Top Ventura County Executive 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 Dec. 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 the year,” she said.

Schillo said he favors a statewide search for Koester’s replacement. National recruitment often produces candidates who have the necessary skill 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.

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.

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,” said Schillo.

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.