County Puts Zing in Hunt for Top Financial Officer

The ad in Monday’s Wall Street Journal seeks job applicants for “exciting opportunities in a dynamic, evolving government environment.”

This isn’t a pitch from some unstable Third World country. It’s Orange County advertising for a chief financial officer and director of internal audits.

“That’s a real big lure,” county spokeswoman Lynne Fishel said of the exciting environment, referring in jest to the county’s 14-month-old bankruptcy.

With the days of upheaval and uncertainty from the bankruptcy hopefully over, Orange County Chief Executive Officer Jan Mittermeier is trying to restructure and consolidate the county’s main financial functions into one job.

The new chief financial officer would be paid as much as $115,000, according to a detailed description of the job circulated by the county’s Human Resources Department.

“Orange County’s standard of living, extraordinary climate, recreational and educational opportunities make it one of the most desirable places to live and work in California,” the job description reads.

The chief financial officer would report to Mittermeier, who did not return calls for comment.

Fishel and others say Mittermeier decided the county needed a chief financial officer after voters last month rejected the charter proposal that would have done away with the elected treasurer-tax collector and auditor-controller, and created a Department of Finance with an appointed, rather than elected, director.

In an attempt to achieve the same thing, Mittermeier wants to hire a chief financial officer who will handle the budgeting, accounting and long-term financing duties of the county executive’s office, Fishel said.

“It’s nothing new,” Supervisor William G. Steiner said of the need for a chief financial officer. “Even [former county executive] Bill Popejoy talked about the need for a single chief financial officer for the county.”

Orange County also advertised for a director of internal audits in Monday’s ad, the second time candidates have been sought for that job.

The county advertised early last year but was unable to find a suitable candidate at the salary that was offered, about $80,000, said Steven H. Snyder, division manager in the county’s Human Resources Department.

The county attempted to fill that position shortly after it filed for bankruptcy in December 1994, Snyder said.

Now, the county is offering as much as $105,000 “to oversee, manage, and lead” the county’s auditing functions, reporting directly to the Board of Supervisors and working “in concert” with an auditing oversight committee that now includes Supervisor Jim Silva and Mittermeier, Fishel said.

Last year, the board stripped Auditor-Controller Steven E. Lewis of his auditing duties and contracted to have them performed by the accounting firm of Arthur Andersen & Co.

*

Lewis was charged last December by the Orange County Grand Jury with willful misconduct for failing to detect problems in the treasurer’s office that ultimately led to the county’s bankruptcy. He pleaded not guilty and awaits trial.

County Treasurer John M.W. Moorlach agrees with the need for an internal auditor.

“We need to restore the system, and we need to put the right people in the system, with proper internal controls so that we won’t have this type of major event again,” Moorlach said.