The Latest County Melt Down
Okay, Friends this one is a bit convoluted so stick with me.
The latest State budget deal takes about $50 million away from Orange County. How come? Best I can figure it out is this: after the bankruptcy of 1995 the County sold recovery bonds and the State sequestered about $50,000,000 annually to pay off the bond holders from part of the Vehicle License Fee that was distributed to the County. Later when the VLF was swapped out for property tax income the payoff to bondholders still came from the VLF. When OC refinanced it’s debt in 2006 it started taking the VLF money directly from the State even though no other county got any of it.
Confused? In 2006 County Supervisor Bill Campbell said he wasn’t, but he failed to do anything about the money hanging out there according to Voice of OC (EA)’s Norberto Santana, here. It seems he didn’t want to address the issue and hoped everybody would forget about it. That lame strategy worked for about 5 years. Now the State is laying claim to the dough.
The worst malefactor here is County CEO Tom Mauk who has yet another catastrophe to lay claim to. Following swiftly on the heels of the disastrous Human Resource Department audit in which Mauk was busted giving his cronies huge raises and promotions, this latest calamity may prove to be the final nail in Mauk’s coffin.
Will three supervisors finally perform self cranial-rectal extraction and get rid of this bozo? They aren’t very bright but sooner or later…
Stay tuned.
And the Board needs to be reminded (as they’ll conveniently forget) that they fell over themselves to keep Mauk from going to a much grander position, for a lot more money, as CEO of Los Angeles County. As it turned out, LA got a guy named Fujioka who seems quite well regarded, and we get the turd in the punch bowl — and for a lot more money. Let’s face it, this guy’s an asshole and needs to go. It’s that simple.
Read on the Orange County Board of Supervisors the approved budget for 2011-2012 fiscal year. The budget cuts propsed by majority of county departments, agencies and commissions were rescinded and approved by these same BoS. Though a small county, OC is a wealthy one due to its hard-working, entrepreneurial residents. Yet, the OC has a weird history of having gross incompetent, corrupt county government that honestly serves itself more than the public it has vowed to serve. A glaring example and unfortunately not an isolated incident in the OC was county property tax collector Robert L. “Bob” Citron, and if I correctly remember, Robert Bob used astrology charts to invest the OC county’s revenue. Needless to say in 1995 the OC county was the first county in our nation’s history to go bankrupt not from lack of revenue but due to gross mismanagement of its revenue. William Bill Campbell’s comments sometimes punctuated with his tears oddly supporting needless, tax draining agencies and commissions keeps in the tradition of having bizarro fools run our county government into the ground, a shout out for william bill campbell
Unfortunately Campbell and mauk sustain each other. Nguyen relies on Mauk, too because she is so freaking stupid.
That leaves Moorlach – master of a thousand disasters – who was one of the supes who begged Mauk to stay a few years ago. Moorlach has shown himself to be a pretty slow learner but his turn around on the OCMA agreement may spell overdue “retirement” for Mr. Mauk.
Where’s Nelson on this?
Mauk has strengthened his position by leaving the supervisors no in-house alternative to himself. There has been zero succession planning in the County. Most of the department heads are on auto pilot and the deputy CEOs are talent-free yes men who are overpaid to preserve their loyalty.
The County is a mess. Mauk may go but who will step in?
King, if what you say is true then almost anybody could do the job.
Moorlach’s long been known for his poor judgement in people — Chriss Street being his most famous pick to succeed him at Treasurer/Tax — this clown is just marking time before prison and “trying” to pay off an enormous fine for screwing Fruehauf, but he still hangs around GOP events thinking that it’s no big deal he’s a fraud. And maybe it’s not considering the slime he’s chumming around with.
Moorlach also hearts the Sheriff that doesn’t believe in the 2nd Amendment. Mauk is only the latest in a line of losers that Moorlach has supported, when in fact, he should have been getting closer to the auditors who should be looking over this entire crew for malfeasance.
I hear Street is writing for Cal Watchdog. WTF is that all about???
To those calling for Mauck’s head – be careful what you ask for. HIs replacement is likely to be much worse because it is widely known that working ror the 5 people that we all elect to the Supervisor posts is virtually impossible becasue some of them are not very bright and behind the scenes they constantly bicker and are far from a leadership team. This makes it unlikely that a stellar executive would take the job.
The Board would probably dredge up Jim Ruth for a reprise. Still Mauk has made circling the wagons a full time job. It’s time for a change.
Moor-latch doesn’t have the guts to pull the trigger.
when is nelson going to step and actually do something except ponder his next run for office? worthless fatso.
Aw, Hell this is Democratic payback for Lou Correa’s special Orange County dispensation a few years back.
Maybe the County can sell that piece of shit building that Tom Daly purchased for 2.1 million dollars that Mauk approved.
Maybe the County can borrow from Tom Daly 12D funds before the dumb shit spends all the money.
Maybe Tom Daly can donate his salary to the general fund because he can’t show up to work.
Mauk not only approved the deal he later whitewashed the whole fiasco and called it a “positive outcome.” He should have been fired for that but of course all the Board voted for that embarrassment and was afraid of looking bad by doing the right thing.
What’s the tragedy here? Let’s see some REAL cuts with REAL layoffs instead of the paper chase “cuts” government is always bragging abou.
In all fairness to Tom Mauk he’s always been in way over his head – a small town city manager thrust into the big time.
If Mauk goes feet first or otherwise, Mike Ruane, the highly paid Exec. Director of the Children and Families Commission (Prop. 10) would be a logical choice as he, like Mauk, is an expert at carrying the water of the Board members and their friends.
Not a chance. Nelson would have kittens.
Yeah but Moor-latch and Campbell just love fellow liberal Ruane.
Better yet. Where is the almost one million dollars a year the county pays for its internal legislative staff and lobbying contract to Platinum advisors?
That is the real joke of all this.
I stop by the Clerk Recorder looking for Tom Daly at 11:00 a.m. and he was still not in to work. I asked for Renee Ramirez and guess what she is not in the office either. Hopefully they will show up to work today. What a waste of taxpayers money. No wonder the County is going broke. Tom Daly is just as bad as John Williams. The only different is Tom Daly hasn’t been caught.
Taxpayers Alert:
Tom Daly and Renee Ramirez are not at work again. They hang out alot together. What a waste of taxpayers money.
Everyone is too afraid to go after Tom
Daly. He is just as bad as John Williams. You guys wait and see.