County Government Reshuffle Creates 5 New Agencies, Jobs

Five new agencies have been created as part of a reorganization of county government, Chief Administrative Office Norman W. Hickey announced Wednesday.

Hickey, who is San Diego County’s top executive, said the restructuring will “streamline” the bureaucracy and tighten up the “loosely structured” county government system that he inherited 18 months ago. Heads of the new agencies will report to Hickey.

Two of the new posts will be filled by members of Hickey’s executive staff, and two will be filled by outside executives hired by the county, including Rear Adm. Bruce R. Boland, 54, who retired in August as commander of the San Diego Naval Base.

Boland will head the Office for External Affairs, which will include coordinating with the federal government and Mexican officials any border issues that affect the county. He also will also be involved in international trade and economic issues that affect the county. He will assume his post before the end of the year.

The other appointees:

- David E. Janssen, 42, assistant chief administrative officer since 1983, will head the Office of Regional Services. Regional Services will encompass the areas of human services, public services and criminal justice affairs, which include the departments of Social Services, Registrar of Voters and the Coroner. Janssen will keep his current title.

- Lari I. Sheehan, 42, deputy chief administrative officer since 1985, will retain the same title and assume responsibility for the Office of Municipal Services. This office includes the departments of Planning and Land Use, Public Works and the library.

- Randall C. Bacon, 50, director of the Department of Social Services since 1981, will become a deputy chief administrative officer and lead the Office of Internal Support Services. Bacon will be in charge of the areas of financial and fiscal services, human resources, information systems and general services. Bacon, who is black, will be the county’s point man in affirmative action, labor relations, and purchasing and contracting.

- June Komar, 39, currently acting administrator of Washtenaw County, Mich., will head the Office of Policy, Planning and Institutional Development. She is expected to begin her post as a deputy chief administrative officer on Oct. 19. She also will lead the county’s still-to-be-formed Policy Councils. The councils will include elected officials, selected county officials and private citizens. The groups will study issues in the areas of health and human services, criminal justice, economic resources and the environment, Hickey said.

Bacon will trade jobs with Richard W. Jacobsen Jr., who has been a deputy chief administrative officer since 1983. Jacobsen, 43, will head the Department of Social Services, the largest county department with 2,000 employees and a budget of $467 million.

Hickey said the reorganization plan has received the Board of Supervisors’ approval and will become effective Oct. 5. He said he expects to hire another executive within six months to help Janssen in the Office of Regional Services. Regional Services is considered the most influential of the five agencies because it deals with major issues like health and welfare, the criminal justice system and county elections.

The new posts will pay $75,000 to $95,000 a year, but county officials said that Komar and Boland have yet to agree on a salary. Under Hickey’s plan, the various department heads will report directly to their respective agency head. Department heads now report to Hickey.