Mittermeier Might Lose Authority to Supervisors

With two weeks left on her contract, Orange County’s top executive, Jan Mittermeier, is negotiating a new agreement that could leave her with reduced powers and perhaps a new title.

Mittermeier, the county’s chief executive officer, has been praised by county supervisors for her performance in helping to bring the county out of the depths of the its 1994 bankruptcy, the nation’s worst municipal financial disaster.

But several supervisors have long criticized the amount of power the board ceded her in the aftermath of the fiscal collapse. Her critics say her duties, such as the hiring and firing of department heads without board approval, undermine the board’s authority.

Now, it appears a board majority, formed by Jim Silva, Tom Wilson and Todd Spitzer, is ready to take back some of its former authority.

Mittermeier wouldn’t discuss the contract situation.

Supervisor William G. Steiner, a Mittermeier ally who was in charge of contract negotiations, said he has presented her with a proposal that “does not give her everything she would like but she would still be able to be effective.”

If Steiner and Mittermeier can reach agreement on the terms, the contract will then come before the Board of Supervisors for a vote.

Steiner said he is concerned that she might step down rather than give up some of her power. Her departure would be a big blow to the county, especially after Wall Street has established a relationship of trust with her, he said.

“Jan is ‘hot’ right now. There is a lot of interest in her in the private sector,” he said. “So I’m not sure she would be willing to stay if they strip her of some of her power.”

In addition to concerns over her powers, some supervisors are upset with the way she treats them, especially in her role as leader of the county’s controversial effort to convert the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station into an international airport.

Supervisors Spitzer and Wilson, both of whom oppose the airport, have accused her of withholding information on the project from them.

Wilson said he has been frustrated and blindsided by Mittermeier and her staff on the airport issue too many times to overlook it.

“She’s performed in the past like she’s reporting to three supervisors, not five,” he said.

Spitzer, who has called her arrogant, has clashed with her consistently over a range of issues. He was the sole “no” vote on her gushing merit evaluation last winter and a $20,000 raise in June. She now earns $140,000 a year.

“She has proven time and time again that she doesn’t have the best interest of the public in mind,” said Spitzer. “I think it would be beyond a tragedy for this county to continue her contract when what this county needs is to improve its image with the public.”

Silva, who has supported her in the past but has always been a critic of her title, said her role should be relegated to chief administrative officer and that the board should ratify all department head hirings.

He said he is “extremely pleased” with her job performance but is concerned about the impression the title of chief executive might give the public.

“The title gives the wrong perception to residents about who is actually in charge of the county,” Silva said.

Mittermeier also has become an election-year campaign issue as candidates fault the board for turning over basic powers to an appointed bureaucrat who is not accountable to the public.

But even detractors such as Wilson acknowledge that she has done an admirable job in bringing order to the county’s financial mess.

This year for the first time since the bankruptcy, no funding for any departments was cut in the budget process. Working closely with Sheriff Brad Gates, Mittermeier also found enough money in the county’s coffers to begin long-delayed expansion and construction projects such as the Theo Lacy Branch Jail in Orange.

“We hired her to implement the policy we make,” said Supervisor Charles V. Smith, who also supports Mittermeier and the title of chief executive. “She’s doing an excellent job, but she is in a bad situation with the board being divided on some big issues. She’s right in the line of fire.”

Mittermeier, 58, was named chief executive three years ago when Newport Beach businessman William J. Popejoy quit after clashing publicly with the supervisors.

Mittermeier, an auditor who headed John Wayne Airport, was brought on board to devise a financial plan to get the county back on its feet. She scaled down the bureaucracy and restructured some of the departments to make them more efficient.

Before the bankruptcy, department heads reported directly to the Board of Supervisors, relegating the chief administrative officer, Ernie Schneider, to a relatively powerless position. The board voted to do away with the chief administrative position after the bankruptcy.

Under that system, department heads could be found walking through the supervisors’ offices shopping for a majority of votes for their projects, Smith said. No one could be held accountable when the bankruptcy hit because it appeared no one was in charge, he said.

“The county was running out of control,” Smith said. “You can’t have five people steering the ship.”