Chowchilla city manager departs; police chief takes over position
Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune Madera County Sheriff’s Cmdr. Tyson Pogue, left, talks with Chowchilla Chief of Police Dave Riviere during a National Night Out event at the Madera fairgrounds.
In a brief statement Tuesday night the Chowchilla City Council confirmed the departure of their city manager, Brian Haddix.
Haddix was one of those interviewed for the job of Madera city manager, to succeed interim city manager Steve Frazier.
The eventual hire for Madera’s city manager was Arnoldo Rodriguez, who took over the city’s top administrative job in early December of 2018.
Haddix had joined the City of Chowchilla in May of 2015.
“City Administrator Brian Haddix is leaving his position in Chowchilla,” said a statement read before the start of the Jan. 22 Chowchilla City Council meeting. “The City thanks Brian for his hard work and leadership for the residents of Chowchilla. He helped to advance transparency of city activities, stabilize city finances, and shift city power demands from PG&E to solar. The city wishes Brian well in his new endeavors. Police Chief Dave Riviere has been appointed acting city administrator and the city will immediately begin a search for a new City Administrator,” the statement concluded.
City officials declined to comment further on the circumstances or any other details of his departure.
City Council Member and former mayor Dennis Haworth said, “I am not happy to see him go. He did a good job here.” Haworth went on to list and credit Haddix with the city’s very healthy 23 percent cash reserve balance, putting together a $20 million bond for a multifaceted water and solar energy project with positive cash flow, a new municipal well and two, 750,000-gallon water storage tanks that fixed the city’s long-term struggle with low water pressure, without raising rates. Among other projects, Haddix also managed to obtain a bond to cover the city’s PERS retirement obligations at a reduced interest rate, saving the city a significant amount of money, according to Haworth.
According to published accounts, Haddix previously served as the city manager of Sanger, the chief administrative officer of Butte and Tulare Counties, and was undersecretary of the California Department of the EPA. He has a BA, a Master’s Degree and a Juris Doctorate in Law.
