Jeffrey Van Wagenen Jr. Tapped As CEO Of Riverside County

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — The Board of Supervisors next week is expected to formally approve a contract naming a county assistant executive officer as the new chief executive officer, who was selected following a national recruiting effort.

Jeffrey Van Wagenen Jr., 48, of Riverside, a county employee for the last 10 years, is slated to officially take over the top administrative post immediately after the board signs off on the employment agreement, on which the public will have an opportunity to comment during Tuesday's meeting at the County Administrative Center.

The terms of the compact were expected to be disclosed later Friday or Monday.

"After doing a competitive, nationwide recruitment, I am pleased that one of our Riverside County residents will be our next CEO," Board Chairwoman Karen Spiegel said. "Jeff has been a driving force within the county and built a strong reputation for collaborative solutions to tough problems."

Van Wagenen stepped forward as a candidate for the CEO position after George Johnson announced his retirement in September. Johnson left in mid- December, and since then, Transportation & Land Management Agency Director Juan Perez has served as interim CEO.

Instead of quickly naming a successor to Johnson, the board approved a $50,000 contract to retain a Sacramento-based executive recruiting firm to conduct a search for prospects, and in early January, eight finalists, including Van Wagenen, were interviewed.

Van Wagenen was chosen in a unanimous vote during a closed session of the board on Thursday, according to the Executive Office.

Prior to entering county service, Van Wagenen was a defense attorney and was part of the county registry of lawyers able to be appointed in lieu of public defenders when the latter had conflicts or case loads that prohibited them from taking cases, including capital murders.

Van Wagenen was added to the public payroll in 2011 when then-District Attorney Paul Zellerbach hired him to be his chief of staff. Zellerbach left office in December 2014, and soon after, Van Wagenen was hired to fill several positions in the county Economic Development Agency. Since then, he has worked in other capacities, most recently in the assistant county CEO role overseeing public safety agencies.

"The hard work of the county is done in our departments everyday by our dedicated staff," he said. "I am honored to serve the board on behalf of the 2.5 million people who choose to call Riverside County home."

The new executive officer's salary will fall anywhere between $262,821 and $413,826 per year. The position requires directing all budgetary matters, recommending and implementing policy changes and resolving inter-departmental conflicts.

The county is facing financial challenges stemming from the public health lockdowns that have eaten into tax receipts which would otherwise be available as general fund revenue. The reserve pool has already been whittled down from $259 million at the start of the current fiscal year to $218 million now.

During budget hearings in June, there was open discussion about the potential for layoffs by the start of fiscal year 2021-22. However, details are still scarce, and more information is expected to be presented during the midyear budget report, due out anytime.