Local News in Brief : Resignation Is Accepted

The Lawndale City Council on Thursday voted 4-0 to accept the resignation of City Manager Paul J. Philips, effective Feb. 23, and to pay him his final two months’ salary in a lump sum in January.

Philips’ job performance in the $60,000-a-year post he has held since 1983 was the subject of several lengthy closed-door sessions during which Philips “resigned voluntarily,” City Atty. David J. Aleshire said Thursday.

Mayor Sarann Kruse said in earlier interviews that the council became dissatisfied with Philips because of management problems in the Planning Department and Neighborhood Watch program.

The severance agreement approved by the council Thursday specifies that Philips will provide free “consulting services” to assist the city in litigation, presumably in a lawsuit seeking to recover $1.68 million the city lost in a speculative securities investment.

The investment was made with E. F. Hutton & Co. by former City Treasurer Ray Wood, who was fired Oct. 1. It was revealed at Thursday’s meeting that Wood was not bonded. Fire Chief Adams said coordination and training between Mobil’s firefighting personnel and the city’s firefighters has improved significantly since the 1979 accident. He pointed to an emergency drill in May that simulated a plane crashing into the Mobil refinery. The test involved Torrance and other South Bay fire departments, ambulance companies and hospitals, and the Red Cross.

“We have enjoyed a good relationship with Mobil’s fire safety people,” Adams said. “At this stage of the game, we have an ongoing, increasing understanding of their processes. They have demonstrated to us a substantial interest in their safety record.”