Koester Named County Administrative Chief : Government: Supervisors hire the Simi Valley city manager in a split vote. Officials say he was selected, in part, for his record as a fiscal conservative.

Simi Valley City Manager Lin Koester was named the county’s new chief administrative officer Tuesday in a split vote by Ventura County supervisors.

Koester will sign a two-year contract that will pay him a base salary of $123,000 a year. The contract includes an option to renew, which Koester said he probably will exercise.

In addition, he is eligible to re-enter the county’s pension plan, based on an eight-year stint as a county department manager in the 1970s. That could give him pensions from both Simi Valley and the county.

The board voted 3 to 2 to hire Koester, who will begin work by June 19, for the top executive’s job. Board Chairwoman Maggie Kildee and Supervisor Susan Lacey cast the dissenting votes, saying they would have preferred someone with more recent county experience.

“Unfortunately we are a divided board,” Kildee said upon announcing Koester’s selection. “But we are in a democracy and in a democracy the majority rules.”

Koester, 53, was hired for his record as a no-nonsense fiscal conservative who helped transform Simi Valley from a nearly bankrupt town into a financially stable city in the past 16 years, officials said. His service as director of the county’s Resource Management Agency between 1971 and 1979 was also cited.

“I feel very confident for the staff and for the public that you are getting one of the best people we could possibly bring you,” said Supervisor Judy Mikels, who worked with Koester. “I believe quite firmly in this decision and the good it will bring for the entire county.”

Koester, a Republican, replaces former county manager Richard Wittenberg, who accepted a similar job in Santa Clara County in January.

Koester was selected for the county job after a four-month statewide search. During his brief acceptance speech Tuesday, he told the board that he was unfazed by the split vote and vowed to work closely with all the supervisors.

“I do not take the 3-2 vote as a negative, but a positive,” Koester said. “And I will do my very best to do the job you expect me to do.”

Kildee and Lacey sought to reassure Koester of their confidence in his leadership.

“He brings many years of experience as city manager in Simi Valley,” Kildee said. “And my pledge, Lin, in spite of my vote, is to work with you to make sure you are successful.”

Although happy and comfortable in his job in Simi Valley, Koester said he looked forward to a new challenge.

“This has been the hardest decision that I’ve ever had in my life to make, whether to leave Simi Valley and come to the county,” he said. “But in a way it’s like coming home. I left the county 16 years ago in May and so I’m coming back again and hopefully things will work out well.”

The county job will only pay Koester about $10,000 more a year than he was making as a city manager. With his job as chief administrator, however, Koester will have the option of “buying back” his county pension plan, officials said. When he left the county in 1979, Koester withdrew money invested in his retirement package.

If he chooses, Koester will be allowed to put back the money he withdrew--between $40,000 and $50,000--to get credit for his total years of county service, said personnel Director Ron Komers. At the end of two years, Koester would be eligible to receive about $1,900 a month from the county pension program for life in addition to his city pension plan, Komers said.

Koester, who estimated that his city pension would be $1,500 to $2,000 a month, said he has not yet decided whether he will reinvest in the county plan.

The supervisors picked Koester and a handful of other finalists last month after sifting through a list of 55 applicants. The board then interviewed Koester in two closed-door sessions and invited him back last week for additional talks.

“I’ve always thought of Lin as one of the finest city managers in California,” said Supervisor John Flynn. “He has a lot of experience, he’s a great thinker . . . and he’s very direct. I think that’s something we need.”

Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley), a former Simi Valley mayor who has worked with Koester, said he was pleased at the news.

“The county could not have found a more capable person,” he said. “Lin possesses tremendous talent, and he knows the county as well as anyone from both a political and governmental standpoint.”

Wittenberg, in a telephone interview, also said he believed Koester would perform well in his new job despite the split vote of the board.

“I am confident he will do a fine job and the county will pull together,” Wittenberg said. “I know they will all help him succeed. And I know they will help him resolve the difficult fiscal problems Ventura and all counties are facing.”

Indeed, Koester joins the county in the midst of a financial crisis. Faced with a $38-million budget deficit, the supervisors have proposed cutting hundreds of jobs and slashing the budgets of a number of programs and services.

As chief administrator, Koester will exercise broad powers over the county’s $860-million budget and a work force of more than 6,000. In Simi Valley, Koester managed a city budget of about $100 million and a work force of 550.

Besides serving at the pleasure of the supervisors, Koester will be forced to deal with six other elected officials whose budgets are tied to the county. They are the sheriff, district attorney, tax collector, tax assessor, auditor-controller and county clerk.

But having worked at the county before, Koester said, he is well aware of the task ahead.

“It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the biggest problem facing the county is the budget crisis,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of capable employees and a lot of fine programs. There’s just not enough money to go around.

“So priorities are going to have to be set. And the CAO is going to have to take the lead with the Board of Supervisors in setting those priorities, and it’s not going to make everybody happy.”

Although it is still early, Koester said he believes he will retain the assistant chief administrator’s position, which is currently vacant. In fact, Koester said, he has not ruled out inviting Simi Valley Assistant City Manager Mike Sedell to apply for the job.

“I believe that’s a possibility,” he said. “He’s obviously the type of person that complements my style of management. As a team, we’ve been extremely effective.”

Sedell, who is seen as a strong candidate for the city manager’s job in Simi Valley, said he wanted to consider his options before commenting.