The city of Redding is already looking to replace two top officials who left this year.
In addition to needing a new police chief and permanent city attorney, there could be more director-level vacancies to come, Mayor Mike Littau said in an interview with the Record Searchlight on July 14.”I expect there will probably be more positions opening up later this year or next year with any kind of pending retirements that have been discussed. I’m sure we’re going to have some other important decisions within the city that are coming up within the course of the next 12 months.”
Recruitment for the city attorney position is still open, said Littau.
“We haven’t made any hiring decisions,” said Littau. “We’ve been really pleased with the services that we’ve been getting from the outside law firm. They’ve been efficient. They’ve been speedy. From my take, to fill the position — if it does get filled — it would certainly have to be a candidate we have confidence that can do an equal job.”
In April, the city council approved a $300,000 contract with California law firm Burke, Williams & Sorensen, LLP, to provide interim legal services for the city for fiscal year 2025-26. The firm’s managing partner of the Marin office, Benjamin Stock, was selected to serve as Redding’s interim city attorney during that period, according to the council’s staff report.
While the law firm “is certainly pricey,” Littau added that “we’ve said many times you get what you pay for” and some savings result from not having to pay retirement or pension costs. “We could save a buck or two by hiring people with less experience, with limited experience. But if the work quality is not as great, then that may cost us more money in the end in other areas,” he said.
For now, efforts are concentrating on finding a new police chief after the retirement of former Chief Brian Barner in July.
“The timeline is getting close to interviews” with promising candidates, said Littau. “What’s been communicated back is we seem to have some level of confidence that we’ll have a police chief that’s hired and maybe in the position by September or October.”
Until a new chief is selected, a city announcement on July 2 said that three current Redding law enforcement officials would oversee the police force:
The police chief job posting closed on July 5.
While City Manager William Tarbox is responsible for making the formal decision on Redding’s next police chief, the council must also ultimately approve the selection, Littau said.
Tarbox himself is relatively new to the city, having taken over early this year following a national search after the retirement of former City Manager Barry Tippin in October 2025.
Tippin said in January 2022 that of the city’s 88 executives, slightly more than half were eligible for retirement “within two years.”
Michele Chandler covers public safety, reports on major trials happening in Shasta County Superior Court, writes about restaurants and handles whatever else comes up for the Redding Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. Accepts story tips at 530-338-7753 and at mrchandler@gannett.com. Please support our entire newsroom’s commitment to public service journalism by subscribing today.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Redding mayor expects more city leadership turnover
Reporting by Michele Chandler, Redding Record Searchlight / Redding Record Searchlight
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By Michele Chandler, Redding Record Searchlight | USA TODAY Network
