St. Helena City Manager Anil Comelo is set to retire Monday, April 13, and he is taking with him a severance package of $336,467, that is a lump sum payment equal to 12 months of his base salary. In addition, he will be paid $120,820.16 for all accrued and unused vacation, sick leave and holidays.

Per the separation agreement signed Sunday, April 5, the City Council “informally requested” Comelo to resign, which entitles him to severance benefits. His contract was set to run through July 2027.

As criticism from residents over Comelo’s leadership grew louder, officials announced March 31 that the council and city manager had “mutually agreed to part ways.” After 32 years of public service, more than three of which were in St. Helena, he would retire this month, the statement said. Until then, he was on a prescheduled vacation.

This came after about 20 residents urged the City Council to remove him from the position at a meeting March 24. They criticized him over what they called lack of accountability, disregard for proper process, irresponsible fiscal leadership, and combative interactions with residents.

It was not the first time. Less than six months ago, with the council set to discuss Comelo’s employment contract in closed session Oct. 15, residents submitted 62 comments urging their elected leadership to fire him. A handful of residents defended Comelo, saying he had a difficult job and the city was under pressure for various reasons including budgetary concerns.

This time, the furor was triggered by a controversy around a public art project led by Comelo and his team. Critics said the project was rushed through without following the approval process set forth in the city’s public art policy. Residents also had fiscal and aesthetic concerns over the project, which was eventually canceled.

Other concerns raised by residents about Comelo’s leadership included complaints of rude and hostile behavior as well as financial management. Specifically, residents drew attention to a missed opportunity for greater investment earnings. Per an August 2025 staff report, if the city had moved $8 million to the Local Agency Investment Fund beginning in July 2022, it could have earned nearly $1 million over a three-year period. Comelo apologized at a council meeting in August and promised better fiscal oversight going forward.

Now, the five-member council is working to determine who will helm the city. The council met in a special closed session Tuesday, April 7, to discuss the appointment of an interim city manager. No reportable action was taken, according to officials.

This discussion, City Clerk Andrew Bradley said, is likely to continue at the regular council meeting Tuesday, April 14. The council will also soon begin recruitment efforts for a permanent replacement.

In the meantime, Assistant City Manager and Director of Public Works Joe Leach is serving as acting city manager. It is typical for another member of the executive team to do so when the city manager is on vacation, Bradley said.

You can reach Staff Writer Tarini Mehta at tarini.mehta@pressdemocrat.com.