Retirement Board Chief Faces Inquiry

Orange County’s employee retirement board Monday hired a special counsel to investigate allegations that its top administrator abused her authority by charging personal telephone calls to the county and ordering underlings to water her plants and shuttle her to the airport on personal trips.

Attorney Phillip D. Eaton has been retained to investigate the accusations against Mary-Jean Hackwood, who was placed on administrative leave last week because of the controversy.

“The board feels it has taken the appropriate action,” said attorney Harley Bjelland, the board’s fiduciary counsel. “They wanted to take out the politics and establish the facts to see if there is merit to the allegations that have been made.”

Eaton, who will be paid $200 an hour, is expected to report back to the board with his findings Dec. 26, Bjelland said.

Meanwhile, Hackwood, who is paid $97,760 a year to run the Orange County Employees Retirement System, has hired an attorney to represent her.

“We’re finding it a little difficult to respond to this,” said Cameron M. Smith, who is representing Hackwood. “We haven’t been notified of the charges against her. She’s very upset about this. She doesn’t know what she could have done wrong. She’s trying to be very professional about this, but she doesn’t feel like she is being treated entirely fairly.”

The recent allegations of misconduct were raised in November when employees approached a board member with complaints against Hackwood. This was not the first time Hackwood’s actions have raised concern.

In 1991, Hackwood and four board members came under fire for taking a 26-day trip to Europe. The county’s auditor-controller rejected $5,000 in personal expenses, but board members maintain they never intended for the county to pay for personal items. A management audit that same year was critical of her management style.

The retirement board oversees the investments of about 20,000 current and retired government workers.