MONTEREY PARK - Four weeks after the City Council voted to begin contract negotiations with a candidate for city manager, no agreement has been reached.
At tonight's regular meeting, Assistant City Attorney Adrian Guerra is scheduled to update the council in closed session about the status of negotiations.

"Once that I feel that (the candidate and I) are more or less on the same page with all the terms and language ... then I would present the agreement to the council for its approval or denial," Guerra said. "I'm hoping we'll see a resolution to this soon."

Guerra declined to say what, if anything, was holding the process up.

The delay comes as some residents and two council members have rallied behind interim City Manager Adolfo Reta, who has said he and another candidate from outside the city were the two final choices for the top executive job after an eight-month selection process.

On Feb. 6, the council voted 3-2 in closed session to begin negotiations. The split vote indicated that the council likely offered the job to the outside candidate. If he or she accepts the position, the candidate's name and details of the contract must be made public under state open government laws three days before the council votes on the agreement.

In the meantime, the city manager topic has become a means for supporters of the two opposing sides of a chronically split council to batter each other. The past two council meetings have included bitter rebukes during public comment.
The council's Feb. 20 meeting included a discussion, at the request of Councilman Frank Venti, of the qualities that the council was seeking in its search for a new city manager. Venti has said he supports Reta.

The discussion prompted residents to express support for Reta and call for more openness in the selection process. Others accused council members of leaking information from closed session meetings and of perpetuating council "gridlock."

Reta sat with his head in his hands for much of the discussion.

On Tuesday, he called the acrimony "unfortunate," adding that "personality issues" have contributed to the character of the debate. He said it's possible the chosen candidate is hesitating because of the contention on the council.

Reta said he'll be happy to return to his old position if a contract with the other candidate is approved.

melissa.pamer@sgvn.com