ORANGE COUNTY IN BANKRUPTCY : Popejoy’s Deal: No Money, but Plenty of Power : Recovery: CEO’s nine-month contract can be terminated only by four-fifths vote of supervisors. He will oversee all departments, with broad authority to hire, fire, discipline and set salaries for department heads.

More than a week after picking William J. Popejoy to be the county’s chief executive officer with broad new powers, the Board of Supervisors debated Tuesday just how much power they were handing over.

The issue came up as supervisors discussed and approved a nine-month contract that gives Popejoy no salary but allows him broad authority over county departments and agencies. One supervisor, however, questioned a provision that Popejoy can be fired only by a four-fifths vote of the board.

The contract passed on a 4-1 vote, with Supervisor Jim Silva rejecting the agreement because he said a majority of three supervisors should be enough to terminate Popejoy. “I think the Board of Supervisors has an obligation to show to the public that they are, in fact, in charge,” Silva said after the meeting.

Silva said his vote was not a reflection on Popejoy’s qualifications, but an opposition to the board giving away too much authority and oversight.

“Obviously, a four-fifths vote is harder to achieve and gives the CEO much more power,” Silva said.

But his colleagues disagreed.

“If we truly want the CEO to have unprecedented authority to do his job, then it should take more than a simple majority of us to get rid of him,” Supervisor William G. Steiner said. “He’s going to be making some hard decisions in conflict with the supervisors, so he’s going to need some additional protection.”

Popejoy, the former American Savings & Loan chairman, has already shown his willingness to implement tough actions. Last week, he rankled union leaders by abolishing the county’s flexible work schedules, which allowed employees to work additional hours in exchange for getting every other Friday off.

On Tuesday, Popejoy said he was “honored that (the supervisors) would give me unprecedented authority. I plan to conduct myself in a humane manner, while recognizing that many harsh decisions will have to be made.”

Popejoy, who also once served as president of the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., was appointed county CEO Feb. 10. He replaced former County Administrative Officer Ernie Schneider, who was demoted because the board became dissatisfied with his administration’s response to the Dec. 6 bankruptcy.

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According to Popejoy’s contract, his appointment is to expire by Nov. 21. He will supervise all county offices, departments and special districts under the board’s authority. Although he will serve at the discretion of the supervisors, he will have authority to hire, fire, discipline and set salaries for non-elected department heads.

The 56-year-old executive will also be in charge of all the county’s administrative matters, as well as county budgets.

Popejoy said he is “getting prepared for more cuts and will soon publish a list of (county) assets that are for sale.” He said he will meet with department heads today to tell them what type of cuts he expects and ask them to expedite their budgets.

The Board of Supervisors also asked Popejoy to reassign Schneider to a new position.

Although Schneider had been lobbying the supervisors to appoint him head of the troubled Integrated Waste Management Agency, there apparently was not enough support among board members to give him that assignment.

Other positions being considered for Schneider include heading the newly formed El Toro Reuse Agency or running Dana Point Harbor, which is part of the Environmental Management Agency, an agency Schneider once headed.

Popejoy said “no position has been ruled out.”

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In another development Tuesday, a citizens group asked the Board of Supervisors to fire County Counsel Terry C. Andrus and two attorneys on his staff to restore public confidence in the county’s internal legal department.

The Committees of Correspondence wrote a letter to the supervisors this week criticizing Andrus for advising them to file for bankruptcy protection and for withholding key information about problems with the investment pool from the supervisors last April and November.

The group also blasted Deputy County Counsel John Abbott and Assistant County Counsel James Meade for being “uncooperative” and “non-responsive” when activists requested public documents from the county counsel’s office.

“These circumstances create a bad appearance for the county counsel’s office,” the group’s letter states. “These removals should be made for the sake of perceptions and the need for public confidence in the services of the county counsel’s office. We do not doubt that these three attorneys will be able to find more profitable employment outside the county’s government.”

Neither Andrus nor Meade could be reached for comment.

Abbott responded, “It’s news to me,” and declined further comment.

Times staff writer Jodi Wilgoren contributed to this report.

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Popejoy’s Contract

The Orange County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a contract for William J. Popejoy, who was chosen Feb. 10 as the county’s chief executive officer. The contract ends Nov. 21, 1995. Under the terms, Popejoy:

Receives no salary, but will be reimbursed for meals, transportation, lodging and incidental expenses.

Has authority over all county functions and operations, except for those assigned to elected officers.

Can be fired with four-fifths vote of the Board of Supervisors.