Based on gleaming early impressions this week, the affair between Culver City and Interim City Manager Lamont Ewell will resemble an old-fashioned summer romance:
After a few sunshiney weeks, it is over.
School resumes, the old crowd is back and the summertime goosebumps recede.
But during the four months the 56-year-old retiree has signed up for, it promises to be a fun ride, underpinned by Mr. Ewell’s pinpoint professionalism, efficient manner and crackling candor.
He won his first blue ribbon for promptly bringing back former Chief Financial Officer Jeff Muir on the second full day after he succeeded Mark Scott. That is practically violating the speed limit. Weeks and weeks ago, Mr. Muir and City Hall began talking about returning to Culver City after he departed — for good reasons — last September.
Mr. Scott could not reel him in.
When Mr. Ewell sat down with the newspaper last Monday afternoon, hours before his first City Council meeting, he indicated the Muir agreement was about to happen — or it would not. No more tarrying. The implication was negotiations were virtually over. They would end in victory or defeat, but they would end, it appeared.
You always want to reserve wiggle-room for yourself, say City Hall observers. But Mr. Ewell’s unambiguous stance denoted a clear-thinking, resolute administrator.
Not that City Hall ever has been a redoubt for casual cads who look as if they just strolled in from the nearest Gap, but Mr. Ewell smartly strikes an archly professional pose.
Starched white shirt, elegantly knotted, properly conservative necktie, he is medium tall, spare, his demeanor is pitched to an exact degree of seriousness, and, happily, he is quite accessible.
Question: What is your mission for the next 16 weeks — to be a seatholder, to represent a continuation of policies Mr. Scott was in the process of establishing, or to be something separate and different?
Mr. Ewell: “Perhaps a combination of all of the above. I want to further some of the efforts of Mark and focus my attention on some of the bigger issues, the budget and shortfall. It is $3 million, but it could be even more in the current year. Then we anticipate a structural deficit going into next year. I am trying to devise plans with staff for getting rid of the structural deficit over the next two-year period so the city is in good health.”
In January, Mr. Scott discussed early retirement, golden parachutes, for 12 to 16 manager-types to help narrow the deficit. Where does that plan stand?
“Several have availed themselves of the opportunity. The number, I believe, is 14, and there may be a few more. The window is open a little longer.”
What is the next step in that strategic area?
“We would have to assess the financial benefit as people leave. That would be the starting point. What ever that number is, we then have a delta that we would apply toward next year’s budget to close the gap. That is where I will focus my attention.”
Have you developed a list of priorities that need to be attained?
Laughing heartily, he said that “this is Day 3. I still am going through the assessment phase. I have been meeting with all of the department heads, the senior management staff. I have started meeting with each of the Councilmembers individually. The first one was this morning. I hope to finish all of them this week.
“These meetings are open exchanges of thoughts and ideas. With the Council, I am seeking a better understanding of expectations, where they see some of the major issues because they have been here and they understand.
“I am meeting one-on-one with all of the department heads the following week. In the course of these discussions, I also am meeting with budget staff on a daily basis. So I will start to get a good sense of what the needs are.
“Clearly, the one key focus — not the only one — is around the budget. We will build around that. I like reminding people the budget is one piece. It certainly is a major driver. But there are other issues that deserve attention. There is a city to be run on a day-to-day basis.”
Coming fresh into Culver City barely two months after retiring as the City Manager of Santa Monica, how long does it take you to become acclimated and comfortable? You have been doing this for many years, which would help. But every city is different.
“Since I have been doing this for some time, I have a style or a pattern I put out there that gives me instant comfort because I am looking at key things I have always found to be very important:
“The financial status of the city. What are the major projects the city is moving toward? What are some of the key threats for the city? In this case, it is the federal and state governments and what they easily could do to hurt this community in terms of shifting revenue. Internal issues we need to pay attention to. Major litigation. All of those things. I go down the check list, get a good sense of the critical issues. Then, I plan around that.
“To answer your question, within the next two weeks, I think I will have a good sense of direction.”
Is there any possibility you could be interested in staying?
“No. There are a lot of reasons. When I met with the Council and we talked about the possibility of me coming here, I told them I did not have a desire to stay long term. I do have a desire to help them find the right fit for this organization because I think it is such a great city. The reason I chose to come out of retirement is because it is one of the Westside COG (Council of Government) cities. I consider it a premier city.
“Long term, had I wanted to stay in this line of work, I would have stayed in Santa Monica.”
Will the City Council continue to meet on an almost occasional Monday night basis compared to years past?
“At present, it will continue in its current format, three times a month. I don’t want to scare anyone, but my general sense is they probably could get the work of the city done every other week, and meet twice a month. But it does require a conversation, and making the public aware their needs are being met. But that issue is not a high priority for me. That is for the next city manager.”
