Published: Thursday, September 5, 2002 Council votes Taboada out   By Jason Gewirtz, Staff writer LONG BEACH - The City Council voted unanimously late Wednesday to fire embattled City Manager Henry Taboada after Taboada refused an offer to retire by Dec. 31. The dramatic decision came after nearly four hours of closed-door deliberations, in a special meeting called for Tuesday to review Taboada's performance. Taboada will leave his post effective Oct. 4. His dismissal entitles him to a $120,000 severance package, which represents six months of pay and the cash equivalent of his benefits. He will draw an annual pension of roughly $136,000. "This is the most important issue that any council can face,' said Mayor Beverly O'Neill, who attended the meeting but does not have a vote. "It was not an easy thing to do.' Taboada, who was not in City Hall for the deliberations, could not be reached for comment. Council members began their closed-door session at 6:30 p.m. Before the private session, they heard 30 minutes of public testimony, including support from several of the more than 100 city management employees who gathered in the City Council chambers. About 50 of those employees remained when the council emerged with its decision at about 10:20 p.m. The decision ends Taboada's 27-year city career, which has included various management positions. He has held the city's top nonelected position since the council appointed him in 1999. In recent weeks, he has come under attack as the city projected a $46 million general fund deficit for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. Taboada has also weathered criticism over other controversial city issues, including a hike in natural gas rates, increased pension benefits for city employees and development of the delayed downtown Pike at Rainbow Harbor entertainment/dining/retail complex. Under the City Charter, Assistant City Manager Jerry Miller will automatically take over Taboada's post on an interim basis. A search for a permanent replacement would likely begin before Taboada leaves, City Attorney Bob Shannon said. During its deliberation Wednesday, the council agreed to offer Taboada a chance to retire. O'Neill and Shannon called him by cell phone at about 9:15 with the offer to leave office by the end of the year. O'Neill described the tone of the call as "calm and polite.' But Taboada refused the offer, sending the council back for another hour of deliberation. The vote to remove Taboada was unanimous, and Taboada was called again and informed of the decision. "It was pretty brief,' O'Neill said of the second conversation. Wednesday's emergency meeting was the result of a vote by six council members at Tuesday's regular meeting. They said they did not want to wait for Taboada's next scheduled review, which was planned for October. The motion to meet came from Councilman Dan Baker, a Taboada critic during the recent mayoral race, which Baker lost to O'Neill. Council members Bonnie Lowenthal, Laura Richardson- Batts, Jackie Kell, Rob Webb and Val Lerch supported the move. Earlier Tuesday, Baker, Lowenthal, Richardson-Batts and Kell met with Taboada, who was asked to retire. His dismissal Wednesday came despite pleas from top city management personnel, who attended the start of the meeting to support Taboada. Dan Gooch, the Fire Department's administrative manager, said the city's management personnel stood behind their chief. "I feel badly that we as managers didn't do enough to create alternatives than what you have Richardson-Batts said the purpose of the meeting was to evaluate Taboada, not city workers. "I appreciate your presence, and I appreciate your commitment not only to us, but to the city manager,' she said. Mario Cordero, a member of the city's recently convened Ethics Review Task Force, also defended Taboada. Cordero credited Taboada's years of employment with the city and pointed to the roomful of city management in attendance. "If I was Henry Taboada and I would see this crowd that's here, obviously there's a statement that's being made,' Cordero said. But not all the comments were in Taboada's favor. Diana Mann, a community activist and former City Council candidate, urged the council to make a change. "I think a very strong membership of our community is crying out for leadership, good leadership,' she said. "And I think that's what we're lacking here.'