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Today is Tony Altfeld's last day as Marina city manager. Last night, after a public hearing, the City Council voted 3-2 in closed session to let Altfeld go.

City labor lawyer Edward Kreisberg told the gathered crowd the public hearing was the culmination of unsuccessful negotiations over Altfeld's contract: the city wanted to drop Altfeld's salary by $40,000 to $180,000 per year, and cut his severance pay to four months instead of 12.

But Altfeld fired back, saying the contract beef was bogus. The real issue, he said, was an attempt by the council's liberal majority—Mayor Bruce Delgado and councilmen Dave Brown and Frank O'Connell, who ultimately voted to boot him—to stage a coup.

Marina residents packed the City Hall chambers (and some even picketed outside) to voice their pro- or anti-Altfeld sentiments, which speak to the greater divide between Marina's liberal and conservative camps. Both sides were well represented.

Development Services Manager Doug Yount will act as interim city manager while a permanent boss is recruited.