Adjusting to Change From the Top Down

First it was Deputy City Manager Mike Fenderson. Then it was Public Works Director Dick Conrad, with City Clerk Carolyn Morris nipping close at his heels. By the time Police Chief Stan Knee left last week, more than 100 years of combined experience had walked out the shiny new doors of City Hall.

Since January, Garden Grove has lost four of its 12 top managers to retirement or to other cities. All four of the former employees witnessed this town’s transformation from a bedroom community for Los Angeles commuters to the ethnically diverse city it is today.

“It’s a problem to lose our senior people like that,” City Manager George Tindall said. “It’s a lot of knowledge that has gone and some exceptional people have left.”

While Tindall is quick to point out that the retirees spent decades happily toiling for the city, Al Snook, a council gadfly and three-time mayoral candidate, said in-fighting and low compensation have driven experienced and knowledgeable managers out of the city.

“I’m concerned,” said Snook, a frequent critic of council policies. “Why is Stan Knee leaving? Why couldn’t we give him the perks or extra income to keep him here?”

“That’s nonsense,” Tindall said of Snook’s allegations. “Stan Knee left for a bigger job and an opportunity for growth. You can’t stop that--you want people to grow.”

Knee submitted his resignation last month after accepting the top cop position in Austin, Texas. The chief said he decided to leave Garden Grove not because of problems in the city but because he was excited by the opportunity to head the larger department in Austin.

Tindall, who has worked in Garden Grove 13 years, said the other executives leaving the city are all retirement age. It is a compliment to residents that the three spent nearly their entire careers working for a city in which none of them lived, he added.

And while the departures leave some holes at the top, they also create an opportunity for new ideas, Tindall said.

“This is part of any organization,” he said. “We need turnover and fresh ideas.”

One of the three positions has been filled with an in-house candidate, and a second has been eliminated. The city’s veteran assistant city clerk, Ruth Smith, will assume the city clerk position Monday, and departmental reorganization has eliminated one of the two deputy city manager positions.

Meanwhile, a posting for the vacant public works director position has drawn 55 applicants, and Tindall said he expects at least that many candidates for the police chief vacancy.

The loss of so many top managers has put a strain on city services, and second-tier managers are being asked to pick up some of the slack. The Garden Grove Police Department’s three captains are currently heading the department, with the top leadership rotating every six weeks.

“This has been pretty smooth,” Capt. Dave Abrecht said of the transition. “If there is a strain, it’s the strain of uncertainty. Any time you have a change in the top manager, there’s always the possibility that the emphasis in the department will change.”

Added Tindall: “The world changes, and things change daily. People go and come. These people have been here, and they’ve left their mark. We’ll be OK.”