"She's been an invaluable asset to the city," City Manager Dave Anderson said. "She'll be very difficult to replace."

After 4 ¹/2 years working in the city manager's office, Tinfow is moving on. Her last day on the job was Oct. 25. She has cleaned out her office and is now set to make a move to Pleasanton, where she has taken a position as the city's administrative services director.

Tinfow's duties as Saratoga's assistant city manager were many and varied. She worked with schools and neighborhoods to find procedures and hardware to slow down traffic where safety was a concern. She helped in budget development and negotiated contracts with employee associations at a time when budgetary concerns had to be balanced against employee morale. She worked on emergency preparedness planning and organized the move of the city's emergency operations center from the city hall campus to the fire station.

Vice Mayor Norman Kline praised Tinfow for her management of the building of the Saratoga Library. For the library to be completed on time and under budget was a major accomplishment for Tinfow and for all involved, Kline said. With accrued interest, the total estimated funds for future library use is now over $620,000.

Mayor Kathleen King worked alongside Tinfow on such projects as Village revitalization and a resident survey. Of Tinfow's departure, King said, "It's a good move in her career. She can broaden her experience. I can understand why she's going, but I'm disappointed. She's been an excellent addition to our city."

Anderson and the city staff have their hands full as they take on Tinfow's duties. "She just came in with a wheelbarrow of files for me," Anderson said. He said the recruitment process to find her replacement could take three months or longer.

Tinfow, who was born in Oregon, has spent most of her life in the Bay Area. As a 28-year-old single mother with an 8-year-old daughter, she transferred from Foothill College to Stanford University where she earned a degree in earth science. She then was accepted into the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University where she received a master's degree in city and regional planning. She returned to the Bay Area and worked as a consultant in Oakland before a five-year stint as an assistant to the city manager of Walnut Creek. In June 2001, Anderson hired her as Saratoga's assistant city manager.

"One of the things I really love about government is the ability to work with the community and improve their quality of life," Tinfow said. "We have a great staff--very hardworking and caring."

"It was also fun working with the city council and the different commissions," she said. "They're all volunteers. I'm not sure people realize that. They give a lot of time and energy to the city and do a wonderful job."

So why is Tinfow leaving Saratoga? "I want the experience of working in a larger, full-service city," she said. Tinfow's career goal is to become a city manager. Pleasanton, with more than 500 city employees and a population of 65,000 and growing, offers upward mobility and a chance to gain valuable experience.

Different cities offer different challenges, Tinfow explained. "Growth is a big issue in Pleasanton. Here it's not," she said. "There are a lot of similarities in cities, too. I think every community has issues of change."

Kline said he was not surprised when he heard that Tinfow was leaving. He said that because Saratoga is a limited services city with a small staff, the turnover rate for city employees is high. Smaller salaries and a limited career ladder mean that employees seeking advancement often look for it elsewhere.

"It's a nice working environment," Kline said of Saratoga's city government. "But it is an extremely small organization."

"I think she's going to be vastly missed," King said. "Even though she won't be in the city, I hope we still get to see her."

Will Tinfow ever return to Saratoga and perhaps take over as city manager? "That's hard to predict," Tinfow said. "You never know."