Greg Devereaux

The board of supervisors’ action last month to adjust the particulars of county chief executive officer Greg Devereaux’s transition into an administrative advisory role has revealed that he set up a consulting business in Chino last year in anticipation of stepping down from the CEO position.
Devereaux was hired by the county on January 12, 2010, pursuant to a five-year contract, with a provision that he would continue as an advisor for another five years beyond his time as chief executive officer. In May 2013, Devereaux was given a seven-year contract extension from that point forward, guaranteeing his remaining with the county in the capacity of CEO through March 2017 and an additional clause to allow him to continue as CEO or as an advisor past that point for three more years.
In January, Devereaux announced his retirement from the CEO’s position, which provided him with a yearly salary of $318,909 and $99,000 in benefits for a total annual compensation of $417,909.
Under the county’s 2013 employment agreement with the him, there were two terms to his 2013-2020 extension. Term A of the agreement was set to concluded today, effective March 3, 2017, and Term B was to commence effective March 4, 2017 and continue through February 29, 2020. The agreement also provided that Devereaux could request conversion of his employment relationship under Term B from contract employee to independent contractor. Devereaux requested and the county agreed to exercise that option.
Last month, official approval of that change along with an amendment of the existing employment agreement continuing Term A through March 31, 2017 and setting that as the termination date of the agreement came before the board of supervisors. The board agenda item memorializing the proposed action showed that the board would be approving a consulting agreement not with Devereaux directly but with Worthington Partners, LLC, to commence on April 1, 2017 and terminate on February 29, 2020, operating in lieu of Term B of the existing agreement.
Under the terms of the new agreement, Devereaux is being called upon to provide advice and input as requested by the board or the CEO who will replace him, to be coordinated through and by the CEO. It is anticipated his guidance will be sought with regard to the county’s fire district reorganization, contract[s] with [an] ambulance service provider[s], the so-called “Countywide Plan,” documentation of the county’s organizational response to the December 2, 2015 attack in San Bernardino that killed 14 county employees; the county budget and county finances, homeless programs, the county’s building acquisition and retrofit projects, the Ontario International Airport Authority and delivery of public services related to the county’s land use services division. Devereaux is also to provide consultation to the CEO or any member of the board of supervisors pertaining to the general administration of the county when requested.
A search of available records turned up that Worthington Partners, LLC, similarly named to three other firms located throughout the United States, including Timonium, Maryland/Fairfax Virginia-based Worthington Financial Partners, was registered by Devereaux with the State of California on August 11, 2016 as a California Domestic Limited-Liability Company, and is based at 12403 Central Avenue in Chino.
Thus, it would appear that Devereaux was committed to leaving as chief executive officer by last summer. No public mention of his leaving was provided until January.
Of note is that Devereaux has neither secured a business license in Chino nor registered Worthington Partners as a fictitious business name with the San Bernardino County Clerk’s Office.
While businesses are not legally required to register a fictitious business name, banks often require such before allowing a business to open up an account. All San Bernardino County municipalities require that businesses operating within their city limits secure a business license. Most, but not all, San Bernardino County cities require a business to have a fictitious business name on file with the county before granting a company a business license, Chino among them.
This week, David Wert, the official spokesman for San Bernardino County said “Worthington Partners LLC is not required to file a FBN statement. Greg said, basically, that is because Worthington Partners LLC is not a DBA [fictitiously-named enterprise] nor a sole proprietorship. It is an LLC [legal limited company] and a corporation.”