COUNCIL APPROVES ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER.

Byline: Deborah Sullivan Staff Writer

The Los Angeles City Council voted 10-0 Friday to ratify the selection of William Fujioka as city administrative officer.

Mayor Richard Riordan nominated Fujioka a month ago for the post, which plays a central role in the city budget, negotiates labor contracts, audits city departments and coordinates the emergency management program.

The CAO also will have a key position in charter reform efforts and the city's role in the San Fernando Valley cityhood study.

Fujioka, 46, has been the general manager of the city Personnel Department for 2-1/2 years. He previously was a hospital administrator and human resources manager for Los Angeles County.

His new salary, $186,000 a year, will be less than the $197,000 his predecessor, Keith Comrie, was paid after two decades as CAO. But it's still enough to make Fujioka one of Los Angeles' highest-paid city officials, behind the police and fire chiefs, harbor and airport heads, and Chief Legislative Analyst Ron Deaton.

Fujioka said his goal will be to develop a strong collaborative relationship between his office and city departments.

To foster understanding, he said he will encourage his staff to develop hands-on knowledge of the departments they represent.

``I feel the CAO should be a service agency,'' he said. ``I want to encourage staff to contact each department they're assigned to and ask how we can help them do a better job and become more efficient.''

David Diaz, a Cal State Northridge professor of urban studies and Chicano studies, said the new CAO will serve as the council's institutional memory after term limits force longtime council members to leave office.

``Mr. Fujioka will provide integrity and honesty, and with term limits the importance of this position will become more significant,'' said Diaz.