ORANGE COUNTY IN BANKRUPTCY : Replacement CEO Won’t Be a Replicate : Search: Supervisors say whoever takes Popejoy’s place will have to be much more willing to take orders.

SANTA ANA — The next chief executive officer of Orange County will come from California, earn $135,000 to $145,000 a year and be required to dutifully carry out the policies of the Board of Supervisors.

Or else.

That’s the job description for the person who succeeds William J. Popejoy on a full-time basis. In a scathing resignation letter delivered Wednesday, Popejoy said he was leaving effective July 31 because the board was getting more deeply involved in managing the county’s day-to-day affairs and rendering his position powerless at the most critical time in the county’s history.

In reverting to the management structure that existed before he arrived, the board is making the mistake of not allowing a new chief executive to do what is necessary to eventually pull the county out of bankruptcy, Popejoy predicted.

Board Chairman Gaddi H. Vasquez said a search is underway and a permanent replacement could be in place by the end of the month or by early August. Other county officials believe the timetable is too optimistic and that after Popejoy is gone, Tom Uram, the county Health Care Agency director, will fill in on an interim basis.

Uram had been acting county administrator until Popejoy arrived in February.

“To me, a CEO is a county official who is the chief administrator of county government and ensures that the day-to-day function and policies are carried out as approved by the Board of Supervisors,” Vasquez said. “I am a CEO proponent. We are looking for someone who has experience with a CEO form of government and with a strong financial background.”

Vasquez said the search, being conducted by the New York based-recruiting firm of Heidrick & Struggles, will be limited to California because of its unique structure of government. He said no process for developing a short list of prospects or when hopefuls might be interviewed had yet been discussed.

One possible candidate was Sally Reed, the county administrative officer in Los Angeles County. Reed said Wednesday that although she had been contacted by Heidrick & Struggles three or four weeks ago, she had already told the firm she had no interest in the Orange County job because of the ongoing budget crisis in Los Angeles County.

“I have my hands full right now,” said Reed, who earns about $200,000 in salary and benefits. “They’ve got a different kind of mess down there. It’s going to be very tough to find the right person. The board down there has got to come together with some cohesiveness and find out where they agree and then develop a blueprint for the chief executive to carry out.”

Supervisor William G. Steiner said he is looking for someone “who has an intimate knowledge of how government works but has a private-sector business mentality.”

Despite clashes with Popejoy, Steiner said he has no interest in returning to the chief administrative officer setup in which department heads reported to the county supervisors instead of the top administrator. That structure was abandoned when Popejoy volunteered to temporarily take on the duties of chief executive officer during the financial crisis.

But Steiner and other supervisors want themselves--the elected officials--to set policy and are counting on the chief executive to implement it.

Supervisor Marian Bergeson likewise said she is looking for someone who understands government but has management experience in the private sector.

“We have to have . . . someone who is incredibly talented in management, who works well not only with employees but also with the community.”

Bergeson said she has no specific people in mind, nor does she know what type of resume would combine the government-business experience she desires. “You know what it is when you see it,” she said.

But she said the ideal candidate would be far different than the departing one.

At the time Popejoy took the job, she said, “we were looking for someone who would come in and make decisions, someone who would not worry about the difficulties and instead just get the job done. Now we’re looking for a visionary, someone who can work with people over time.”

Supervisor Jim Silva has scheduled an emergency closed session meeting for today to discuss the selection of a replacement. Silva envisions a different title for the top job--chief operating officer--a position essentially the same as the CEO but more obligated to carry out the will of the supervisors.

“You don’t get to sit back and make decisions and second-guess people,” Silva said. “In government, the board sets policy to be carried out. In business, the CEO sets policy. This is government, a democracy.”