O.C. IN BANKRUPTCY : County Workers Can’t Help Taking It Personally : Reaction: They try to concentrate on jobs but uncertainty is wearing. Those nearing retirement are especially worried.

County employees went about their work with growing worry and questions Tuesday, wondering how their jobs may be affected by the deepening financial crisis.

John H. Sawyer, general manager of the Orange County Employees Assn., which represents more than 11,000 county workers, said he had few answers to questions coming into his office.

“Right at the moment we’re kind of treading water, not able to inform our members about what’s going on because we don’t know ourselves,” he said.

Employees calling the Orange County Employees Retirement System office received more reassuring news.

“The retirement (system) is still secure and we are operating as normal,” said Terry Slattery, an investment analyst there. “There is no impact on our operations or any of the benefits we pay out.”

Board of Supervisors Chairman Thomas F. Riley also sought to allay fears Tuesday and stressed that all county employees will continue to receive their paychecks and other basic benefits.

Still, employees wondered throughout the day how they would fare in the crisis.

Joanne Bond, a senior accounting assistant with the county Environmental Management Agency, said she worried that major projects countywide will be placed on hold and that her own personal credit rating could be affected. Her co-workers, particularly those near retirement who have money set aside in a deferred compensation fund, have been gravely concerned about the instability of the county’s troubled investment pool.

“There’s just a lot of big dreams,” said “I don’t know how they can materialize with the fund out of control.”

Riley said that he and his wife also have a considerable amount of money invested in deferred compensation, but he said that county counsel assured him Tuesday that the county is legally obligated to pay that money. He said, however, that the crisis may delay payments.

County Treasurer-Tax Collector Robert L. Citron resigned Monday. On Tuesday, employees at the treasurer and tax collector’s offices said the phones were ringing constantly.

About 100 investors had called the treasurer’s office by lunch time looking for the acting treasurer, who was not available to take their calls, said Veronica Deves, the office’s operations manager

“We have been swamped with calls, but we don’t know anything so we can’t say anything,” she said. “We just tell them, ‘Look at your newspaper.’ ”

Employees talked tearfully about Citron’s resignation and described him as a man who cared deeply about his workers, recommending herbal teas for them when they got sick and encouraging all of them to do their best.

“We’re all sad to see him go, being such an honest man,” said Martha Gonzalez, a secretary in the office. “We’re just not talking about anything. We really don’t know ourselves what’s going on.”

“All of his employees are behind him, all of them,” said a tax collector’s office employee, who asked she not be named and left abruptly when she began to cry. “He’s the only politician I have known who has been completely honest.”

Employees were planning on sending Citron a bouquet of flowers Tuesday, and many were writing him letters to convey their sadness, over the resignation, said Linda, an 18-year-employee who declined to give her last name.

“We’re all very sorry and upset that he resigned,” she said. “I think he was pressured. He’s a fighter when he has a good cause.”