Only War Could Hurt Pool? Smile, It’s ‘Candid Camera’

Sound prediction: At a Common Cause meeting on the bond crisis this week, members watched a videotape of an April, 1993, Irvine City Council meeting in which officials debated whether to invest in the county pool.

At one point during the meeting, then-Councilman Art Bloomer wanted to know what the chances were that the pool could go belly-up.

“The idea of unusually high interest rates usually indicates unusually high risk,” Bloomer said. “If it turns upside down on us, how do we salvage it?”

The city’s finance director, Jeff Niven responded: “The Orange County investment pool offers no principal risk,” he said, explaining that the city could withdraw its money at any time.

Niven went on to say it would take “a major, international war” to threaten the county pool.

Bloomer was satisfied. He voted to invest in the pool.

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Feeling the pain: Garden Grove didn’t invest in the county pool, but the city still is feeling the sting of the Dec. 6 bankruptcy.

The city has $500,000 in narcotics asset seizure funds tied up in the county treasury. The money was earmarked for the city, but was frozen when the county sought protection from its creditors.

If the city doesn’t gain access to its money, the Garden Grove Police Department might not be able to buy specialized equipment that narcotics agents use in anti-drug operations, said Police Lt. Kevin Raney, commander of the special services bureau.

“We’ll still be able to do our job, using the equipment that we have,” Raney said.

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A helping hand: A handful of residents spoke out against a plan by the San Clemente City Council to spend as much as $15,000 to hire an accounting firm to do a cash-flow analysis.

City finance officials said they were swamped after already having spent nearly 1,000 hours crunching numbers since the county filed for bankruptcy and needed extra help.

Resident John Koch suggested that city staffers volunteer their own time to accomplish the extra work. He noted the city often sings the praises of volunteerism.

No luck. Council members said that salaried staffers had toiled over the holidays and on weekends and should get the extra help.