Simi Official Keeps a Mishmash of Programs in Order : Government: Diane Davis-Crompton has won praise and respect as head of the Environmental Services Department.

Question: What do garbage dumps, crossing guards and cable TV have in common?

Answer: Diane Davis-Crompton.

As head of Simi Valley’s Environmental Services Department, Crompton runs a mishmash of programs ranging from waste management and city planning to neighborhood councils and services for senior citizens.

Davis-Crompton takes an overall approach to her work, making sure that the department as a whole is operating smoothly while leaving the details to five highly specialized division heads.

“It’s a very eclectic mix, so it’s always a challenge to make sure that all the parts are working properly,” Davis-Crompton said. “Things are always changing, which keeps the job interesting.”

The fact that Davis-Crompton runs such a wide-ranging department is a testament to her ability as an administrator, City Manager Lin Koester said.

“Basically, she started with the city 14 years ago with a very small department and just grew with the responsibilities,” Koester said. “She has been able to take on difficult assignments and accomplish them in a very excellent manner.”

Davis-Crompton came to work for Simi Valley as the city’s human resources director in 1980, just as Koester was launching a major overhaul of the city’s departments. As his revisions progressed, Davis-Crompton’s workload grew.

In 1984, she became community services director, gradually taking on neighborhood councils, senior and youth services, the crossing guard program and the city’s bus system. She soon added waste management, animal regulation and cable TV.

“We all recognized Diane as this incredible resource who was willing to tackle all the really messy, sticky issues,” Mayor Greg Stratton said. “The standing joke was if nobody else wanted to do it, you just gave it to Diane.”

Davis-Crompton said her background as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ecuador in the 1960s helped her handle the wide range of responsibilities.

“When you’re in the Peace Corps, you have to face and overcome all kinds of adversity,” Davis-Crompton said. “At a hospital I worked at in the Andes, when we ran out of medicine, we got by on a mixture of herbs from the garden.”

The most adverse addition to Davis-Crompton’s workload came in 1989, when she was named director of the newly formed Environmental Services Department. She got an $8.5-million budget, 120 employees and all her former tasks--plus the city’s planning division, which was inefficient and plagued by delays and a lack of credibility with the City Council.

With no formal planning background and a mandate to whip the division into shape, Davis-Crompton hit a wave of resistance.

“Planners are very independent people, so Diane’s biggest challenge was to convince them that there are things like schedules and deadlines and process,” Stratton said.

Although she’s a small woman with a big presence, Davis-Crompton’s firm but friendly management style prevailed.

“There was a certain amount of screaming and kicking and gnashing of teeth,” Stratton said. “But the upshot was she did a great job and got things turned around.”

Wolf Ascher, a deputy planning director, witnessed the transformation.

“The most dramatic effect of her leadership is that this department has gained a tremendous amount of credibility,” Ascher said. “She makes you account for everything and doesn’t allow any of the deputies to shoot from the hip.”

Davis-Crompton said she is most proud of the department’s improved accessibility to residents. Employees are expected to be cooperative and friendly, following through on inquiries with easy-to-understand answers.

Under her direction, workers designed a chart detailing the path of a project from its conception to completion, taking some of the mystery out of the planning process.

Other department accomplishments under Davis-Crompton’s tutelage include launching the city’s recycling program and constructing the Senior Center and the Heywood Gardens apartment complex for low-income senior citizens.

“Our whole purpose is to open up government and make it more user-friendly--sharing as opposed to hoarding information,” Davis-Crompton said. “We’ve come a long way in doing that.”

Davis-Crompton has also come a long way in gaining the respect of her peers. It is not uncommon for her to provide guidance and advice to council members and city staffers, who refer to her simply as “DDC.”

Soon, however, those initials will be changing--Davis-Crompton is engaged to Dennis Merritt Jones, a minister at Simi Valley Church of Religious Science. After the wedding, scheduled for late April, Davis-Crompton will change her name to Diane Jones.

Davis-Crompton spends much of her free time volunteering at the church and doting on her 1-year-old grandson.

She also has passions for downhill skiing and flying--last year she flew solo for the first time.

“I’ve always loved to fly and it was just a matter of time before I learned how to do it myself,” Davis-Crompton said. “It was really a thrill the day I got out of the cockpit and wasn’t soaking wet from sweat.”

Profile of Diane Davis-Crompton

Education: B.A., sociology, University of Rhode Island; M.A., social sciences, Cal State Fullerton

Career: Human services manager for the city of Brea, 1977-1980; Simi Valley human resources director, 1980-1984; community services director, 1984-1989; director of environmental services since 1989

Salary: $117,922, including benefits

Family: Two children, ages 20 and 25, and a 1-year-old grandson; engaged to Dennis Merritt Jones, a minister at Simi Valley Church of Religious Science, who has a 9-year-old daughter

Hobbies: Flying and downhill skiing

Quote: “Our whole purpose is to open up government and make it more user-friendly--sharing as opposed to hoarding information. We’ve come a long way in doing that.”