Grand Jury Urges Major Overhaul of O.C. Government : Recovery: To restore confidence after bankruptcy, supervisors are advised to make jobs such as treasurer appointive and consider making their own part-time.

The Orange County Grand Jury recommended Wednesday that the Board of Supervisors, to restore efficiency and public confidence, drastically revamp a county government devastated by bankruptcy.

The governmental watchdog panel urged:

* Consideration by the board of converting from a full-time to a part-time legislative body.

* Getting rid of unincorporated county land.

* Cutting down on the number of special districts that provide water, sewer and solid waste services.

* Changing several elected posts to appointed positions, including treasurer-tax collector, auditor-controller and clerk-recorder.

Supervisor William G. Steiner said he thinks the jury’s report is “consistent with the recent themes and debate about changing the role of government.”

Supervisor Jim Silva, however, criticized the report because none of the county’s current or previous board members were interviewed as part of jury’s review.

“Whether you agree or disagreed [with board members], I think you would want to get all sides before you could get any kind of valid opinion,” Silva said.

Many of the recommendations outlined in the jury’s seven-page report are being studied by committees created by the board in the wake of the county’s Dec. 6 bankruptcy.

Nonetheless, the grand jury suggested that its restructuring ideas be studied in more depth by yet another so-called blue-ribbon committee, independent of the Board of Supervisors. The jury did not specify who or what agency would appoint the blue-ribbon panel.

Members of the grand jury said Wednesday that the county’s financial crisis revealed the flaws in the current government structure, which they said has not changed since 1889, when the county was incorporated.

“Confidence in county government must be rebuilt,” the report stated. “Citizen participation in shaping the ultimate form of government and the recovery must be encouraged. Finally, the Board of Supervisors, as an institution, must adopt new ways of governing if Orange County is to regain its vibrancy.”

Grand Jury Foreman Mario Lazo said the panel started working on its report soon after the county declared it had suffered $1.7 billion in investment losses. During hundreds of hours of interviews with more than 50 sources, the panel encountered a wide array of ideas on how to restructure government. One group that was not interviewed was the Board of Supervisors.

“We had people say we should get rid of county government altogether, to some who said we should establish a czar-like figure to run it,” said Walter Jones, a member of the jury.

“We had somebody say the solution was a firing squad,” said one member of the panel.

Among other restructuring options that the grand jury says should be considered: changing from a general law county to charter county to allow for greater flexibility in reorganizing government and eliminating elected posts; dividing the auditor-controller’s duties into separate functions; privatizing county services where it is economically wise.

Most of the options identified in the report have already been identified by the Orange County Charter Commission and by Supervisor Marian Bergeson, who has proposed her own “2001 Plan” to restructure county government.

“It has many similarities to mine,” Bergeson said Wednesday. “I think it’s a great report. We cannot gain the confidence of the public until there is trust in the system.”

Bergeson said she does not believe the board needs to establish another committee to review the options. Such a committee, she said, would only duplicate the work currently being done by the Charter Committee, which has proposed converting Orange County to a charter county and suggested eliminating some of the same elected positions.

Orange County is a general law county, meaning it abides by state laws for local governance. The most dramatic change that comes with charter status is additional opportunity for the Board of Supervisors and voters to establish local rules of governance.

Charter counties can also enable their boards to convert elected positions to appointed ones, giving supervisors more hiring and firing power.

Bruce W. Sumner, chairman of the county’s Charter Committee, said he hadn’t see the report but was “delighted” that the grand jury tackled the restructuring issue.

“Their proposals sound similar to what several groups have suggested,” Sumner said, noting that the committee will review the grand jury’s findings. “We’re hoping to have a lot of people and a lot of groups making recommendations. The recommendations from a prestigious group like the grand jury will be taken very seriously.”

Unlike grand juries of previous years, which tackled different topics during their terms, the current panel has been focused primarily on the bankruptcy crisis. Recently the panel requested and was granted authority to extend its service by six months.

Grand jury officials said additional reports on the bankruptcy will be released later this week.

In addition to its civil governmental watchdog role, the grand jury also has convened on criminal matters related to the county’s financial collapse.

In May, the grand jury indicted former Assistant Treasurer Matthew R. Raabe on six felony counts stemming from the bankruptcy. The district attorney has indicated that other criminal grand jury indictments are possible.

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Recommending Changes

The Orange County Grand Jury recommended steps the Board of Supervisors and chief executive officer should consider in order to restore public confidence in government structure and operations. They include:

* Making board service part time

* Change some positions, including clerk-recorder, treasurer-tax collector and auditor-controller, from elected to appointed.

* Separate auditor-controller into two positions.

* Have new auditor report to committee composed of board chair, one other supervisor and CEO

* Cut duplication by eliminating some special districts providing water, sewer and solid waste services

* Cede control over unincorporated areas by assigning them to cities

* Direct departments to identify services provided and costs, and indicate those required by law

* Prepare to change to charter form of government if changes not feasible under current law

Whom to Call

To comment on these recommendations or other issues, here are telephone numbers for the supervisors and interim Chief Executive Officer Jan Mittermeier (all numbers are 714 area code):

Board of Supervisors

Roger R. Stanton: 834-3110

Jim Silva: 834-3220

Gaddi H. Vasquez: 834-3330

William G. Steiner: 834-3440

Marian Bergeson: 834-3550

Interim CEO

Jan Mittermeier: 834-6200

Source: Orange County Grand Jury