Consultant Quits Camarillo Post to Take Ventura Job

One week after council members in Ventura and Camarillo cried foul, economic consultant Tom Flavin has resigned his position with the city of Camarillo to concentrate on recruiting businesses for Ventura.

Flavin, the former mayor of Burbank tapped last week for an economic consulting job in Ventura, said Wednesday that once he saw the terms of the Ventura contract this week, he realized that he could not work for both cities simultaneously.

“I wanted to know clearly what the scope of the work was in Ventura,” he said. “I saw it did include business recruitment, which is what I was doing in Camarillo.”

Flavin caused a flap among officials of both cities last week when he said he hoped that he could keep both jobs. The Camarillo contract, which Flavin signed in the fall, calls for him to work 25 hours a month at a monthly salary of $2,500. Flavin said his Ventura contract, which the City Council will vote on Monday night, would pay $6,000 a month for his full-time services.

Camarillo hired Flavin to recruit businesses to the city. The six-month Ventura contract calls on him to formulate a strategy for the city’s economic revitalization.

Ventura is still shopping for a permanent economic development coordinator to work on bringing new businesses in and keeping existing ones. Flavin, who will be considered for the permanent job, said he spent part of Wednesday talking to a company about relocating to Ventura.

Council members from both cities said Flavin made the only decision he could in resigning from Camarillo.

“I think it was the honorable thing for him to do, in light of what’s happened,” Camarillo Councilwoman Charlotte Craven said.

Camarillo Mayor Ken Gose said he understood why Flavin picked Ventura over his city.

“He got a chance for a full-time job,” he said. “You can’t blame him for that.”

In Ventura, council members said they would have the situation no other way.

“I think it’s the only way I would accept it,” Councilman Jim Monahan said. “I think he’s kind of left a bad taste in everybody’s mouth, but as long as he’s given up that (Camarillo) position, he did the right thing.”