Council Votes to Keep Interim City Manager
The City Council voted 3 to 2 Tuesday night not to terminate its interim city manager, choosing instead to have Daniel Miller help pick his successor.
Yorba Linda now has two city managers on the payroll: Miller and longtime City Manager Arthur C. Simonian, who is on paid administrative leave. The city is suing Simonian to recover as much as $300,000 in bonuses he allegedly paid himself without council authorization. Simonian has denied any wrongdoing and is suing to get his job back.
The council fired Simonian in September for alleged financial malfeasance, but a judge reinstated him, saying the council had not followed proper procedure.
Councilman Henry W. Wedaa proposed that, to save money, the city end Miller’s contract and appoint Public Works Director Roy Stephenson, a longtime colleague of Simonian’s, as the acting city manager. The proposal failed 3 to 2.
Mayor Kenneth J. Ryan, elected in March to fill a vacant council seat, said Yorba Linda needs Miller to participate in hiring a new city manager.
Ryan said he did not feel that would be accomplished by appointing Stephenson as city manager.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
