Sunnyside council extends city managerleave and authorizes interim manager contract amid ongoing probe

Sunnyside City Council on Aug. 25 approved two resolutions extending administrative arrangements tied to a pending internal investigation into City Manager Mike Gonzales, voting to keep Gonzales on nondisciplinary administrative leave through Sept. 9 and to extend the interim city manager agreement with Jim Bridges through Sept. 30.

The councilwhich discussed the matter in open session and signaled plans to consider personnel details in executive sessionmoved to extend the leave at the request of city legal staff while the investigation is finalized. City Attorney Miss Norton told the council, "I have no comment except that we are in the final stages of completing the investigation and and working through where it goes from here." She advised the council that additional time was needed to determine next steps.

Why it matters: the extensions keep a permanent city manager off duty while an outside investigator completes work the council hired earlier this year; council members debated whether to end the…