Santa Ana : Management Shake-up Hits City Departments

In a shake-up that some city officials believe will be followed by more changes when the 1986-87 budget is considered Aug. 18, two positions in the city’s Communications and Marketing Department were eliminated and Phil Freeland, director of community development and housing, was put on administrative leave.

Freeland could not be reached for comment, but City Manager David Ream said Freeland was notified of the decision Wednesday. The department will be temporarily headed by Deputy City Manager Rex Swanson.

Ream said Freeland will be on administrative leave indefinitely but is still on the city’s payroll. He said there are no plans to recruit for that position soon.

Also going will be Public Information Officer Don Norman, who was hired less than two months ago. He will be laid off, Ream said, and department director Laurie Cottrell submitted her resignation effective next Friday.

City Hall sources indicated that several other changes are proposed that effectively dismantle departments that had reported directly to Ream. One of the moves, the sources indicated, will be to “dismantle” the Intergovernmental Relations Office, with director Cindy Cave reassigned as assistant to Deputy City Manager Jan Perkins.

Louis Lazarine, executive assistant to the city manager, will become a project manager in the Economic Development Department, and Estela Gutierrez-Veloz, Hispanic relations coordinator, will become a Latino recruitment officer in the Human Resources Department, the sources added.

In addition, some departments will have their names “simplified,” including Public Services, which will go back to its former title of Public Works. The Cultural, Recreation and Community Services Department will be called the Parks and Community Services Department.