SUPERVISORS CHOOSE NEW ADMINISTRATOR; MANAGER HAS HAD 30 YEARS EXPERIENCE WITH GOVERNMENT.Byline: David Greenberg The creator of this article, or someone who has substantially contributed to it, may have a conflict of interest regarding its subject matter. It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia's content policies, particularly neutral point of view. Staff Writer Ventura County's new chief administrative officer A chief administrative officer (CAO) is responsible for administrative management of private, public or governmental corporations. The CAO is one of the highest ranking members of an organization, managing daily operations and usually reporting directly to the chief executive , the top county administrator in Stockton with nearly 30 years of government experience, was praised Tuesday as supervisors unanimously voted to hire him for the $157,788-a-year job. David L. Baker said it was too soon to say how he will tackle the financial and other problems from last year's failed behavioral health Behavioral health was first used in the 1980's to name the combination of the fields mental health and substance abuse. As an example, an organization serving both mental health and substance abuse clients might refer to its practice as behavioral health or and social services social services Noun, pl welfare services provided by local authorities or a state agency for people with particular social needs social services npl → servicios mpl sociales agency merger, but pledged to work hard for the county. ``I'll be working my tail off to do a good job for Ventura County,'' said Baker in brief remarks following the vote. Supervisor John Flynn noted Baker's ``moral courage'' for coming to Ventura County, while Supervisor Judy Mikels praised his qualifications. ``You will definitely be an asset to the county,'' Mikels told Baker. ``We all stand ready to welcome you.'' He is to take the position Nov. 22. Supervisors had been irked by media reports that made known the names of candidates who were being considered during the search for a new CAO, worried it could damage a candidate's standing with employers unaware of their plans. Mikels has been upset by what she said was a false report that supervisors voted 5-0 in closed session two weeks ago to offer Baker the job, and made her stance known at Tuesday's meeting. ``There is your 5-0 vote,'' she said, garnering applause from the audience. Although the board unanimously agreed to offer Baker the job after a first round of interviews with eight finalists from 65 applicants statewide, one supervisor stressed that no official vote was taken until Tuesday. Baker, however, had already revealed to San Joaquin San Joaquin (săn wäkēn`), river, c.320 mi (510 km) long, rising in the Sierra Nevada, E Calif., and flowing W then N through the S Central Valley to form a large delta with the Sacramento River near Suisun Bay, an arm of San Francisco Bay. County supervisors that he was vying vy·ing v. Present participle of vie. vying vie to replace Lin Koester, who retired as Ventura County's CAO last month. Supervisor Kathy Long added, ``Not every vote will be a 5-0 vote, (but) we have a board that does work well together.'' The salary represents a sizable pay hike for the administrator, who currently earns top-scale pay of $128,000 a year as chief administrator of San Joaquin County - a position he has held since January 1994. Baker, 50, who is married with three adult children, ages 24, 22, and 18, views his new position as a career advancement opportunity, and a chance to live closer to relatives in the Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, area. He said he does not expect to find a house by Nov. 22 and will likely make use of a $1,000-a-month stipend sti·pend n. A fixed and regular payment, such as a salary for services rendered or an allowance. [Middle English stipendie, from Old French, from Latin st in his contract to rent a west-county apartment. That clause expires in three months. ``I don't want to be too far away from the county government center,'' Baker said. During his free time, he said he likes to bass fish in his ``modest'' boat and read a nonfiction or fiction book every two weeks. ``There's so much reading in county government that sometimes you're burned out,'' Baker said. Baker will take the helm of the county, overseeing a $955 million budget and 7,200-employee work force - larger than San Joaquin County with a $770 million budget and 6,500 workers. He will also step into the county's ongoing efforts to deal with the failed merger of the behavioral health and social services departments. The county has already agreed to repay the federal government $15.3 million for faulty Medicare billing, while the state Department of Mental Health has withheld $5.4 million in Systems of Care funding. That Baker took the job in light of the health care debacle impressed supervisors. ``I'm very proud that you decided to come to Ventura County,'' said Supervisor John Flynn, who also pointed out Baker's good record in hiring minorities. ``You really showed a lot of moral courage.'' CAPTION(S): 2 Photos Photo: (1--Color) David Baker David Baker may refer to:
(2 -- Color in Verb 1. color in - add color to; "The child colored the drawings"; "Fall colored the trees"; "colorize black and white film" color, colorise, colorize, colour in, colourise, colourize, colour Conejo only) David Baker is the new chief administrative officer. Michael Owen
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