Sonoma County's top administrator resigns

Sonoma County Administrator Bob Deis abruptly resigned Tuesday, saying he could not work with a fractured Board of Supervisors.

The five county supervisors took no vote during more than three hours of closed-door discussion of Deis’ job performance, sources said.

However, with Supervisors Valerie Brown and Shirlee Zane increasingly critical of his management following an election that had reshaped the board, Deis was encountering growing difficulty charting the county through budget and service cuts that often put him at odds with county employee unions.

Deis and supervisors jointly issued a statement saying they had agreed on a “mutual parting of the ways.”

“It is always understood in a position like mine that the Board of Supervisors could choose their own chief executive or county administrator,” Deis said. “The board has changed and will continue to change and as a result, we found a way to meet our mutual interests.”

Deis, 53, has been county administrator for five years and was a deputy administrator for four years before that. At an annual salary of about $236,000, he was one of the highest paid government officials in the North Coast.

Citing confidentiality provisions contained in the separation agreement, none of the supervisors were willing to elaborate on his departure.

He is leaving his post at noon today. Deis will receive pay and benefits for a limited amount of time specified under severance provisions of a contract that is effective through September 2013. Terms of that contract were not available late Tuesday.

Although Deis had increasingly encountered opposition from Zane and Brown, he still seemed to retain the support of Supervisors Paul Kelley, Mike Kerns and Carrillo. Carrillo was in Washington on county business on Tuesday and participated in discussions via telephone conferences.

Kelley, who had become a close friend and ally, said county government services had become more efficient under his leadership.

“I personally appreciated his leadership on issues that challenged the county,” Kelley said. “He was behind our Strategic Plan, our effort to get a handle on the criminal justice system and our effort to control employee benefits costs so they didn’t break the taxpayers.”

A statement issued by the full board also credited Deis with forcing Sutter Health to adhere to its contract for public health services and with improving the county’s system for road repairs.

Kelley said he was not concerned that Deis’ opponents would attempt to reverse wage and health benefit changes that had attracted intense opposition from retirees and public employee unions.

“Those changes are being implemented now and we are in negotiations for the next contracts,” Kelley said.

However, North Bay Labor Council executive director Lisa Maldonado said labor leaders welcomed news of Deis’ departure. The Service Employees International Union, which represents about 2,700 of the county’s 4,000 employees, has long fought with Deis over changes in health benefits that shifted more monthly premium costs on workers and retirees.

“He seemed to take an adversarial role when it came to negotiating with working families,” Maldonado said. “No, it is never too late to reverse what he did. I don’t think there is anything that can’t be undone.”

The announcement of Deis’ departure came late in the afternoon after supervisors had approved an annual budget that required $5 million in personnel and service cuts. Brown and Zane had opposed many of those cuts in social and public health services, while Kelley, Kerns and Carrilloo had sided with many of Deis’ recommendations.

For three hours in the morning, supervisors met in closed session, sometimes with Deis and other times discussing his job performance in his absence.

Then, after dispatching with routine sewer and road maintenance fees in the Canon Manor West area near Sonoma State, supervisors met again for another half hour and emerged with a two-page separation agreement.

The halls of the county administration complex were empty as word of Deis’ departure spread and office workers began chattering in hushed tones.

Former west county Supervisor Mike Reilly, who served 12 years, said he credits Deis with forcing supervisors to face up to difficult issues, while previous county administrators attempted to shield supervisors from having to make politically unpopular choices.

“He was the guy that brought hard issues to us and told us what was necessary to keep the ship afloat,” Reilly said. “I would be very worried that, without him, there is not going to be the leadership that the county needs.”