Inquiry Focuses on County Personnel Head : Government: Ronald W. Komers is being scrutinized by the district attorney and the grand jury, a supervisor confirms.

An inquiry is under way to determine if Ronald W. Komers, the Ventura County personnel director, improperly used one of his department’s programs to advance his own career, The Times has learned.

Ventura County Supervisor John K. Flynn confirmed Tuesday that Komers is being scrutinized by the county district attorney and the grand jury.

“I’m not sure of all the circumstances or all the details so far about the case,” Flynn said.

Flynn said he has asked county Chief Administrative Officer Richard Wittenberg to report soon to the Board of Supervisors on who is being investigated and whether any disciplinary action is warranted.

“If there’s evidence of wrongdoing, we will deal with it,” Wittenberg said, “but the grand jury has it now.”

Komers declined to talk to a reporter Tuesday.

Questions about Komers’ expenditures are part of a grand jury inquiry into whether county employees improperly pocketed public money that they received for college courses. The prepaid tuition is part of a $1-million county career-development program.

More than a dozen employees may have abused the program, sources said. For example, one mid-level manager received several thousand dollars to attend a college program that he did not attend. In another instance, public funds were paid for a karate class.

Komers supervises the three-year-old career development program that pays up to $300 a unit for college courses and provides funds for textbooks.

Sources said county investigators have questioned whether Komers should have used money from a program he manages and whether he received more money than justified for college courses.

Komers, 47, who has been the county’s personnel director for eight years, draws an annual salary of $89,724. Previously, he had been a county personnel official in Clackamas County, Ore.

Komers enrolled in March, 1988, in a doctoral program in psychology at The Fielding Institute, an accredited graduate school in Santa Barbara, according to Michele Mega, the school’s registrar.

With brief breaks in 1990 and 1991, he has remained in the program, which charges tuition of $7,750 a year, she said.

Flynn said he has been informed that Komers “did receive an advance but that he did use all the money for what it was intended for.”

The grand jury inquiry grew out of an audit, begun last year, which found that some county managers may have abused the career-development program.

Norman R. Hawkes, the county auditor-controller, said results of the preliminary audit have been sent to the district attorney’s office.

“I indicated to them (the district attorney) that there are potential findings of situations that may involve more than a basis for internal controls,” he said in an interview.

Hawkes would not comment on which county managers are being investigated nor would he discuss any details of the audit.

The district attorney is presenting information from the audit to the grand jury in secret sessions, sources said. The county prosecutor’s office would not comment on the inquiry.

Both the district attorney and the grand jury are looking into the county’s $500,000-a-year textbook and tuition program and the $388,000 career-development program.

At a hearing Tuesday morning, Komers presented to the supervisors a proposal to streamline both programs “and reduce potential for overpayments.”

Supervisors, however, postponed a decision, asking Komers to return with more information on whether the changes would hurt employees already taking college courses.

The supervisors supported Komers’ recommendation to centralize the programs under his supervision and to pay for courses after they are taken, rather than advancing the tuition.

Komers said in a recent interview that after learning of Hawkes’ audit, he initiated his own inquiry and that “the people who owe us money are paying us back.”

“The auditor probably thinks it’s more serious than I do,” Komers said.

One high-ranking county official said he thinks Hawkes may have investigated Komers aggressively because of past conflicts between the two department heads.

“There’s no love lost between the auditor and Mr. Komers,” the source said.

But Hawkes said there is no ill will.

“Ron is a very innovative fellow,” Hawkes said. “We both sit on the (county’s) executive committee and we express our opinions, but we get along OK.”

Times staff writer Santiago O’Donnell contributed to this story.