2 O.C. Leaders Want Agency to Be Watched

Two Orange County supervisors want to form an oversight committee to monitor the human resources department, which has been the target of complaints over alleged mismanagement and secretiveness.

The Orange County Grand Jury has interviewed county employees about allegations of sexual harassment and retaliation in the office, according to several people who testified.

Moreover, some top county officials complained that they were not informed in advance about changes in employee benefits that cost the county millions of dollars.

“Where there’s smoke, there may be fire,” said Supervisor Chuck Smith, who along with Supervisor Chris Norby called for forming the committee. They acted at the urging of a budget strategy group of county department heads who learned of the costly benefit decisions.

On Thursday, Smith noted two examples of department actions taken without board knowledge: negotiating annual leave with the county’s employee unions, and proposing an incentive that would have given two years’ credit to employees retiring early. Supervisors eventually approved the annual leave program and granted early retirement for only certain employees.

“They did this on their own, and we weren’t happy with it,” Smith said. “The unions were all over us, saying they heard we’d already approved [annual leave] and we hadn’t.... We were boxed into a corner. Those kinds of things made us decide we’d better look and make sure what they’re doing is the right thing.”

The snags come as the Board of Supervisors grapples with a financial crisis in the county planning department, which forced layoffs, cutbacks and its director’s early retirement.

In a complaint filed with the grand jury, employees expressed dissatisfaction with the way the Office of Human Resources is run. Among the allegations: an overall lack of budget tracking and contract monitoring that led to one consulting firm overspending by three times its $300,000 contract to develop an employee bonus program.

The complaint also described an alleged environment of inappropriate sexual banter, hostility and abuse of authority.

Officials said former CEO Michael Schumacher and the county counsel’s office did an internal investigation of the department. No disciplinary actions were recommended.

“It’s very old news,” former Supervisor Cynthia P. Coad said. “I was assured everything had been addressed.”

Current board Chairman Tom Wilson said the grand jury hasn’t shared details of its investigation. Wilson said that when he asked panelists about it, “they said all their reports are due June 30.... They were very coy.”

But Wilson said he had no reason to be concerned.

“Everything in my relationship with [human resources] and my dealing with them on county issues has been satisfactory to me. Everyone can do better, but I don’t have any particular ax to grind as I sit here today, and I won’t until I see something that has more substance to it than just rumors.”

Another matter raised hackles: County managers, who expected raises in July, were told not to plan on them. They responded by forming their own bargaining unit.

“There’s definitely a morale problem,” said Treasurer-Tax Collector John M.W. Moorlach.

An oversight committee was first recommended in December by the budget strategy group, including a union representative, which was addressing how to balance future county budgets. Officials have been calculating the impact of early-retirement incentives, annual leave benefits and other benefits granted in the past year with board approval.

The cost alone of annual leave -- allowing more employees to cash out unused sick time and vacation time upon retirement -- was estimated at $29.5 million. The tab must be absorbed by each department as eligible workers retire or quit.

The impact of labor negotiations must be hashed out with budget planners and affected departments, said Auditor-Controller David Sundstrom, a budget strategy group member. “It’s absolutely essential for bargaining strategy to be coordinated with financial realities.”