Sonoma County Administrator Veronica Ferguson announces retirement

Veronica Ferguson will be one of the highest paid county retirees with an annual pension greater than her $242,000 salary.|

Sonoma County Administrator Veronica Ferguson, known for a tough leadership style that at times has put her at odds with some members of the Board of Supervisors and the county’s rank-and-file workers, has announced plans to retire after serving six years in the county’s top executive post.

Ferguson, 59, notified supervisors May 10 in a closed session meeting of her plans to step down in October. A letter went out to leaders of the county’s two dozen departments Wednesday.

The decision comes in the wake of intense scrutiny over Ferguson’s job performance by supervisors, who are in charge of hiring the county administrator. The board earlier this year ordered a rare and expansive evaluation of Ferguson’s job performance, the second such review in her tenure.

Ferguson said Thursday that her decision to retire was one that “works for the Board of Supervisors and it works for me.”

“It allows me to leave on my own terms,” she said.

Ferguson said she planned to work until the end of October and officially retire February 3, a schedule that will exhaust her accrued vacation while also making her eligible for the county’s maximum pension benefit.

Ferguson’s tenure in recent months was marked by criticism - leveled by some members of the Board of Supervisors and rank-and-file county employees - over a leadership style that some have characterized as stern and overly aggressive.

In a phone interview Thursday, Ferguson said the job of county administrator demands strong leadership. Her primary responsibility is management and oversight of the county’s $1.45 billion budget.

“There are times when a person leading a billion-dollar organization needs to be dominant and make strong decisions,” Ferguson said. “When I thought that was appropriate, that’s the path I took.

“I’m very proud of having come in during the great recession and managed the county in a fiscally sound way that we were able to deliver quality services while cutting our organization by 20 percent.”

Ferguson’s retirement date is one day after her 60th birthday, which qualifies her for the maximum pension benefit. She is set to be one of the highest paid county retirees, with an annual pension greater than her salary. In 2015, she earned $242,208.

The county’s highest paid retiree, Rod Dole, the former auditor-controller-treasurer-tax collector, earns a pension of $254,600.

Ferguson said she has been thinking about retiring for the past few years, although in discussing her future with the county just three months ago, she said she had no such plans.

“I’ve thought about it, and people who retire earlier live healthier happier lives,” she said Thursday.

Supervisors on Feb. 16 ordered a forensic-level review of Ferguson’s job performance, a more thorough process that followed a series of regular closed-session reviews throughout 2015.

Ferguson said Thursday that her decision to retire was not linked to the review of her job performance. County officials would not release that review because it is considered a confidential personnel matter.

The additional scrutiny has surfaced in public discussions over budget matters, staffing for an independent office tasked with law enforcement review and other high-profile issues that have dogged county government of late.

That list includes the failure of Measure A, the disputed sales tax increase to support road repair, and a prolonged public standoff amid contract negotiations with the Service Employees’ International Union Local 1021, the county’s largest union representing more than half of its 4,100-member workforce.

Ferguson’s retirement also follows revelations that a prominent Sonoma County official, Jim Leddy, was rehired while he was the subject of an active state investigation into sexual harassment allegations at his previous job in Mono County.

Ferguson, a former Solano County assistant administrator, is the first woman to hold the county’s top executive post and the first county administrator hired from outside county ranks since 1985. She took over in 2010 after the surprise resignation of Bob Deis, the former county administrator who hit a rough patch with the board in 2009 after confronting employee unions and retirees over limiting health care benefits.

Ferguson started her job during a major shakeup in the chain of command of county leadership. In 2010, most of the county’s 25 departments were reorganized. All but seven departments now report directly to the Board of Supervisors. Ferguson oversees three county departments, including Fire Services, Information Systems and General Services. The remaining four departments are elected offices.

She said the county will begin recruiting for her new position immediately. The Board of Supervisors is expected to hire Ferguson’s replacement before she transitions into retirement on Oct. 31.

“I’m really excited for retirement. We were able to achieve a lot over the past six years as a high-performing team,” Ferguson said. “For the past 37 years I’ve been getting up and going to work from 7 in the morning until God knows when. I’ll have my own time now and I’m looking forward to that.”

You can reach Staff Writer Angela Hart at 526-8503 or angela.hart@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ahartreports.

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