The National City City Council and City Manager Ben Martinez agreed to a mutual separation effective immediately after a closed-session meeting, the city attorney reported Friday.

City Attorney (reporting out of closed session) said, “the city council and the city manager, Ben Martinez, have agreed to a mutual separation, which will be effective immediately.” The attorney reported the vote on that item as 3–1. The council then appointed Steve Maganello, the city’s director of city engineering and public works, as acting city manager by a unanimous 4–0 vote and directed staff to begin a search for an interim city manager; the attorney reported that the search direction passed on a 3–1 vote.

The actions followed nearly three hours of public comment, during which multiple residents called for Martinez’s removal and raised allegations about city operations. “I’m calling for the immediate removal of the city manager, Ben Martinez,” said public commenter Randy Castle Salgado during the agenda’s public-comment period.

Mayor Morrison addressed the timing of the special meeting, held on Good Friday, and apologized for the scheduling. “I do apologize to those who, for bringing you here,” the mayor said while explaining the council’s rationale for calling the meeting sooner because of what he described as “very serious issues” and ongoing negotiations with the Port that require stability.

Council members did not read a motion on the public record at the time the city attorney announced the results; the city attorney’s report is the council’s public summary of closed-session outcomes. The attorney also reported that the closed session included three items: a public-employee performance evaluation for the city manager, a public-employee appointment (acting/interim city manager), and a conference with legal counsel regarding the case Polanco v. City of National City. The attorney said there was “no reportable action” on the Polanco matter.

City staff identified Steve Maganello in the council’s announcement as the acting city manager; the council also directed staff to initiate a search for an interim manager. The city attorney did not state a mover or seconder for the votes and did not provide a verbatim separation agreement text when reporting out.

Public commenters tied the personnel action to a series of allegations heard at the meeting, including claims of misuse of discretionary funds, failure to follow open-meeting rules and concerns about pending municipal projects and litigation. Multiple speakers asked the council to provide fuller public disclosure and to continue any investigations under new leadership.

The council’s formal minutes and any written separation agreement or interim-search details were not posted on the record during the meeting. The city attorney’s oral report is the only public explanation of the closed-session decisions given at the end of the meeting.

The council adjourned after the report out; staff will publish official minutes and any related documents consistent with the city’s public-records process.