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If you searched for “City of Los Banos finance director resignation 2025 2026,” you probably want a clear answer. Here it is: the resignation that made headlines happened in autumn 2024. The years 2025 and 2026 are about what came after it. A new finance director joined, the city tried to rebuild trust, and a new budget is now on the table.
Who Resigned and When?
Los Banos is a city in Merced County, California. In 2024, its finance director was Vanessa Portillo. She had started in May 2024 and replaced Brent Kuhn, who had worked as the city’s contract finance director for more than a year.
The public learned about her exit in an unusual way. During a long council meeting, Councilmember Deborah Lewis said Portillo had resigned more than two weeks earlier. The city manager had not told the public. Lewis said she received a phone call on a Monday night and wanted to know how many more employees the city would lose.
That meeting lasted about four hours. Lewis also mentioned that public works employees were close to a strike vote. She listed five department heads and several other senior staff who had left since city manager Josh Pinheiro arrived. Reports also said the city manager was angry about the announcement in closed session.
Portillo did not publicly respond to the news outlets that tried to reach her. So the exact personal reason for her resignation has never been confirmed in public.
This Was Not the First Finance Director to Leave
The finance department had seen change before. In July 2022, Finance Director Sonia Williams left after about twelve and a half years with the city. Some sources at the time said she left because of the city manager. Williams told a local paper she left “for personal reasons.”
After that, the city used an interim arrangement. Brent Kuhn served as interim and later acting finance director for around two years. Reports said he was paid more than $300,000 in 2023, which drew attention from residents.
Why the City Was Under Pressure
Finance leaders rarely leave in a vacuum. Around the same time, Los Banos was dealing with several big problems:
- In October 2023, the city’s five employee groups sent a letter of no confidence in the city manager.
- By September 2024, more than half of the staff who worked there when he started had quit or retired.
- In June 2024, the Merced County Civil Grand Jury criticized how the city handled federal pandemic grants for small businesses.
- Voters signed petitions to recall two council members, which put the whole council on the November 2024 ballot.
A finance director handles money, audits, and budgets. When trust is low and staff keep leaving, that job becomes very hard.
The Big Turning Point: January 2025
The November 2024 election changed the city. Voters removed three of the four council members who had supported the city manager. Soon after, in the second week of January 2025, Josh Pinheiro resigned. The city announced it on the evening of January 11.
His departure came with a payout of about $1.8 million, which some residents disliked. The mayor said it was required by his contract. Councilmember Lewis said she wanted a full audit and financial review so the public could see where the city stood after three costly years.
Finding a New Finance Director in 2025
The city began a search through a recruiting firm. The job post described a leader who would manage accounting, revenue, purchasing, payroll, and budgeting. Candidates needed:
- Five years of professional financial accounting experience
- Three years of supervisory experience
- One year of local government accounting experience
- A CPA certification
In early April 2025, the city introduced its new finance director, Moreno. She has more than 25 years of public finance experience and lives in the Central Valley. At her introduction, she said she wanted to focus on transparency and teamwork.
Also in 2025, the mayor moved to hire an outside auditor to look at financial projects from earlier years. Kuhn’s duties were to move fully to Moreno after that year’s budget. He would stay only as an occasional consultant with fewer hours under his existing hourly contract.
How the Finance Department Looked Through 2025
Council records from 2025 show a steadier picture. In August, Moreno told the council that audit season had begun. That includes the main city audit, special audits, and the transportation funding audit. She also said the department was hiring a finance manager and an administrative clerk.
In November 2025, the finance director reported on an audit request for the downtown business improvement district. The city sent requests to three audit firms. Two replied and one declined because of workload. A full six-year audit was estimated at $60,000 to $66,000, which is above the city’s informal purchasing limit of $30,000. Staff then looked at smaller, cheaper options.
This shows a department doing routine but important work in the open.
What Is Happening in 2026?
By February 2026, the council approved a revised budget for the 2025–2026 year. The finance report at that meeting also mentioned a specialized audit coming to the council.
In June 2026, the city’s finance director presented the proposed budget for fiscal year 2026–27. The main numbers were:
- About $29.5 million in general fund revenue
- About $27.7 million in operating spending
- A capital program of around $71 million
- 27 new funded positions
- Total citywide plan of about $165 million
Council adoption was scheduled for June 17. Residents asked about the design services center, pickleball court lighting, a ballpark project, and street maintenance changes. Staff answered each item in the public hearing.
Has a New Finance Director Resignation Happened in 2025 or 2026?
Based on the public records I found, no new finance director resignation has been reported in 2025 or 2026. Moreno appears in council meetings from spring 2025 through 2026 as the sitting finance director. If you see a headline saying otherwise, check the date and the source carefully, because many articles about the earlier resignation are still shared online.
What This Story Means for Residents
There are a few simple lessons:
- Turnover matters. When top managers leave quickly, projects slow down and costs rise.
- Openness builds trust. Many residents were upset because news of the resignation came from a council member, not the city.
- Audits help. Outside reviews give the public a clearer view of past spending.
- Steady leadership helps budgets. A stable finance office can deliver a full budget cycle without drama.
Final Thoughts
The City of Los Banos finance director resignation was a major moment in a very tense period. The exit of Vanessa Portillo in 2024, the fall of the old leadership team, and the hiring of a new finance director in 2025 all belong to one long story. Today, the focus has moved to budgets, audits, and rebuilding public trust. Residents should keep following council meetings, since that is where the newest updates appear first.
Stephen D. Schmitt is the founder and lead writer at Her Net Worth Journey. He created the site to make personal finance easier to understand and easier to act on, without the jargon that makes most money advice hard to follow. Stephen focuses on practical, number-driven guidance — the kind of advice a reader can apply the same day they read it. He writes about budgeting, investing, saving, and debt from a simple starting point: track the number, then make decisions that move it in the right direction. Stephen lives in Maitland, Florida, and manages Her Net Worth Journey directly, from the content to the free tools on the site.
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