HUNTINGTON BEACH : City Treasurer Plans September Retirement

As city treasurer, Donald L. Watson puts his signature on every employee’s paycheck and on checks made out to vendors.

His department gives the final stamp of approval to pay out money, collects all revenue that comes to the city--from water bills to parking meters--and makes the city’s investments.

With 13 employees and an annual budget of $723,000 a year, the department also handles business licenses and water payments.

But Watson soon will bow out of heading the department that processes at least $200 million a year and overseeing the city’s $69-million investment portfolio.

Watson, 65, will retire in September from the post he has held since 1987. He had planned to retire before the county financial crisis.

Watson and his wife of 44 years, Beverley, have four children and four grandchildren, and Watson says it’s time to leave public service and spend time traveling and visiting family.

“It’s at a point in time where I can do some things now,” he said. “Down the road I may not be able to do those things.”

Watson was appointed city treasurer the same year he retired after 27 years as an executive with IBM Corp. Watson was then elected in 1988 and reelected in 1992. With his term expiring in November, 1996, he will leave a one-year vacancy. The City Council will be faced with making an appointment to fill his term.

Watson has held positions with other private companies as an accountant, computer analyst and manager of computer information systems. He said his replacement must possess expertise in financial matters, computer systems and management.

Being entrusted with taxpayers’ money carries a big responsibility, Watson said: “You have to set a certain level of standards and maintain the trust of the public.”

Leaving the job won’t be easy, he said, but he won’t miss Monday night City Council meetings. “I will miss the people I work with here--not only as people I work with, but as friends as well.”