OCEANSIDE -- Arthur Gonzalez will not return to his job as chief executive officer of Tri-City Medical Center, his attorney said Friday.

Leslie Devaney, Gonzalez's attorney, said her client has signed a settlement agreement with the public hospital that was approved by its board of directors in closed session on April 23.

She declined to provide the terms of the agreement, but said she and Gonzalez found it to be adequate.

"We are pleased, we are very pleased," Devaney said.

Tri-City attorney Julie Biggs did not respond Friday to a request for a copy of the agreement, nor a request for comment on it. Several hospital board members also declined to comment on the specifics of the deal.

Board member George Coulter would only say that "the settlement is probably going to be good for both parties. Some of us board members aren't quite happy with it,

but we're accepting of it. We need to move on."

It's unclear what the settlement might mean for eight other hospital administrators who, along with Gonzalez, were placed on paid leave Dec. 18 by four members of the hospital board.

At the same meeting, the board hired an accountant to study the hospital's finances and some of its policies. In the months since, Tri-City has declined to release the results of the investigation, saying it references personnel matters.

Gonzalez, 58, served at Tri-City for 10 years, answering to a factured board often known for its infighting. Supporters described him as hardworking and down to earth, but critics railed against his nearly half-million-dollar salary and blamed him for TriCity's inability to pass a bond measure that would pay to update the hospital's aging buildings.

On Friday, Tri-City insiders and employees had mixed reactions to the news that Gonzalez was gone.

Tina Knight, a volunteer on Tri-City's three narrowly failed bond campaigns, said she was "very, very sad" to learn that Gonzalez and the hospital had parted ways.

"After what they did to him, I wouldn't want to come back either, so I understand," Knight said.

"He was one of those that would walk the walk with you," she added. "During the campaigns … he was out there with us, making phone calls and knocking on doors. He always made sure that everybody knew how much he appreciated them being there."

Tri-City intensive care nurse Angie Perez said she also got to know Gonzalez during his years at Tri-City.

"I thought he was a fine leader, and a fine administrator," said Perez. "He had an open-door policy with employees, and I respected him."

But others said it was time for Gonzalez to move on.

"I just think it's time for him to go," said Randy Mitchell, an emeritus member of the Tri-City Hospital Foundation. "In my opinion, he helped defeat the bond issues because he kept sticking his nose in them."

Though Devaney said the agreement with Gonzalez is done, no deal was announced publicly after the board met in closed session on April 23 or April 30.

Terry Francke, general counsel with the open-government group Californians Aware, said that California open records law does not require the board to automatically report a settlement agreement to the public. However, he said all settlement agreements approved by a public agency such as Tri-City's board are public documents.

"They are required to confirm that a settlement has been reached, and they are required to provide a copy of the settlement if requested," he said.

Devaney also represents seven of the eight remaining administrators still on leave. She declined to say anything about their fate.

"I can not comment on their status right now," Devaney said.

Gonzalez was hired by Tri-City in 1999; at that time he already had 25 years' experience in health care management. His most recent job before coming to Tri-City was a four-year stint (1994-98) serving as president and chief executive officer of the Schumpert Health System in Shreveport, La.

When Gonzalez arrived in North County, the public district hospital was bleeding money and was projecting an estimated $9.9 million operating deficit in 1999.

In the ensuing years, he and his administrative team brought in new technology and streamlined operations. The hospital turned an $11 million profit in 2007.

However, a refinancing deal brokered that same year later erased many of those gains when financial markets imploded and interest rates hit 17 percent.

During his years at Tri-City, Gonzalez's salary was often a point of contention with the public. After being hired at a starting salary of $265,000, Gonzalez's pay mushroomed to $483,000 in 2008. An $83,000 bonus paid to the chief executive -- just before a new board majority put him on leave -- drew much criticism.

Contact staff writer Paul Sisson at (760) 901-4087 or psisson@nctimes.com.