Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/12/2010 07:24:36 PM PST

Ontario City Manager Greg Devereaux was appointed the new San Bernardino County Administrative Officer on Tuesday following a closed-door meeting and interview with the Board of Supervisors.

As Ontario’s city manager of 12 years, Devereaux, 58, helped bolster the city’s economy, build its cash reserves and launch several successful redevelopment projects.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Gary Ovitt called Devereaux “a man of tremendous credibility and talent” who is on the cutting edge of land use planning.

“As we look to the future of our county, I think it’s important we look at our managerial leadership,” Ovitt said during Tuesday’s board meeting. “I see great things in store for us.”

Devereaux’s appointment culminated weeks of negotiations with the board and swirling rumors that Devereaux would replace Mark Uffer, who the board abruptly fired Nov. 17 without cause.

The county launched a recruitment drive across Southern California for Uffer’s replacement on Dec. 1 and received 277 applications. At least a dozen applicants qualified for the job.

But in the end, Devereaux was the only candidate interviewed.

Devereaux said he began negotiating with the county about three weeks ago and applied for the job last week.

He will begin his new job Feb. 13 and receive the same salary he received in Ontario, $305,000 a year.

Under a 10-year contract with the county, he has the option of stepping down as CAO after five years to serve as special advisor on projects and fiscal matters for $91,000 annually. Should Devereaux decide he wants to continue on as CAO instead, and the board agrees, he will be allowed to do so for another five years, county spokesman David Wert said.

Unlike Uffer, who as an exempt employee was fired without cause, the board cannot take such action with Devereaux. The board will only be able to fire Deveraux if it can show a justifiable cause for termination, and termination must be approved by a four-fifths vote, according to the contract.

Devereaux said his fist order of business will be to familiarize himself with the county’s $4 billion budget. Among the projects he will help get off the ground is the new county government center, proposed for the site of the Carousel Mall in downtown San Bernardino.

“My whole career has been based on big start ups and big fix ups,” Devereaux said.

Keeping the county budget in line, creating jobs and improving health care are top priorities, he said.

Among his many accomplishments, Ovitt cited Devereaux’s role in the development of the Ontario Mills Mall, generating additional income and jobs in Ontario and saving Fontana from bankruptcy in the 1990s by bringing its budget in line.

Devereaux’s appointment was lauded by county supervisors and union leaders.

Bob Blough, general manager for the San Bernardino Public Employees Association (SBPEA), which represents 16,000 county employees, said in a statement that Deveraux will be key in helping the county get its more than $80 million budget shortfall in line.

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