Helena City Manager Ana Cortez to Resign Feb. 6 Under Agreement

Helena city leaders and City Manager Ana Cortez have agreed to end her employment after the Helena City Commission voted unanimously to approve a separation agreement. Under the deal, Cortez will submit her resignation on Feb. 5, effective Feb. 6, and will receive a lump sum payment of $163,887.51 from the city, covering nine months of salary and benefits plus accrued time off. The city will also provide Cortez with a reference letter.

Cortez had been on paid administrative leave since Jan. 17 while the city investigated a complaint filed against her. This marks the second time in a year that Cortez was placed on administrative leave. The separation follows an outside investigation last summer that cleared Cortez of harassment allegations from two city employees but recommended the city improve communications between Cortez and staff. The investigator reported that Cortez did not violate any city policies, but found her management style had “created a rift between Cortez and many city staff” and that some employees were “having difficulty recognizing Cortez and the [Helena City] Commission's authority to make changes.”

Commissioner Andres Haladay defended Cortez’s record and framed the departure as tied to a commission decision rather than her performance. “Without a doubt, this past year under Manager Cortez has been the first time that I, in my six years, have seen commission direction and priorities taken seriously,” Haladay said. Haladay credited Cortez with reorganizing city departments, implementing a new snow removal policy, and producing Helena’s first two-year budget. He described the internal resistance she faced and said, “When you try to rework a culturally broken institution, you upset people. You upset people who have not been subject to accountability; you ask people to work on things they don’t want to work on; in some cases, you simply ask people to work.”

Haladay also criticized a special commission meeting held Jan. 8 about a possible City Organizational Climate Survey, calling it counterproductive and costly. “The Jan. 8 meeting was a bad choice, and it was a $160,000 bad choice,” he said.

Mayor Wilmot Collins and Commissioner Heather O’Loughlin praised Cortez’s leadership. O’Loughlin said, “This is a loss for the city, but the positive changes and the new trajectory done under the incredible leadership of City Manager Ana Cortez can have a lasting impact on the future of this community.” Commissioner Emily Dean, one of two commissioners elected last November, said, “My focus is on the future.” Commissioner Sean Logan declined to comment.

City officials said Helena will immediately begin work to identify an interim city manager to maintain continuity in operations, projects and the new two-year budget cycle. For Helena residents, the transition raises questions about continuity in services such as snow removal policy enforcement, department reorganizations and ongoing initiatives tied to the commission’s priorities. The commission’s next steps in selecting an interim manager and outlining a search timeline will determine how quickly city hall steadies itself and keeps momentum on recent reforms.