§ 34856 City Manager Appointment Powers

• •The city manager can hire and fire the police chief and other city workers, except the city attorney.
• •If the city clerk and city treasurer jobs are not elected, the city council usually picks who gets these jobs.
• •The city council can decide to let the city manager pick the city clerk and treasurer instead.

The police chief retires, and the city needs a new one.

The city manager gets to choose who the new police chief will be. They can also fire the police chief if needed. But they can't do the same for the city attorney—that’s a different rule.