City Manager looks to change charter, secure power to hire and fire executives
CITY HALL — Citing a need for more accountability in local government, City Manager Lamont Ewell has proposed a series of ballot measures that would make it easier for him to hire and fire the city’s top executives.
The City Council is behind him, voting unanimously last week in favor of drafting the initiatives, which would call on voters this fall to re-classify department heads as “at-will” employees, stripping them of protections granted under City Hall’s civil service system. Voters would also be asked to grant Ewell sole authority over the hiring of department heads without first seeking the approval of city commissioners and board members.
The changes in policy can only be achieved through amendments to the city’s charter, which must be drafted and approved by the City Council no later than Aug. 8 to qualify for the Nov. 7 ballot. Any change to the charter that does not deal with money requires a simple majority vote, according to Assistant City Clerk Beth Sanchez.
Ewell, City Hall’s chief executive officer, said the reforms are necessary because the civil service system is outdated and hinders the swift removal of managers who perform poorly. In some extreme cases, it has taken as long as two to three years to fire someone under the system’s lengthy disciplinary process, Ewell said.
The charter changes proposed — four in total — would create greater accountability on all levels of government, while modernizing the civil service system to bring about more efficiency in operations, according to Ewell, who made the request for the amendments at a June 13 City Council meeting. “(These changes) will send a strong message that the city expects excellent performance from its executives and expects them to be held accountable for their performance,”Ewell said in his report. “Fortunately, the city’s current management team would have no problems meeting such expectations … (being) composed of experienced and able professionals.”
All department heads, except for the chief of police, could be affected by the proposal. The City Attorney, council members and the City Manager — all of whom are already considered at-will employees — are not covered under the civil service system, according to the city charter. The City Council, which is an elected position, hires the City Attorney and the City Manager. The City Manager hires the police chief.
Department heads have been consulted by Ewell about the proposed charter reform. Ewell also is discussing his plans with the Personnel Board at the direction of the Council.The five-person personnel board, which serves as an advisory panel to the City Council and City Hall’s human resources director, is a quasi-judicial review body for employee appeals of disciplinary actions. It consists of individuals who neither hold public office nor work for City Hall.
The personnel board recently was in the spotlight after it denied the appeal of the city’s funeral director who was fired in 2005 after three audits revealed the management of Woodlawn Cemetery’s finances was not in line with general accounting practices.In addition,city officials believe Michael Steen was acting unethically by promoting and benefiting from his domestic partner’s monument-making business at the cemetery.
It was years before the mismanagement of the cemetery was discovered and months before Steen’s performance was put under scrutiny. Several more months passed before he was terminated and the case was closed.The Steen case is an example of how city employees are protected under the civil service system.
Those interviewed said they are in support of the changes, even if it means a greater chance of receiving a pink slip.
“I don’t think it will affect any department heads that are doing their job and being responsive to the community and very committed to working in Santa Monica,” said Barbara Stinchfield, director of City Hall’s Community and Cultural Services. “I personally have no problems (with the proposed changes.) I feel I’m doing the work that has been asked of me.”
Stinchfield said change naturally creates concern about the unknown, but as long as there is a fair review process, she has confidence in the City Manager’s request.
Steve Stark, City Hall’s Finance director, said he too is not concerned with the proposed charter amendments because he is confident in the work he and his staff do daily.
“These changes are really standard,” Stark said. “Everywhere else I’ve worked I’ve been an at-will employee, so this is nothing new.”
Ewell’s predecessors are said to have wanted to make the charter changes, however, some chose to focus on other ballot measures, such as the hotel tax and other priorities.
“Because it’s a charter amendment it takes some effort, and when you have many priorities to balance, you have to make a decision on what you think is best at the time,” said City Councilwoman Pam O’Connor, who supports the charter changes. “Lamont is coming from the outside and had a chance to look objectively at our organizational structure, and evidently, he believes this is something important that he wants to accomplish this election cycle”
City Councilman Herb Katz, an architect who has at times been a harsh critic of the city’s Planning Department for being unresponsive to customers, said the changes are “long overdue, and something residents have been talking about for quite awhile.”
Katz said voters should pass the measures overwhelmingly, having complained about the need for reform during the last city election.
“I think (voters) really want to have a say in this,” Katz said.
The charter reforms have been implemented in other cities, including Beverly Hills, Culver City, Burbank, Long Beach, Pasadena and Thousands Oaks.
Cities have made the switch because of the expanded duties and responsibilities of the department heads, and the realization that, if their performance is substandard, a lengthy removal process would not be acceptable to the public, Ewell said.
The same holds true for Santa Monica, which has seen some department heads’ responsibilities increase since the charter was adopted in 1946. The opposite also is true, with some department heads no longer deserving of the title since their duties have diminished over time.
Currently, the City Manager must obtain the approval of a board or commission for the hiring of certain department heads. Those include the Personnel and Library boards, Recreation and Parks and the Airport commissions. The Personnel Board hires the human resources director; the Recreation and Parks Commission hires the director of community and cultural services; the Library Board hires the library services director; and the Airport Commission hires the director of the resource management.
Susan Cloke, chair of the Recreation and Parks Commission, said the proposed charter changes make sense, however, the work can’t end with their passage. Cloke said Ewell must continue to stress accountability at all levels of government and work to change attitudes in City Hall around customer service.
“One of the main concerns I hear from the public is that they feel like outsiders,” Cloke said.“People have complained they have a hard time being heard. I think that in a small city like Santa Monica, we shouldn’t feel like outsiders. We should all be insiders.”
Ewell said since he is held solely accountable to the City Council for the department heads approved by boards and commissions, it only makes sense for him to have sole authority over their hiring. One of his proposals would require the City Manager to seek input from boards and commissions on what traits are desirable in the next department director, but the City Manager would not need to seek their approval when selecting the final candidate.
Ewell is asking for the charter to be changed so that the City Manager could re-classify a position if necessary. Some examples of positions designated in the charter which no longer serve as department heads include city engineer, street superintendent, city controller and building officials.
Ewell also is calling for changes to the so-called “rule of three names” to a “rule of three ranks” for non-promotional appointments, which would increase the applicant pool when directors are looking to fill staff vacancies and there are not enough qualified candidates in-house. Ewell also would like to eliminate the 90-day limit on temporary appointments to permanent positions, however, the City Council has asked that some limit be placed.
That limit is being debated as city staff prepares what will most likely be two ballot measures for the council’s approval.
“This is not a power grab,” Ewell said.“This is about facilitating more accountability. That’s why I was hired.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 22, 2006. Read the original PDF.