Strife continues among Oakland officials.

Byline: Karen McCowan The Register-Guard

OAKLAND - With ballots for their recall election already in the hands of city voters, the mayor and three councilors Tuesday night approved what they called a resignation agreement with Police Chief Norm Counts.

Counts called the council's announcement "premature," however, when reached after the meeting.

"I haven't signed off on anything yet," he said, adding that he and his attorney "may have a little surprise for them in a few days."

A fourth council member, Council President Andrea Botwinick, abstained, saying she had been unable to attend a nonpublic session Tuesday afternoon to discuss the settlement. She is not up for recall.

Friction between Counts and the four elected officials - Mayor Nanci Staples and councilors Jana Cunningham, Bette Keehley and Linda West - dominated allegations on petitions circulated by recall proponents. Among them: That the four attempted to fire Counts without cause, wasted tax dollars on legal and investigative fees and interfered with police department operations.

Before Tuesday night's 4-0 vote, Staples read a prepared statement summarizing the settlement allegedly negotiated by attorneys for the city and Counts.

In it, she said Counts had agreed to resign, effective Tuesday, in exchange for $11,807 in severance pay as called for under his contract. Other terms of the deal include a $10,000 settlement to Counts by the city's insurance carrier and "mutual releases" stipulating no lawsuits between Counts, the city and council members. Finally, Staples said, Counts agreed not to apply for any job with the city for at least one year.

On the advice of Robert Franz, the attorney hired by the insurance company to represent the city in the Counts matter, council members had no additional comment Tuesday night. A copy of the agreement will not be available until all parties have signed it, Franz said.

Counts' latest tenure as Oakland Police Chief dates back to a previous recall election two years ago, when he was hired by a former mayor and two city councilors just before they were voted out of office for firing his predecessor, Dale Shaw. Counts had resigned under pressure during a previous term as Oakland's chief in the 1990s.

Two council members who remained after the 2005 recall were so bitterly divided over that issue that they could never agree to appoint replacements for the removed officials. Nor could they agree on whether to extend or terminate Counts' contract when it came up for renewal last fall.

An entirely new City Council was elected in November 2006. Among its first acts was to schedule a January dismissal hearing for Counts. He responded by filing notice in February of his intent to sue the city for $200,000 in damages, alleging wrongful termination.

The four officials now facing recall disagreed on whether the presumed settlement would affect the outcome of the Sept. 18 vote.

"Having resolution to this should help us," West said.

But Cunningham disagreed. "I suspect the die-hards on either side have already voted," she said.