OCTA Gives Mills Two-Year Contract

Two weeks after naming Lisa Mills interim chief executive of the Orange County Transportation Authority, the group’s board of directors gave her a two-year contract Monday at $140,000 a year.

“She’s got a demonstrated track record of achievement here,” agency spokesman John Standiford said.

Mills, 40, a former Santa Ana City Council member, came to work for the county as a senior transportation analyst in 1983.

She replaces Stan Oftelie, the agency’s founding CEO, who announced his resignation last month to head the Orange County Business Council. Oftelie’s last day will be Thursday, after which Mills will take the helm.

The board voted to extend Oftelie insurance benefits for 90 days until he starts his new job, at an estimated cost of $5,000. It also agreed to pay him $3,000 to cover a clause in his contract that provides him with an annual payment of 3% of his salary.

Supervisor Jim Silva, who opposed the payment, called it “a gift at taxpayers’ expense.”

Mills said her first job will be to help the board approve the agency’s $604-million budget and to oversee its decision, expected June 9, on the future of the Fullerton/Irvine corridor. The 28-mile-long, six-mile-wide swath carries the most traffic in Orange County. OCTA staff recently recommended options that include plans for a light rail system for that area.

Along similar lines, the CEO-designate said, she intends to work closely with board members on “developing a vision for Orange County transportation over the next 20 years.” Among its elements, Mills said, will be the completion of major improvements to the Santa Ana and San Diego freeways, as well as local street and Metrolink improvements.

But although she expects no major changes in the direction set by Oftelie, Mills said, she does see some contrasts.

“We have somewhat different styles,” Mills said. “I’ll probably spend a little more time meeting with people on the outside.”