountable to a public that has grown distrustful of city government–for good reason. Three consecutive city council meetings reinforced the sentiment that chaos is the rule of the day at city hall.

On December 7, the city council fired Long and reinstated Nelson Oliva. One week later, the council announced that Oliva’s return would be short-lived. And on December 21, a brand new council that included Myrna de Vera and John Delgado, terminated Oliva’s contract with a costly severance.

That stretch of decisions indicates that there is, and will be, a power vacuum at city hall. However, if the recall gains steam and makes the ballot, Deltorchio will likely be the city manager until the recall is resolved, potentially as late as November. A council with a majority facing a constitutionally protected recall process would be in no position to hire the next city manager. The citizens would not stand for it.

In Hercules, the city manager dominates, and always has, largely because of the secondary yet greater role as executive director of the redevelopment agency (which in recent years has spent money with reckless abandon). The council simply follows the direction of the city manager, who is often supported by the city attorney, although the dynamic should be the opposite. As a result, the city manager–not the city council–sets the agenda for the community. It is a unique role for an unelected official.

The next city council meeting–the first with Deltorchio reporting for duty–is set for next Tuesday, January 11. However, the agenda is due by this Friday, which means it is being authored by the outgoing city manager. It is yet another obstacle in an awkward transition.

The choice of Deltorchio makes a lot of sense. In addition to being well-liked and respected in the community, he is also level-headed, exactly the type of manager the city needs right now. It also is hard to imagine who the council would have been able to select unanimously–because they would have wanted to signal their full support for whomever they chose–in that heated closed session meeting on December 21, a meeting that had included a 3-2 vote against bringing Long back.

Deltorchio cannot simply hold the reins as city manager; he must steer. The conditions require it. Consideration must be made to hire Long as his consultant on redevelopment issues and to address the looming financial crisis, including rescuing the Sycamore North and Intermodal Transit Center projects. Long should also conclude the negotiations with the waterfront developer that he had re-energized long after the relationship had soured between both parties.

The job will not be easy. In fact, it is more akin to an operation. Fortunately, Deltorchio is a steady hand.