TheLiberalOC has learned that the consulting firm Management Partners, which currently has a contract with Santa Ana to work on budget issues, will be expanding its role to assisting retiring City Manager Dave Ream with day to day operations. Ream announced his retirement days after the last council meeting prompting a Special Closed Session meeting of the city council to address the transition. While Ream’s retirement was effective immediately, the council authorized the Mayor to execute a contract with Ream to keep him at City Hall until May 31, 2011 as interim City Manager.
We had heard rumor that a replacement for Ream was already selected the night of the special closed session meeting and his resignation. But the council action and statements by the Mayor after the meeting seemed to indicate that the rumor might not have been true.
Since then however, we have learned from several high ranking city officials that Cathy Standiford and Jan Perkins of Management Partners, both former Assistant City Managers for Santa Ana, will be assisting Ream in day to day operations in order to fill a void left by the recent resignation of Assistant City Manager Cindy Nelson and City Attorney Joseph Fletcher.
Our sources are indicating that this is a done deal, even though the council has not met or agendized discussion of the matter. On Friday, the closed session agenda for the March 21st meeting of the Council was amended to add City Manager to this item:
1DÂ Â Â Â PUBLIC EMPLOYEE EMPLOYMENT AND APPOINTMENT pursuant to
Government Code Section 54957(b)(1)
Title: City Attorney: and City Manager
Based upon what they placed on the agenda they could be talking about anything related to the City Attorney of City Manager positions including the appointment of an interim City Manager, to replace Ream. The information our sources have provided indicates that members of the City Council may have engaged in serial conversations regarding the expansion of the role of Management Partners in city operations and reached a consensus regarding an action prior to its discussion in a properly noticed meeting.
Those following Santa Ana politics and city operations should pay close attention to what comes out of Monday night’s closed session meeting. If you are unable to make it to the Police Community Room to see the meeting in person, you’ll have to wait for the video to be placed on the city website, possibly Tuesday but more than likely Wednesday, since this meeting will not be broadcast live.