Chief Administrator Koester Announces Intention to Retire

Ventura County Chief Administrative Officer Lin Koester announced Thursday that he intends to retire at the end of the year, sparking what is sure to be an intense eight-month search for his successor.

Koester, 57, said after 30 years in government administration he decided that “the time is right” to step down. He was hired by the Board of Supervisors four years ago and never intended to stay longer than five years, Koester said.

He denied reports that feuding between supervisors and top county managers over a failed merger of the county’s mental health and social services departments last year hastened his decision.

“I’ve got a lot of time and professional experience in Ventura County,” said Koester, who served as Simi Valley’s city manager for 16 years before taking his current post. “I think it’s an outstanding place. I feel I would be leaving under good terms.”

On Tuesday, supervisors are expected to approve an interim contract paying Koester a $98-an-hour rate after his current pact expires in July. Although his official employment with the county ends July 16, the agreement would allow him to remain as a contract employee earning no more than $94,080 through December 31.

Supervisor Frank Schillo said Koester initially told the board he wanted to leave in June, after the budget was completed. But in closed-door sessions, supervisors persuaded him to stay an extra five months to smooth the transition to a new chief administrative officer.

“We want to have him around when we hire our new CAO,” Schillo said. “That continuity is extremely important.”

Supervisor Kathy Long said Koester has been the county’s point man for state and federal officials who are investigating programs and funding practices at the county’s mental health department and its public hospital. It would be unwise to bring in a new administrator in the midst of the reviews, prompted by the merger controversy, Long said.

“All signs are saying we will have resolution by the end of year,” she said.

Schillo said he favors a statewide search for Koester’s replacement. National recruitment often produces candidates who have the necessary skills but no experience with California’s laws and regulations, he said.

Long said she agrees.

“The state of California is big enough and there is enough talent here,” she said.

Long and Schillo also agreed that the county should expand its recruitment beyond city and county managers to consider chief executives in the private sector. An ideal candidate might be someone who has experience in private business and public administration, Schillo said.

“After years in government, you get set in your ways about how you do things,” Schillo said. “I would like someone who is very innovative and creative and will come up with new ways to operate county government.”

Potential in-house candidates mentioned by sources inside county government include John “Johnny” Johnston, a manager in the General Services Agency, and Pierre Durand, director of the Health Care Agency. Both did not return a phone call Thursday.

County government’s treasury is much healthier than when Koester arrived in May 1995. At that time, the county faced a $38-million shortfall. Koester, who had earned a reputation as a no-nonsense fiscal conservative, set to work trimming budgets and eliminating positions to close the gap.

He streamlined the budget process so that public hearings were held, and the document approved, before the June 30 deadline, said Keith Jajko, an aide to Supervisor Judy Mikels. In the past, budget hearings stretched into August or later, Jajko said.

Koester is also a hands-on executive, involving himself in everything from libraries to public works, officials said. He set up a monthly meeting with the county’s 10 city managers to discuss regional issues, such as transportation or health care.

“Lin has done an outstanding job,” Schillo said.

But his job has also been a hot seat. He has dealt with a philosophically split board that hired him on a 3-2 vote. Last April, Koester found himself in the middle of a political furor when three supervisors--Long, John K. Flynn and Susan Lacey--voted to merge mental health and social services into a single Human Services Agency.

Schillo and Mikels voted against it, saying the decision was made too quickly and without sufficient study. Koester recommended keeping the agencies separate because of potential funding problems, but followed the direction of the board majority.

In December, as the merger controversy came to a head, he signed the county’s annual Medicare billing statement to be sent to federal authorities, but added a so-called disclosure statement that acknowledged the merger might have violated federal regulations.

Colleagues privately say Koester was irked that the board majority was pressuring him into action that disturbed him. Koester said Thursday that the merger controversy did not influence his decision to retire.

“That is part of the job,” he said. “It had no impact whatsoever.”

Long said the board likely will hire a recruiting firm to assist supervisors in May. An application package outlining job requirements, and salary, should be ready by July. Koester earns $150,456 a year, plus generous benefits. A successor should be in place by Dec. 1, to allow a 30-day overlap period, Long said.

Koester offered little on what his post-retirement plans are. He may serve as an interim city or county manager, but said he has no definitive plan at this time. His focus for now is completing the remaining months of work, Koester said.

“It’s been a lot of fun, and a lot of work,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed it.”