The 49ers and Santa Clara are locked in an epic grudge match over how money moves at Levi’s Stadium, and neither appears willing to blink.

Santa Clara gave Julio Fuentes a long-expected nudge off the dock last week, accelerating the city manager’s exit by more than two months.

It appears that a dispute over how much rent the San Francisco 49ers owe for the Levi’s Stadium will require outside mediation.

The 49ers skipped three months of rent for Levi’s Stadium, reigniting concerns that city staff is withholding information from the Stadium Authority.

Santa Clara needs to come to terms with its new identity as a big city and update the way it does business.

The civil grand jury has been quietly investigating the stadium authority for Levi’s Stadium, home to the San Francisco 49ers and Super Bowl 50, while billionaire developers play chess for Santa Clara’s future.

A recent trip to review records at Santa Clara’s City Hall led to Fly crashing a governance committee meeting.