County to Select Pension Fund Administrator

The Orange County Retirement Board is scheduled to select a new administrator today for its $2.6-billion pension fund.

The system, which handles the pensions of more than 20,000 current and retired government employees, has been without a permanent administrator since January, when the board dismissed Mary-Jean Hackwood.

Hackwood was accused of abusing her authority by demanding that employees run personal errands for her.

Acting Administrator Ray Wells confirmed that the board will discuss selection of a replacement today but said that he could not disclose the names of the candidates or details of the selection process.

Some system workers have expressed concern that one candidate under consideration experienced problems with employees at a previous job.

The Orange County Employees Assn. recently sent the retirement board a letter urging it to take “care and caution” in its selection process.

The letter asked the board to conduct complete background checks on candidates and select an administrator who will work well with employees.