Four Los Angeles County government executives who retired or resigned since 2010 received tens of thousands of dollars in severance pay historically reserved for employees who were fired, a Times review found.
Chief Executive William T Fujioka's office authorized the nearly $400,000 in severance payments, according to documents obtained through the state Public Records Act. Fujioka's office told The Times in 2010 that severance was provided only if a department head's termination was initiated by a public vote of the Board of Supervisors.
A spokeswoman for Auditor-Controller Wendy Watanabe, who writes the checks for the county, said the money was issued at the oral direction of Fujioka's office. She said there were no public documents explaining the rationale in each case.
In response to written questions seeking an explanation for the payments, Watanabe and Fujioka provided a copy of the department head contract that authorizes severance equal to six months' pay "in the event that county terminates this agreement."
Donald Blevins, who oversaw the Probation Department for a year before voluntarily resigning in the fall of 2011, said that he felt the $113,500 in severance pay he received was deserved but that he was somewhat surprised to receive it without having been fired.
"L.A. County doesn't do business like everyone else," he said.
In Orange County, for instance, severance packages for most non-elected department heads who quit cannot exceed 90 days of pay and benefits. San Diego County executives may receive up to six months of severance pay, but only one has received that much in the last five years, officials said. Riverside County does not offer severance pay to department heads who quit.
Not all department chiefs in Los Angeles County received severance money upon departure. The money was used in some cases to entice executives with problematic tenures to leave, according to three county officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing confidential personnel matters.
It is not clear why the cases were not submitted to the board for a vote. The five county supervisors declined to comment on the payments.
Blevins had received public criticism from the board for the slow pace of reform at the Probation Department, which for many years, had been under federal scrutiny for the misuse of force against juvenile offenders and for poor supervision of employees. Federal reports said that more than 2,000 youth offenders in 19 detention camps had been imperiled by broken systems for mental health care, use of force, suicide prevention and transition services upon release.
Blevins said he was happy to move on from county employment. "I'd rather have lower blood pressure than constantly dealing with headaches," he said.
His predecessor, Robert Taylor, retired in 2010 after facing similar criticism. He received $93,000 upon his departure. Before Taylor left, county Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said, "It is not a secret that the Probation Department is in shambles."
The Times reported at the time that probation employees had faced 102 allegations of officer misconduct involving youths at the county's halls and camps over the previous three years. In 2007, under Taylor's tenure, a probation officer was caught on tape beating a youth in a juvenile hall recreation room and was later convicted of battery.
Former county Human Resources Director Mike Henry received $100,000 when he departed after months of criticism for his handling of a student worker program.
In the months preceding his departure, Henry acknowledged that many participants in the program for high school and college students had worked for years without attending any classes. At the same time, a "strike team" had to be formed to address significant numbers of employees with lengthy, unexplained absences.
Dennis Tafoya, former director of the Affirmative Action Compliance office, received $65,000 when he resigned. County officials described it as a routine departure.
Taylor, Henry and Tafoya could not be reached for comment.
County employees have faced years of pay freezes since 2009, a trade-off the unions accepted in lieu of layoffs or furloughs.
Rank-and-file staff do not receive severance pay when they leave county service, nor do most department heads who resign or retire. The county's highly regarded fire chief, P. Michael Freeman, ended his 21-year career in 2011 with no special severance, for example.
"That's the way it should be," said Robert Stern, former president of the watchdog Center for Governmental Studies. "Why is someone getting six months' severance if they are just moving on? I'm sure the case where the severance was paid, there was more going on, but there should be a paper trail for the public to understand that."
garrett.therolf@latimes.com
jason.song@latimes.com
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