A county grand jury today cautioned Orange County leaders that they’ve succumbed to the same sorts of investment temptations that drove O.C. into bankruptcy 15 years ago.
The report, which serves only as a recommendation to county supervisors, takes the county treasurer’s office to task for investing as much as $800 million of the county’s portfolio into the sort of complex investments normally favored by international banks. That investment has since tapered off.
“Having already experienced the largest municipal bankruptcy ever, the citizens of Orange County expect their leaders to stick with simple, conservative investments …,” the reports concludes.
But rather than heap the blame on county Treasurer Chriss Street, the grand jury takes the Treasury Oversight Committee to task. The committee is charged with keeping an eye on the treasurer’s investment strategy – an area that backfired badly in 1994 when Orange County went bust.
Here’s the entire report.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/06/oc-scolded-for-its-risky-investment-strategy-again-.html
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