BELL GARDENS : 4th City Manager in 3 Years Named

After five months without a top administrator, the city has a new manager--its fourth in three years.

Charles M. Trevino, a water district board member and a former Los Angeles city housing employee, took the job Monday.

The City Council voted 3 to 0 to hire Trevino, approving a one-year contract at a salary of $105,000.

Councilmen George T. Deitch and Frank Duran, who were absent when the council approved the contract July 21, gave their verbal support to Trevino at last week’s council meeting.

Trevino, 47, is secretary of the board of directors of the Central Basin Municipal Water District. He was a rent investigator and management analyst for the Los Angeles Housing Department until resigning to become city manager.

“My style of management is hands-on,” said Trevino, who added that his board position at the water district will not interfere with his work in the city. “I don’t want to spend a lot of time in the office. I’m not afraid of rolling up my sleeves and going out in the community.”

Trevino replaces Charles Gomez, who was dismissed in February after city officials said he should have warned them that revenue from the Bicycle Club, which covers 60% of the city’s operating costs, was declining.

Claude T. Booker, who was city manager off and on for 27 years, was fired after a bitter 1991 recall election created a Latino council majority. The new council members said he did not adequately serve Latinos, who make up 95% of the city’s population.

The council dismissed his successor, William Vasquez, a year later, saying he did not have enough experience to run the city.

City staff and elected officials have continued to be at odds. Trevino hopes to change that.

Trevino said his priority is to return financial stability to the city, which has been struggling as Bicycle Club revenues declined by $12 million over the past two years.

“If we take a strong look at ourselves, there are areas where we have not been fiscally responsible. We have to maximize those resources,” he said.

Trevino must help close a $4.5-million budget deficit and settle a labor dispute prompted by the layoffs last month of 13 city employees.

But he said he would steer clear of recall efforts against Mayor Maria S. Chacon and Councilman Ramiro Morales.

“My biggest challenge is the labor dispute. But I’m staying out of the recall,” Trevino said, contending that it has sapped the city’s energy.

“My job is to manage the city.”

Although the recall effort was stalled because of a filing error earlier this month, proponents are continuing to organize.

If they are successful, a special election could be held as early as January.

Trevino, who has a degree in public administration from Cal State Los Angeles, has held several public and private management positions at various levels in the last 14 years.

He was a citizenship coordinator at Franklin Community Adult School, vice president of operations at a redevelopment firm in Burbank and a zoning planner in Pasadena.

In November, Trevino was elected one of the five directors of the Central Basin district. As secretary, he helps secures supplemental water for 29 cities in Los Angeles County.