ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : Diligence Beyond the Call of Duty

It would be nice if some public servants didn’t have to be beaten over the head with bad publicity before straightening out questionable practices. Unfortunately, there are those in Washington, and those such as some of the board members of the $1.5-billion Orange County Employees Retirement System, who may need to take a bitter pill before mending their ways.

For board members caught in an embarrassing European travel scandal, it seemed mostly to be a case of failing either to know better or to estimate properly the public reaction to questionable travel expenses. No doubt most of the trustees of the pension funds take their responsibility seriously and try to be diligent about looking after investments. Indeed, they even called their out-of-town visits to pension fund managers “due-diligence” trips. But the problem is that public perception may not always square with even the best intentions.

That became apparent when Orange County Auditor-Controller Steve E. Lewis rejected $5,000 in personal expense claims for such items as opera tickets, dry cleaning and alcoholic beverages--expenses incurred when four board members, the retirement fund administrator and several guests took a 26-day European trip in April.

Fortunately, in an appropriately repentant gesture, the board has now acted to avoid future abuses. It has done away with pension fund credit cards, which were a clear invitation to excess. It has wisely limited the frequency of trips and the number of trustees who can go on them, and it has limited their length to one week.

It also has prohibited spouses and other guests from accompanying board members on travel abroad. One dissenter, board member Keith Concannon, complained that he ought to be able to take his wife and pay for her. But others prudently saw that the board must stick to business and send only those who can conduct it in an expeditious manner.

It’s one thing to watch the investments; it’s another to send a cast. Criticism mounted after the board members and staff spent close to $60,000 this fiscal year to attend conferences and visit fund managers everywhere from Hawaii to Florida.

Even if a lot of that was work, public perception counts. Watch the investments, but send far fewer people to dream-vacation destinations for much shorter stays. And how about doing some of it by telephone?