ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : Stealing Taxpayer Confidence

Government often involves perception as much as reality. When it comes to the case of the disappearing equipment, not everybody in county government seems to be getting that message.

County auditors inventory equipment every three years. The latest inspection shows that at least $101,000 worth of computers, fax machines, exercise equipment and other items is missing. The breakdown was nearly $60,000 in lost or misplaced goods and more than $40,000 in stolen equipment.

At a time when the county is weathering its toughest budget crunch yet, and barely escaped threats that a jail and at least one fire station would close for lack of money, the reaction presumably should be one of shock, alarm, action.

Not quite. Said an aide to Board of Supervisors Chairman Harriett M. Wieder, “We’re not terribly concerned about this.” The aide said there’s no trend, no sign of long-term problems and the losses are to be expected when you survey seven county departments. Another county official shrugged that it’s difficult to prevent determined thieves from getting what they came for.

Those are the wrong reactions, especially when every dollar must count. A better assessment was offered by a county finance officer, Mark Pugatch, who investigated several thefts from the county’s Environmental Management Agency. He criticized lax security measures, including a real gem: An EMA truck was left unattended, unlocked, with the keys inside. That “seems to beg for trouble,” Pugatch said. And indeed the truck was stolen.

County Clerk Gary Granville is going about things the right way, too. He ordered an investigation into the disappearance of a new $1,150 IBM computer from a locked closet, rather than dismissing it as inevitable.

With a $3.6-billion annual county budget, $101,000 may seem like small change to some in the Hall of Administration. It’s not. The county should pay more attention to losses and increasing security. That would symbolize its concern for the taxpayers. And in fact, $101,000 could save a job or two.