‘Different World’ Awaits Koester in New County Role : Government: Chief administrator faces such challenges as a $38-million budget gap and a board split on his appointment.

As Simi Valley’s city manager, Lin Koester enjoyed a well-paying job, a city with no debt and bosses who loved him.

Last week, he cashed it all in for the chance to become the county’s chief administrator.

“It’s a challenge,” Koester said of his decision to take the job, which will pay him approximately $10,000 more than he received as a city manager.

Indeed, as the county’s top executive, Koester will face a staggering $38-million deficit, the political worries of 11 full-time elected officials and a Board of Supervisors that is split over his hiring.

“It’s going to take him awhile to understand the significant differences between the county and the cities,” said board Chairwoman Maggie Kildee, who along with Supervisor Susan Lacey preferred someone with county management experience. “It will come as a surprise to him how little power he has.”

Lacey agreed.

“In Simi Valley, he was the center of government,” she said. “He worked for a part-time council. Everybody reported to him. He was it. Well, it’s a whole different world at the county.”

But Koester, who served as director of the county’s Resource Management Agency from 1971 to 1979, and his supporters said he is well-prepared for the task at hand.

“I believe I have something to offer,” said Koester, 53. “I’ve been successful in my career in Simi Valley and prior to that at the county. I believe I have the perspective and I believe I can be of value to Ventura County.”

Simi Valley Mayor Greg Stratton said that Koester, a former submarine officer who served two tours in Vietnam, is not the type to shy away from tough budget decisions.

“He’s a no-nonsense kind of guy,” Stratton said. “He’s going to be telling people, ‘We can get things done with half the staff. And if you can’t do it, then there’s a place at the door where you can deposit your resignation.’ ”

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Koester built his reputation over the last 16 years as a demanding but level-headed manager who helped transform Simi Valley from a suburban outpost into a mostly self-supporting city.

“He goes right to the source of a problem,” said Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley), who worked directly with Koester as a former mayor. “He’s not a procrastinator. And he’s never been afraid to tell the council what is the best way to go.”

Despite the board’s split vote, Gallegly said Koester has plenty of “political savvy” and won’t have a problem working with the five supervisors. Or, for that matter, dealing with the county’s six other elected officials, including the sheriff and district attorney, Gallegly said.

“Lin has a unique ability to work with elected leaders,” he said. “He’s been in Simi Valley for 16 years. He’s worked with many different city councils. Not everybody may have been behind him at first. But in short order, they were all giving him their full support.”

Koester offers a similar evaluation of himself: “My greatest strengths are organizing, understanding and working with elected officials.”

County leaders said he will have to bring all of these skills to bear on the problems facing the county, the 13th largest in the state with a government work force of more than 6,000 and an $860-million annual budget.

Chief among Koester’s concerns will be the county’s projected $38-million deficit, which could grow if there are cutbacks in state funding. Though budget hearings are scheduled for late July, supervisors are already talking about eliminating hundreds of jobs and slashing the budgets of the county’s health and welfare agencies. The county’s financially battered library system is also in danger of shutting some of its 16 branches.

Koester, who will officially take over the chief administrator’s job on June 19, said it is too early to offer his own cost-cutting plans. But he is familiar with the county’s financial troubles. “I will definitely try to have a major impact on this year’s budget,” he said.

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The main thing, Koester said, is for the chief administrator and the supervisors to set their top priorities and work from there.

To prepare for his new job, Koester plans to spend one day a week at the County Government Center in Ventura talking with department heads and poring over documents.

One change he would welcome would be having county offices open five days a week again. Two years ago, the county implemented a four-day workweek to cut costs as well as smog by reducing the number of vehicles on county roads.

But critics are unconvinced that the reform is cost-effective or significantly reduces smog. They also complain that the public is inconvenienced by the four-day schedule.

Koester said the county could have office hours five days a week, but with reduced staffing. The county could juggle employees’ work schedules so that they could put in 80 hours over a nine-day period, he said, and get a three-day weekend every two weeks.

“I think the (four-day workweek) needs to have a full evaluation,” he said. “I prefer the five-day workweek, but I can work under either system.”

When he takes over his new job, Koester plans to have an open-door policy both for county employees and the media.

“I believe in open government and accountability,” he said. “I don’t like hidden agendas.”

Despite their initial reservations, Lacey and Kildee pledged to work closely with Koester to ensure his success.

“In our deliberations it seemed to me what we needed was someone with more current county experience,” Lacey said the day Koester’s hiring was announced. “I’ve been very straightforward with Lin and he understands. But he has been selected as our CAO and we need to work together.”

If he were concerned about the magnitude of the task he faces, it was not noticeable in Koester’s voice or demeanor after he accepted his new job. Even the board’s split vote didn’t seem to faze him.

In his usual calm and plain-spoken manner, Koester summed up the supervisors’ decision this way: “I think we’ll both be happy with the performance.”