O. C. IN BANKRUPTCY : Most Cities OK in Short Term, Fear Effects on Future Goals

Anaheim, $169 million:

The city has halted nearly all capital improvement projects and imposed a hiring freeze until the full impact of the county’s bankruptcy is known. “The best thing that can happen is if everyone remains calm and we work through this together and not panic,” City Manager James D. Ruth said. City officials will continue their negotiations to build a baseball stadium for the California Angels. The future of the $3-billion Disneyland expansion is not known, but both Disney and Anaheim officials remained optimistic Wednesday.

Brea, $9 million:

None of the city’s operating budget is affected by bankruptcy, assistant city manager Tim O’Donnell said.

“It’s not money we need today,” O’Donnell said. “If the county’s credit rating goes down, that’s a concern to us. But, we are very confident that this is being managed appropriately and any damage will be short-term.”

Buena Park, $18 million:

“The average citizen is not going to feel any impact,” said Steve Dunn, the city’s fiscal services manager. “We’ll be able to pay our bills and our employees in the long term. We don’t have any cash flow problems because of this.”

Costa Mesa, $2.6 million:

The bankruptcy will have no immediate impact on the city, said City Manager Allan L. Roeder. The city on Nov. 17 had filed with the county a request to withdraw the balance of city’s funds and was told the request would be processed in 30 days. “If we are unable to recover those funds, we will take whatever action is appropriate,” Roeder said.

Cypress, $5.85 million:

City Manager Darrell Essex said Wednesday that the bankruptcy will not affect city services.

Dana Point, $16 million:

“No existing projects or projects in the immediate future will be affected,” said Rita L. Gelder, the city’s director of finance and administration.

Fountain Valley, $6 million, with another $24 million invested in the county pool by the city redevelopment agency:

The $6 million the city invested in the county pool is unappropriated and, if frozen by the county bankruptcy, will not interrupt city services, said City Treasurer Elizabeth Fox. She said the $24 million the city redevelopment agency has invested with the county also is not needed immediately, but was intended to be used over the next 10 years for capital improvements, such as streets, sewers and roads, to enable new development.

Fullerton, $18.3 million:

City Manager James L. Armstrong said: “The short term is that the city has plenty of liquidity to handle city operations, paying employees and vendors, etc.” A meeting of all the cities and finance directors is planned so that officials will get “a little more on the situation.”

Huntington Beach, $43.5 million:

The city depends on making regular withdrawals of about $3 million to $6 million each month from the investment pool, but “will try to find other ways to keep ourselves afloat,” City Treasurer Donald L. Watson said. He stressed that the city will have no problems meeting its payroll and other obligations but will be looking to delay or cancel any unnecessary expenditures.

Irvine, $208 million

“Because not all of the city’s funds are in the Orange County investment pool, the city of Irvine is able to meet all of its obligations, whether they be payroll, interest payments on bonds, or capita projects,” Mayor Michael Ward said.

La Habra $8.2 million:

Said City Manager Lee Risner: “We still will be able to pay salaries. It will not break us. It will bend us. We will have to make some modifications. We do not anticipate laying anyone off. We do not anticipate any shortfalls on paying our bills on time and or salaries on time.”

Laguna Hills, $900,000:

The $900,000 represents only 15% of the city’s long-term reserves. “Having those assets frozen a year or two doesn’t have any impact on our operations,” Assistant City Manager Don White said. “Obviously we want to have all of that money back and we will be working to make sure we recover all of the principal.”

La Palma, $5 million:

City Manager Pamela Gibson, who had expressed confidence that the county would honor a request from La Palma to withdraw $500,000 to pay for capital improvement projects, was wondering Wednesday if the city might have get the money from the state investment pool instead.

Los Alamitos, $2 million: City services will not be interrupted because the funds placed in the county pool were reserves not necessary to pay for day-to-day operations, said Assistant City Manager Gerard Goedhart. He said he expects to take some loss on the $2 million as a result of the bankruptcy, but hopes it won’t be drastic. “We just entered into a whole new world and it is a little scary,” Goedhart acknowledged.

Mission Viejo, $18 million:

City officials said the crisis should have no immediate impact on day-to-day operations, but asked the county Wednesday to have all payments from property taxes sent directly to the city, not into the troubled county pool. Assistant City Manager Dan Joseph said the city does not yet know whether the financial crisis could affect plans to build a new $18-million library.

Newport Beach, $54 million:

The city doesn’t expect that payroll or services will be interrupted, said City Manager Kevin J. Murphy. He said while the city will have to scrap plans to use the fund money to finance construction of an $18-million ground-water project, it will be able to complete the project on schedule by using funds from other reserves.

Orange, $28 million:

“This will not have any bearing on our operations. . . . At the present time, I know of no projects that would be affected, certainly not this fiscal year,” said James Evans, assistant city manager.

Placentia, $20.7 million:

The city expects no immediate impact, as long as it receives an interest payment of about $200,000 as scheduled from the county Dec. 13. Most of its operating revenues are invested in the state pool, not the county pool.

San Clemente, $34.6 million:

City Manager Michael W. Parness said city officials were working “feverishly” to determine what the bankruptcy means. “Right now the good news is that we have enough funds in other accounts to meet our short-term cash-flow needs,” he said.

Santa Ana, $55 million:

There will not be any short-term impact on city operations, City Manager N. David Ream said, but city officials are concerned about the potential effect on such projects as a $100-million city jail and police administration facility now under construction in the Civic Center. “In the short term, none of our projects will be curtailed or stopped, but we will definitely need some answers within the next 30 to 60 days to determine whether these projects will go forward,” Ream said.

Seal Beach: $2 million:

Mayor George Brown was relieved to learn Wednesday that Merrill Lynch had offered the county a credit line of $2 billion during this crisis. “That will take a lot of pressure off,” he said. “That will permit the county to have cash for the school districts and the county employees, various payrolls that have to have ready cash.

Stanton, $3 million:

City Manager Greg Hulsizer said that as a precaution, all major expenditures such as capital improvement projects will be put on hold. “We want to be assured that the funds will be available to us before we award any contracts,” Hulsizer said.

Tustin, $185,000 in interest:

The city withdrew $4 million out of the county pool in April because of a “philosophical difference” between the city’s investment policy and the riskier one pursued by the county. “In the grand scheme of things, the money we have left in the fund is not going to impact us,” City Manager William A. Huston said.

Villa Park, $1.3 million:

Like others, the city expects no effect on day-to-day operations, but says it might have to delay one capital project, a plan to spend $200,000 to widen Cerro Villa Drive. A final decision on that will be made in the spring, after the county presents its restructuring plan.

Westminster, $100,000:

“We want to work with the county. We are very positive that we will work our way out of this. We’re rolling up our sleeves,” City Manager Bill Smith said.

Yorba Linda, $13.5 million:

Said city Finance Director Vicki Baker: “The average person in Yorba Linda will see no effect from this. It will not affect any city operation or services or projects. We’re not trying to artificially reassure people, but this was just one of our investments.”