BUYOUTS SHOW COST OF CITY JOBS.

Byline: Rick Orlov Daily News Staff Writer

Offering rare insight into why the city of Los Angeles routinely pays top managers to retire or resign, Mayor Richard Riordan said Monday that he convinced the parks manager to step down by offering her a one-year, $200,000 consulting contract.

The city has spent more than $1.2 million since 1990 to buy out at least 11 city bureaucrats, most of whom were pressured to quit or were fired because of poor performance.

In the case of Jackie Tatum, general manager of the Department of Parks and Recreation, Riordan contends he was forced into ``back-room lobbying'' because he cannot remove managers himself and didn't think he could muster enough votes on the City Council.

``I talked to every council member and they agreed, but I wasn't sure there would be the votes there. So I did some back-room lobbying, and we worked out the contract,'' Riordan said. ``We offered her a contract to be a consultant on a quid pro quo for her leaving.''

Riordan's spokeswoman said such buyouts actually save the city money by preventing dismissed employees from suing.

``But the bigger picture, at the end of the day, is to give the mayor the authority to hire and fire department heads,'' said mayoral spokeswoman Noelia Rodriguez. ``That's the key to developing accountability.''

As one of the proposals to be presented to voters next year, the elected Charter Reform Commission is recommending that the mayor be empowered to fire department managers.

Councilwoman Laura Chick, however, said the city already has powers to remove department managers who are not performing.

``We have the power where the mayor sets goals and objectives and it's reviewed by council,'' Chick said. ``That allows you to make a direct route to remove general managers who aren't performing.''

Chick said she also distrusted the use of buyouts.

``I'm not from the private sector where these come from, but it seems to me it's better to reward someone for performance and remove those who aren't performing up to standard,'' she said.

Riordan said he had no choice but to offer Tatum a buyout.

``In Recreation and Parks, we had a situation everyone recognized wasn't working well,'' said Riordan, who as a parks commissioner in 1992 selected Tatum as general manager.

In June, Tatum agreed to the consulting contract in which she would continue to work for the city but not as general manager.

One of her top assistants, Rick Sessinghaus, is serving as interim general manager until a permanent department head is selected.

Tatum, who had been paid $147,329 a year as general manager, did not return telephone calls.

Tatum is one in a series of high-ranking city officials offered consulting contracts in return for their resignation or early retirement, under Riordan and former Mayor Tom Bradley. Among these were former Community Redevelopment Agency chief John Tuite, Zoo Director Mark Goldstein, Animal Services Director Gary Olsen and, perhaps the most famous, former Police Chief Willie L. Williams.

Riordan would not detail specific complaints about Tatum, but other officials, on the condition of anonymity, said she had a habit of promising programs and projects and never following through.

At the time of her departure, Riordan had issued a statement praising her years of service and hoping she would be able to bring in money to the city from private companies.

Parks Commission President Steve Soboroff said she has been doing that and that he would continue to make sure she did perform her consulting work.

``The mayor wanted to see a change,'' Soboroff said. ``But I'll make sure we get our money's worth out of her. She's already done a lot of work with companies like Nike and Reebok to get them to pay for projects, such as refinishing gym floors.

CITY BUYOUTS

Top city managers who have been offered buyouts have included:

Gary Olsen, director, Department of Animal Services; $100,000 consulting contract, despite questions about leadership.

Willie L. Williams, chief, Los Angeles Police Department; $375,000 buyout, including $173,000 one-year consulting contract to pre-empt a lawsuit.

Robert Horii, city engineer; took eight-month, $104,000 contract in 1996.

Susan Herman, general manager, Telecommunications Department; $104,000 contract after her job was eliminated in a merger.

Mark Goldstein, director, Los Angeles Zoo; $90,000, nine-month consulting contract to pre-empt a lawsuit.

Ben Bycel, executive director, Los Angeles Ethics Commission; $51,751 consulting contract to pre-empt a lawsuit.

Kenneth Topping, director, Planning Department; $220,000, 18-month contract after resigning amid pressure.

Leonard Rittenberg, city treasurer; $50,000, six-month consulting contract after disclosure of financial irregularities with city deposits.

John Tuite, administrator, Community Redevelopment Agency; $917,000 severance package after pressure to step down.

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Box: City buyouts (see text)