Criticism of Velthoen on Rise; Backers Are Steadfast : Port Hueneme: Highly paid city manager is said to wield too much power and disrespect the will of the people. His allies credit him with raising the city’s quality of life.

For nearly 20 years, Richard Velthoen managed the community of Port Hueneme in an atmosphere of quiet and political calm, helping transform Port Hueneme from a seaside town into a modern city.

Abandoned lots were converted into green parks, the beachfront streets were decked with modern homes and street medians were landscaped. It was a quiet little town in the shadow of Oxnard, with little controversy.

But recently the peace in Port Hueneme has been shattered. And the 57-year-old Velthoen, in turn, has become the target of growing criticism.

During heated City Council meetings, residents have accused him of squandering the city’s revenues on high salaries for himself and other officials, wielding too much power over city affairs and disrespecting the will of the people.

Criticism of Velthoen climaxed this summer when first-term Councilwoman Toni Young made public a memorandum in which Velthoen threatened her with “unpleasant consequences” if she continued to publicly discuss the possibility of his being fired.

Young, a persistent critic of Velthoen and Port Hueneme’s four veteran council members, explained at the time that she had been joking when she told three Santa Paula city officials that the council was going “to get rid of Dick.”

Nevertheless Young, who has had bitter arguments with Velthoen, continues to believe that Port Hueneme needs a new city manager.

“His environment is too comfortable,” she said. “He has been in the same place too long, and it’s time for new surroundings, new challenges.”

But if Young is not pleased with Velthoen (pronounced vell-THONE), Port Hueneme’s four more senior council members hold him in high esteem.

Some of those who hired Velthoen, including Councilman Dorill Wright and Mayor Orvene Carpenter, continue to be strong supporters of the city manager and view the recent backlash against him as unfair.

“Port Hueneme used to be a regular seaside town. Velthoen came along and brought with him the knowledge on how to get financial funds to change the city,” Wright said. “Redevelopment is what has made Port Hueneme into a desirable place to live, and that is due to Velthoen’s work.”

Carpenter said he believes some residents just want to see a change in the administration of the city, and recently they have scrutinized not only Velthoen but the senior council members.

“There has been a lot of criticism,” Carpenter said. “And some people just feel a need for new faces.”

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Three of the four long-term council members--Wright, James Daniels and Ken Hess--will step down after the November election.

But Velthoen, who is not an elected official, will remain.

In the past two years, residents repeatedly have packed City Hall to fight two controversial proposals--a recreational-vehicle resort on a city-owned beach and a “view tax” on beachfront residents.

They have accused Velthoen of authoring the RV resort plan and argued that he has failed to find other ways besides the resort and view tax to increase city revenues.

“I don’t view him as a good public and professional servant,” said Dorothy Blake, a leading claimant in a lawsuit against the city challenging the legality of imposing a view tax on only a portion of the city’s 22,000 residents.

“Dick is ruling this city,” she added. “I hope the new council won’t allow him to do that.”

Velthoen, occasionally abrupt in public but friendly and charming in private, attributes the increased criticism of him to misunderstandings of the proper role of a city manager.

He also says that the idea to build the RV resort came from the City Council and not from him.

“I don’t rule the city. I simply make recommendations and guide the council,” Velthoen said. “The RV resort is by far the most contentious project in the history of Port Hueneme, and some people, who are too emotional about the project, hold me responsible. It was not my idea.”

Velthoen, who says that he has devoted much of his life to Port Hueneme, is disappointed by the recent attacks.

“For years, no one ever found fault with beautiful landscaped medians and parkways and many other amenities we created,” Velthoen said.

If Port Hueneme built the RV resort, Velthoen said, the city would not need to impose a utility tax on water, electricity, gas and cable television, so it could raise the $500,000 it needs to keep its police department from closing.

The utility tax, adopted by the City Council in July, is to go into effect by the end of the year.

The council adopted the utility tax after a property tax measure fell just shy of the two-thirds majority needed in the June election. A staff report detailing how much the tax will be and precisely when it should begin is to be presented to the council Wednesday.

Velthoen strongly recommended both proposed taxes to the council.

His critics and even some of his supporters say one reason he has become increasingly controversial is that he tends to say whatever is on his mind without considering the consequences.

“I know city managers throughout the state of California, and I find Dick to do an excellent job,” said Port Hueneme resident Penny Bohannon, who is also Ventura County’s deputy chief administrative officer.

But “he does get emotional when dealing with citizens,” Bohannon said. “He tries very hard to explain things from his point of view, and the citizens don’t always agree. That creates problems.”

Tom Brigham, president of Surfside III Condominium Homeowners Assn., which has vehemently fought the RV project, said Velthoen often condemns anyone whose opinion differs from his.

“The rigidity of his thinking is not good for the people of Port Hueneme,” Brigham said. “I think he is the type of person when an idea comes to him, from whatever source, and he believes in that idea, any alternative is disregarded.”

Often during council meetings, according to some critics, Velthoen ignores residents’ comments and does not respond to their questions.

“We all have been dismissed by Velthoen,” said David Kanter, a resident who attends the meetings often. “We have been told that we don’t have the facts straight and that we should shut up.”

Velthoen agreed that he gets easily annoyed with comments that are not factual and that he can be opinionated.

“Sometimes I’m very decisive and have to change my mind because I’m wrong,” he said. “But I’m honest and upfront about it.”

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In their campaign against Velthoen, some angry residents--most of them opponents of the RV resort--have showed up at council meetings holding signs caricaturing the city manager as a crowned king, reading: “Dethrone King Velthoen” and “No Velthoen Clones in 1995.”

Residents have also circulated letters in Port Hueneme accusing Velthoen of being overpaid, disrespecting residents and dividing the city into opponents and supporters of the RV resort.

But for others, what counts is not Velthoen’s personality, but his accomplishments.

Despite all the criticism, Police Chief John Hopkins said, Velthoen is the best thing that ever happened to the city.

“What matters to me, is what Dick has done to this city,” Hopkins said. “Port Hueneme used to be a dirt hole 20 years ago. It was the worst part of the county. We had a lot of prostitutes, a lot of run-down homes and dirt. It was when he became city manager that we began to see an almost immediate change.”

Port Hueneme is moving toward what may be the hottest political campaign in its history. Fourteen candidates are running for the three open council seats. Four have said that if they win, they will seriously assess Velthoen’s performance.

“A lot of people have asked me how the new council can get rid of Velthoen,” said candidate Billy Kimberling. “If I’m elected, I would have to look at the total picture and find out whether he manipulates the council and runs the city or whether the council allows him to do that.”

Anthony C. Volante, another candidate, said he believes Velthoen has done wonders for Port Hueneme but he would consider putting a freeze on Velthoen’s salary.

“He may be making more money than a manager for such a small city would normally make,” Volante said.

The other candidates who said they would evaluate Velthoen’s performance are Robert Turner, a dentist and president of the Port Hueneme Chamber of Commerce, and Jon Sharkey, a production manager and technician in entertainment services.

Velthoen, whose yearly salary, including perks, amounts to $141,000, said he is saddened by the “absurd” charges against him.

“It’s a vendetta against me,” Velthoen said. “I’ve worked here for years and have done some great things. I don’t understand how such accusations can be good for the progress of the city.”

Councilman James Daniels, one of the many city officials who strongly defend Velthoen, said the charges that he wields too much power are an insult to the City Council.

“Dick has no power other than to make suggestions to us,” Daniels said.

A man who describes himself as driven by competition, Velthoen began working in Port Hueneme in January, 1975, as assistant city manager. He became city manager six months later.

While his critics have blamed Velthoen for Port Hueneme’s current economic problems, he says the city is simply one of many in California that was not prepared for the recession.

“Despite the recession and huge revenues losses from the state, we are still managing to do a good job,” Velthoen said.

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Born in Modesto, Velthoen attended Oregon State University and earned a master’s degree in natural resources. He later joined the Air Force and went to Germany. While there, he married his wife, Linda, whom he had met in Oregon. They have three children.

Velthoen, an Oxnard resident, said he realized he wanted to be a city manager while working as the director of personnel services at the Air Force base in Germany.

“I was responsible for organizing a lot of events in the base, and I enjoyed doing that,” Velthoen said. “It gave me a feeling that I was making things happen.”

Afterward, Velthoen became assistant city manager in Thousand Oaks, where he worked for seven years. During that time he obtained another master’s degree, in public administration, at UCLA.

Before coming to Port Hueneme, he also worked for a developer in Newport Beach, where he gained a lot of the planning skills that later helped him as city manager.

Nearly two decades later, Velthoen said he feels privileged to work for a council that respects and understands him.

“I’ve been blessed with a council which works well together and has had congruent goals. I am the luckiest city manager in California,” Velthoen said.

One thing he has had to learn in recent years in a city with an annual budget of $16 million is how to work with less money, he said.

“When I came here, the problem was not money,” Velthoen said. “The problem was what to do with it.” But now the city can barely maintain its own police force.

Velthoen concedes that the city has problems but defends his record as one of accomplishment. As for his influence, he says that frequent council approval of his recommendations is the result of his simply doing his job.

“Any city manager in the state of California is in a position of power and authority,” Velthoen said. “But the council is in control of the destiny of the city because they are the policy makers.”