Supervisors Hire New CAO

David L. Baker was waiting for one more thing before signing a contract committing him to become Ventura County’s next chief administrative officer: a 5-0 vote by his new bosses, the Board of Supervisors.

He got it Tuesday. After the supervisors’ unanimous vote to hire Baker as the man to lead the county’s billion-dollar bureaucracy, the government veteran took pen in hand and scribbled signatures across the employment contract on his lap.

“It was important to me to get the 5-0 vote,” Baker said later. “It’s a very positive sign.”

Former chief executive Lin Koester was hired on a 3-2 decision and struggled to gain the full board’s support during his four years at the county’s helm. The board’s unanimous decision Tuesday suggests the entire panel will be more likely to back Baker as he faces his first and biggest challenge--sorting out a crisis in the county’s health care system.

The U.S. Health Care Financing Administration in July began cutting off millions of dollars in funding for a network of medical clinics after determining the county was out of compliance with federal regulations. Meanwhile, the state Department of Mental Health is withholding another $5.3 million in annual funding to the county pending a review of mental health clinics. The county is appealing both decisions.

Those fiscal threats come on top of a $15.3-million settlement the county has agreed to pay the federal government for years of improper billings in its Behavioral Health Department.

Baker’s challenge will be to avert closure of county clinics due to a loss of funding, and reduce feuding that still continues as a result of last year’s ill-fated decision to merge the county’s mental health and social service agencies.

The merger decision, which was rescinded after federal regulators said it violated Medicare billing rules, has badly split the Board of Supervisors, top managers and employee groups in the Health Care Agency. Supervisor Frank Schillo alluded to the continuing bitterness during comments welcoming Baker at Tuesday’s meeting.

“We are not a perfect county. There are some things to do,” Schillo said. “But you are well-qualified to get us there.”

The other board members took turns praising Baker. After interviewing Baker, Supervisor John Flynn said he believes the new county administrator is committed to bringing more minorities to the county’s 7,200-member work force. Schillo praised Baker’s financial background, and all the supervisors stressed the importance of their unanimous selection.

“I think it’s time to have a CAO that all five of us can support,” board Chairwoman Susan Lacey said.

Baker, 50, spoke briefly with reporters after the meeting, and said he is “deeply appreciative” of the warm welcome he has received.

“But I didn’t expect this notoriety,” he quipped, as several news photographers and reporters gathered around him.

Baker, who is leaving as San Joaquin County’s chief administrator to take the Ventura County post, said he and his wife have begun house-hunting and may settle in the Ojai area. He’s had a “little bit of sticker shock” over the relatively high price of housing in Ventura County, estimating he will need to pay $70,000 more to buy the same size home he now owns in Lodi.

Baker is scheduled to start work Nov. 22. Supervisors approved a contract that pays Baker $157,784 a year, the top salary for his position. With benefits, the pay package is worth $239,832 annually. His contract expires in 18 months.

Interim county administrator Bert Bigler said he looks forward to handing over the reins to Baker. Bigler worked with Baker during the 1970s in San Bernardino County, and said he found Baker to be a friendly and efficient professional.

“He’s very good with people,” Bigler said. “He may come across as serious, but he does have a very good sense of humor.”