Oxnard Expected to Fire City Manager Tonight

After months of heated discussion and debate, the Oxnard City Council is expected to terminate City Manager Tom Frutchey’s contract tonight during a special council meeting.

On Friday afternoon--following a two-hour, closed-door council session--Frutchey was told to either quit or be fired, a source close to the discussion said Monday.

“If he would resign that would be a plus . . . but I don’t know if that is feasible or not,” said Councilman Bedford Pinkard, who after months of indecision joined Mayor Manuel Lopez and Councilman John Zaragoza on Friday and decided not to renew Frutchey’s contract.

But Frutchey and his supporters say that the decision to end his employment was reached unfairly and that yearly performance evaluations called for in his contract were never done.

Frutchey has requested that all complaints and accusations against him be discussed in open session tonight, rather than behind closed doors. On Monday, Frutchey said that a public discussion may be the only way for him to hear what the council thinks of his job performance because he has not received an evaluation.

Although the details of a contract termination still need to be worked out, Frutchey would be entitled to paid leave of absence and benefits for six months, said City Atty. Gary Gillig.

Frutchey was hired as city manager in October 1993, with a salary of more than $100,000. On Monday, Councilmen Tom Holden and Dean Maulhardt complained that they were not present for any final discussion of Frutchey’s resignation. The councilmen, who support Frutchey, said they left the closed session about 2:30 p.m., thinking it had been adjourned, only to find out later that the meeting had continued for about 40 minutes without them.

Lopez, who stayed behind closed doors with Zaragoza and Pinkard, said the remaining councilmen did not discuss anything new while Holden and Maulhardt were absent.

“When we have closed sessions or regular meetings, everybody doesn’t leave right away,” Lopez said. “There was absolutely no violation” of state law.

Gillig acknowledged that the closed session had been adjourned when the councilmen left, but he maintains that there was nothing illegal about the meeting continuing in their absence.

Pinkard said he decided to take a position against Frutchey, in part because of complaints he had received from former and current city employees about the way the city manager treated some staff members and how he handled the firings of certain employees.

But Holden said the decision not to renew Frutchey’s contract was reached unjustly, considering that the city manager was merely for implementing the council’s directive to streamline government and cut costs.

“Where does the accountability fall?” said Holden, noting that Oxnard has its fourth city manager in six years. “Is it appropriate that we fire the city manager and make him the scapegoat rather than be accountable for the direction the council has given him?”

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Frutchey’s tenure has not only divided the council but has apparently divided city employees as well. Although some city workers say they believe Frutchey has improved morale and is an effective leader, others maintain that he rules by fear and quickly fires those who do not agree with his ideas.

With the council’s approval, Frutchey has overseen a controversial government restructuring program that has replaced departments with programs and department heads with team leaders. The restructuring has been a major sore point for Zaragoza and Lopez, who say it leaves no one accountable for city operations.