O.C. to Pay Legal Bills for 3 Officials

Two supervisors and the county’s auditor-controller accused of misconduct in Orange County’s bankruptcy will have their legal bills paid by taxpayers, the three other supervisors decided Wednesday.

Taxpayers will pick up the tab for the legal defense of board Chairman Roger R. Stanton, Supervisor William G. Steiner and Auditor-Controller Steve E. Lewis. An Orange County grand jury charged the three last week with neglecting their duties in allowing the bankruptcy to occur.

Neither Stanton nor Steiner took part in Wednesday’s vote. The other three supervisors--Marian Bergeson, Don Saltarelli and Jim Silva--voted unanimously to pay the trio’s legal defense. Fearful of big bills, they asked county Chief Executive Officer Jan Mittemeier to draw up a plan to limit expenses.

“The issue really boils down to one of accountability and the stature of elected officials,” Bergesen said. “I think it would have a chilling effect on those who would have to weigh every decision based on what might happen two years from now.”

The supervisors set no ceilings on total legal expenses but gave Mittermeier 30 days to come up with the plan. They said they will not pay any bills until it is ready.

The supervisors also stressed that none of the three were charged with a crime--only with civil infractions. The county has thus far refused to pay legal bills for anyone charged with crimes.

The three could avoid their legal battles altogether by stepping down, but each has indicated that he would prefer to stay if the county pays for lawyers.

Fewer than 40 people attended Wednesday’s meeting, including several grand jury members, who sat in a back row observing the proceeding.

The sparse crowd contrasted sharply with the flurry of telephone callers to supervisors’ offices venting mostly opposition to the county paying the legal bills.

After the meeting, Arturo Montez of the League of United Latin American Citizens criticized the supervisors’ vote.

“It takes a fair amount of chutzpah to, first, snooze your way through the largest municipal bankruptcy in history, be indicted while stubbornly remaining in office for your costly negligence of leadership, and then ask that the taxpayers write your lawyer a blank check to cover your defense,” Montez said.

Allan H. Stokke, who represents Steiner, said: “We’re gratified that the board has seen fit to stand behind Mr. Steiner.”

To authorize the payments, the three supervisors had to determine that the acts for which Steiner, Stanton and Lewis are accused were committed in the performance of their public duties, that they acted in good faith or that it was in the best interest of the county to pay for their defense.

Mittermeier told the board that legal fees would be paid from the county’s risk management fund, a self-insurance pool containing about $60 million.