HUNTINGTON BEACH : Budget Panel Adds 4 More Members

Unable to decide among four finalists vying to fill two remaining spots on a newly formed Budget Advisory Committee, the City Council this week expanded the panel to 11 members to accommodate all of the candidates.

The final four members of the committee, which will begin meeting this month, are: Ralph Bauer, a retired chemist; Frank Cooper, a financial consultant; Raymond Rockoff, an accounting officer; and William Rea, a chief financial officer. The council unanimously agreed to add the four at-large members.

The first seven members of the committee were chosen last month, one by each council member. The council had planned to add two at-large members to increase the panel to nine members.

A subcommittee made up of Mayor Peter M. Green, Councilman Jack Kelly, Councilwoman Grace Winchell and Deputy City Administrator Robert Franz were charged with recommending the final two members. But Green said that among a field of 52 candidates for the at-large posts, the subcommittee was unable to whittle the group down to fewer than four finalists.

“We agreed that all four of these candidates were equally qualified,” Green said.