Search for county’s next chief executive continues




IN LINE—Sevet Johnson, interim executive officer for Ventura County, tours the sheriff department’s new mobile incident command post vehicle in March. Johnson is considered to be in the running for the position of permanent county CEO. A decision is expected soon. MICHAEL COONS Acorn Newspapers

IN LINE—Sevet Johnson, interim executive officer for Ventura County, tours the sheriff department’s new mobile incident command post vehicle in March. Johnson is considered to be in the running for the position of permanent county CEO. A decision is expected soon. MICHAEL COONS Acorn Newspapers

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors could decide on the county’s next executive officer as early as next week.

The board is scheduled to discuss the topic in closed session at its Tues., Aug. 2 meeting, which begins at 8:30 a.m.

Sevet Johnson, chief deputy director of the county’s healthcare agency, has been serving in the role on an interim basis since March, shortly after former county CEO Mike Powers resigned.

Residents had an opportunity earlier this year to fill out an online survey ranking which skills and personality traits they felt were most important in the next CEO, but the selection will be made by the supervisors alone, county spokesperson Jackie Nuñez said.

“The CEO recruitment will be handled in a similar fashion as the county counsel and public defender recruitments in recent years,” Nuñez said. “The interviews and discussion will be done in closed session . . . with an announcement out of closed session once a final decision is made.”

The same firm that conducted the search to fill the county counsel position is conducting the CEO search. In late March, the supervisors voted 5-0 to hire Sacramento based CPS HR Consulting at a cost not to exceed $75,000, though county staff initially suggested a limit of $40,000.

“We don’t want to overspend, but we don’t want to underspend, either,” board chair Carmen Ramirez said at the time.

Once the five-member Board of Supervisors can come to an agreement behind closed doors on the next CEO, a public meeting will be scheduled to take the official vote, Nuñez said

Powers, who served as county CEO for over a decade, stepped down in March after being placed on paid leave amid a sexual harassment and workplace discrimination investigation. He and the county are now facing a lawsuit from his accuser.

Whoever is named to the position will be responsible for overseeing a $2.4-billion budget, 10,000 employees and 27 agencies and departments, including sheriff and fire.

Health agency hire

In other county employee news, this month the county named Scott Gilman to lead its behavioral health department, one of Johnson’s former roles.

Gilman will lead the county’s continuum of coordinated mental health and substance use services and oversee a staff of over 800 employees and a department budget of $254 million.

Gilman most recently served as the director of behavioral health and recovery services for the County of San Mateo, where he strategized a countywide Mental Health First Aid Training initiative aimed at championing and addressing mental health wellness, anti-stigma, early intervention and suicide awareness collectively with local cities.

“Throughout Mr. Gilman’s 30-year career, he has demonstrated innovation when charged with developing and implementing new initiatives,” said Barry Zimmerman, County Health Care Agency director. “This will serve our agency and community well as we navigate these new statewide efforts to improve access and quality of care.”