A controversial contract with a cleanup company in Manteca has residents incensed that the city would do business with a registered sex offender.

Manteca Property Services began working for the city in 2023, and the Manteca City Council approved its most recent agreement in March. The junk removal and trash hauling company has cleared illegal homeless encampments and provided citywide cleanup services. The business is co-owned by Robert Wolfe, a registered sex offender in California.

Screenshots of Wolfe’s profile on California’s Megan’s Law database and text messages appearing to show a December 2023 exchange with Mayor Gary Singh circulated on social media ahead of the City Council’s Oct. 6 meeting.

In a Facebook post a day before the meeting, a resident alleged that Singh had been informed about Wolfe’s criminal history in 2023 but continued to allow his company to work for the city and participate in children’s events. The screenshots appeared to show Singh responding that people make mistakes and deserve second chances.

The post renewed questions about what city leaders knew about Wolfe and when.

Wolfe, 53, was convicted in 2009 of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 and released from prison in 2016, according to the state’s Megan’s Law database, which makes information on the whereabouts of convicted sex offenders public.

Manteca issued a statement acknowledging concerns over the city’s employment of Manteca Property Services and saying on Oct. 5 that it was reviewing the company’s assignments and applicable contract terms.

“The city takes community concerns seriously and will continue to evaluate this matter within the scope of its contractual authority,” the statement, which was posted on social media, said.

During the City Council meeting, several residents criticized city leaders for continuing to work with Wolfe’s company for the past three years, saying they had previously raised concerns about his background. They expressed outrage over the contract and questioned what steps the city had taken to evaluate Wolfe’s background before awarding the contract.

The most recent contract with the company came after the city solicited proposals from “qualified contractors to provide citywide clean-up services and homeless encampment support.”

A new agreement with Monica Wolfe, who identified herself as the company’s owner, was submitted as part of the city’s March 3 agenda packet. It was slated to run through Dec. 31, with payments not to exceed $157,000.

But during the Oct. 6 meeting, the council directed City Manager Toni Lundgren to immediately suspend the contract, Singh said.

“I’m not going to hide from a difficult situation or make excuses for where we could have done better,” the mayor said in a statement two days after the City Council meeting.

He said the city would review its contracting procedures and consider additional safeguards.

“We should have done better. And we will,” Singh said. “Our residents deserve to feel confident in the decisions we make, especially when it comes to the safety of our families and the public spaces we share.”

During the meeting, interim City Attorney Andy Pinasco reminded speakers during the public comment portion that Wolfe is not a city employee or a city volunteer.

Still, Pinasco acknowledged that the distinction between a contractor and a city employee may not address residents’ concerns about who might be working in city parks and other public spaces where children and families gather.

He said state law restricts certain registered sex offenders from working alone with children or supervising them. He also said Manteca Property Services’ contract did not include public events or work involving children.

“The city complied with the law,” Pinasco said. “But the law is the floor, not the ceiling. The real question is whether the city’s safeguards are strong enough for the community we serve.

“If they are not, we need to address them,” he added.

Pinasco emphasized that suspending the contract with Manteca Property Services’ and reviewing the matter did not mean the city had determined that anyone had done anything illegal. He pointed out that the council’s ability to discuss or act on the contractor issue at the meeting was limited because it was not included in the posted agenda.

During public comment, Christina Zuniga said she had contacted Singh in December 2023 after learning Wolfe had planned to hand out candy and decorate his truck for that year’s Christmas parade. Zuniga, who said she voted for Singh in 2022, said she expected a response at the time that acknowledged her concerns and included a call to action.

“What I received was Mayor Singh completely disregarding my concern for children’s safety,” Zuniga said during the meeting. “Since then, the city has knowingly engaged in contracts with a person convicted of lewd acts with a minor under the age of 14.”

Zuniga said Wolfe’s conviction is a matter of public record, and as such, the city should have known about it. She also criticized the city for promoting Wolfe’s company as a preferred vendor.

Lei Ann Varletta Larson, who also spoke during the meeting, questioned how the city selected Manteca Property Services and what due diligence officials conducted before awarding the cleanup contract to the business. She said she had been unable to find a competitive request for proposals for the original selection in 2023.

Larson also questioned what action Singh took after being contacted in December 2023 about Wolfe’s background. She asked whether the city conducts appropriate background checks on parks and recreation commissioners, as well as employees and volunteers at parks, recreation facilities and senior centers.

“Councilmembers, if you knew about these warnings and remained silent, shame on you,” Larson said. “If you didn’t know, find out why.”

Eliana Delk, a longtime Manteca resident and mother of an 11-year-old girl and a 9-year-old boy, said she was outraged to learn about the city’s relationship with Manteca Property Services. She called for accountability involving any councilmembers who knew about Wolfe’s criminal background.

“We cannot just let it go that they knew and nothing comes out of this,” Delk said. “Something has to occur, especially with our mayor, the leader of our city, that’s supposed to be protecting our children but was not. That is disturbing to me.”

In his statement, Singh said Lundgren met with the police chief and the city’s executive leadership to review contractor procedures and identify additional safeguards. The findings will be shared publicly, the mayor said, and any recommended policy changes will be brought before the City Council for public discussion.

Lundgren said during the meeting that Manteca Property Services’ contract was being suspended immediately while the city reviews the circumstances surrounding the agreement and its policies for contractors working at parks, public events and in other community spaces.

“I also want our community to know that we are taking a broader look at our contracting practices,” Lundgren said. “We need to make sure that there are more safeguards than we have in place that reflect the expectations that we are hearing from our community.”

Amid the controversy, Singh urged residents not to take their frustrations out on local businesses.

“You don’t have to support me to support a local business,” he said, while acknowledging that rebuilding public trust would require more than an apology.

“It’s restored by what we do next,” he said. “I don’t expect anyone to set aside their concerns. Judge us by what we do next.”