PIC Directors Ask Ramos to Resign in April

After 14 hours of closed-door meetings, directors of the Los Angeles City Private Industry Council have asked their embattled president, Dominick J. Ramos, to resign next April, according to several PIC sources who asked not to be identified.

Board members voted overwhelmingly Monday against firing Ramos based on allegations that he mishandled government funds and made numerous false claims on his resume, the sources said. The board concluded, however, that the Private Industry Council was “ill served” by Ramos and decided not to allow him to remain until June 30 when his current two-year contract expires. Instead, the board exercised a 120-day escape clause in his contract beginning Jan. 1, which would allow Ramos to continue with pay until April 30, the sources said.

Emerging from their fourth closed session to determine Ramos’ fate, board members refused Monday to discuss their actions until Chairman Robert J. Clark had an opportunity to confer with Mayor Tom Bradley. Aides to the mayor said Bradley, who returned to City Hall on Monday from an extended trip to Asia, will attempt to meet with Clark this week.

Board members of the industry council, which together with the city funnels $42 million a year in federal money to local job-training agencies, are appointed by Bradley but do not need his approval to dismiss Ramos. The directors are hoping the mayor will agree to allow the use of PIC funds to continue paying Ramos his $76,572 annual salary through April 30.

Under the plan approved by the board, Ramos, 50, has until next Monday to submit his resignation, sources said. On Tuesday, Ramos said he will issue a press release next week to announce his intentions.

To Serve as Consultant

During the 120-day period, Ramos will serve as a consultant to the PIC operating committee while the nonprofit agency searches for his replacement as part of an ambitious reorganization plan, sources said. However, the cost of reimbursing Ramos’ salary through April 30 could be disallowed by the federal government if his consulting role is not clearly defined, said William Bruce, director of the city Community Development Department’s Training and Job Development Division.

“The cost has to be reasonable in terms of the work being done,” Bruce said. “Once it gets into the situation where it appears two people are doing the same job or one person is doing the job and the other is doing nothing, then those costs would become questionable.”

The PIC board of directors decided not to fire Ramos after concluding that many of the allegations lodged against him were exaggerated, said one board member who asked to remain anonymous. These included charges that Ramos mishandled a $160,000 marketing contract, solicited political campaign contributions from staff members, improperly used government funds to purchase a new Lincoln Continental and lied on his resume.

At least two board members, who serve as personnel executives in private industry, cautioned their fellow directors at Monday’s session about the liability of dismissing Ramos without cause, sources said.

Cautious on Firing

“We looked at what it means to fire somebody in today’s environment, particularly someone who was accused in a fashion that many people didn’t appreciate,” the board member said. “There is a difference between firing a person for cause and asking him to resign because you have a certain feeling. . . . “

Sources said the directors asked Ramos to resign with the knowledge that he had spent the last year looking to return to private industry, where he worked as a bank vice president.

“My contract does end in June,” Ramos said Tuesday. “I don’t know if I want to wait this long. I have to get on with my life.”