Orange County Auditor Controller

Orange County Auditor-Controller Steve E. Lewis said Friday that he wrote but did not send a confidential memo to top county officials in which he expressed doubts about then-Treasurer-Tax Collector Robert L. Citron's investment practices in May, 1993--19 months before the county filed for bankruptcy. In the memo to former County Administrative Officer Ernie Schneider, with copies to then-Board of Supervisors Chairman Harriett M.

For David E. Sundstrom, Orange County's newly elected auditor-controller, it's not the numbers he likes, it's the faces behind them. "When you really sit down and think, 197,000 people voted for me, and start to put faces behind those votes, it's wonderful," Sundstrom said. "I keep thinking about Rose Bowls full of people. Actually 197,000 votes, that's filling the Rose Bowl twice. And they all have entrusted me with the finances of this county. It's humbling."

Steve E. Lewis has worked his entire adult life in the same office. He started in 1965 as a bottom-rung accountant in the Orange County auditor-controller's office, earning $545 a month. For the past decade, he has been the auditor-controller himself, now commanding $104,582 a year--16 times his original salary.

Internal county auditor David Sundstrom appeared to hold a majority lead over his two competitors, enough to win outright in the race for auditor-controller, while Deputy Assessor Webster J. Guillory led his nearest rivals by a 2-1 ratio in a field of seven candidates for the assessor's post late last night. But in the assessor race, certified public accountant James S. Bone and real estate broker Jeff Scott Reid appeared to be in a tight battle for the runoff slot in November.

Orange County Auditor-Controller Steve E. Lewis, already under scrutiny for his role in the county's fiscal calamity, was summoned before the Board of Supervisors on Wednesday and questioned in the harshest terms yet about his knowledge and actions as the billion-dollar crisis developed. Supervisor Roger R.

Despite the auditor-controller's duty as Orange County's chief fiscal regulator, top officials in the office little understood the county's ill-fated investment strategy and relied on outside lawyers for approval of questionable financial dealings, according to testimony before the Orange County Grand Jury. Top officials said they lacked the staff and expertise to keep a close eye on the risky investment program of former Treasurer Robert L.

Besieged Auditor-Controller Steve E. Lewis, who has been under pressure to resign because of his role in the county's bankruptcy, would keep his job but relinquish most of his internal auditing responsibilities under a proposed agreement reached Friday. The deal, which was brokered by Orange County Supervisor Jim Silva, reduces Lewis' duties to mostly bookkeeping and check-writing functions, but allows him to still receive his annual salary of $104,582.

Standing amid the ruins of Orange County's collapsed finances, the county's chief financial watchdog was still holding out hope that he would win the coveted 1994 excellence award from the Government Finance Officers Assn. Auditor-Controller Steve E. Lewis pushed for the completion of an outside audit he hoped would show the world what a fine job he had done, according to the testimony of an accountant hired to make sense of the county's finances.

Already under pressure to resign, Auditor-Controller Steve E. Lewis was hammered anew Wednesday as officials suggested the county stop using his office to perform audits. "Why should this board and the people of the county have any faith in your auditing capabilities?" Board of Supervisors Chairman Gaddi H. Vasquez asked during the second of three grueling days of budget hearings.

After nearly a year of investigation by the district attorney's office, the Orange County Grand Jury is poised to accuse some current and former supervisors and the county auditor-controller of misconduct in the largest municipal bankruptcy in history, several sources said. The inquiry involves possible criminal and civil violations, sources said, and may include actions against several other top officials and county employees.

In the first auditor-controller election since Orange County's historic bankruptcy, three candidates are competing for a position that has seen its power reduced since the fiscal collapse. Vying for the job are: David Sundstrom, currently the county's internal auditor--a position assigned to him by the Board of Supervisors; Snow Hume, a certified public accountant, and Wayne Clark, an economist and corporate director. The auditor-controller job, now held by Steve E.

He has been publicly chastised by county supervisors, stripped of some of his key duties and accused of misconduct by the grand jury for his role in Orange County's bankruptcy. Through it all, Auditor-Controller Steve E. Lewis has continued to hold on to his job and collect his $104,500 annual salary. He is one of the county's lowest-profile elected officeholders, and one of the most controversial.

Standing amid the ruins of Orange County's collapsed finances, the county's chief financial watchdog was still holding out hope that he would win the coveted 1994 excellence award from the Government Finance Officers Assn. Auditor-Controller Steve E. Lewis pushed for the completion of an outside audit he hoped would show the world what a fine job he had done, according to the testimony of an accountant hired to make sense of the county's finances.

Despite the auditor-controller's duty as Orange County's chief fiscal regulator, top officials in the office little understood the county's ill-fated investment strategy and relied on outside lawyers for approval of questionable financial dealings, according to testimony before the Orange County Grand Jury. Top officials said they lacked the staff and expertise to keep a close eye on the risky investment program of former Treasurer Robert L.

After nearly a year of investigation by the district attorney's office, the Orange County Grand Jury is poised to accuse some current and former supervisors and the county auditor-controller of misconduct in the largest municipal bankruptcy in history, several sources said. The inquiry involves possible criminal and civil violations, sources said, and may include actions against several other top officials and county employees.

The Orange County district attorney started presenting evidence to the grand jury Monday concerning the role played by Auditor-Controller Steve E. Lewis in the county's bankruptcy, sources close to the investigation said. "We're out there busily working," said Chief Assistant Dist. Atty. Maurice Evans about the district attorney's bankruptcy investigation. "Beyond that I have nothing to say."

A county committee has recommended that the jobs of treasurer-tax collector, clerk-recorder, auditor-controller and public administrator be appointed by the Board of Supervisors rather than elected by the voters. Filling the positions by appointment will result in the selection of "the best people for the job, not the people who run the best campaigns," said Bruce Sumner, a retired judge and chairman of the Orange County Charter Committee.

Orange County officials Friday began investigating whether more than $130 million was transferred into the county's general fund by Auditor-Controller Steven E. Lewis' office without any legal authority. The county's sudden interest in transfers that took place almost two months ago came after the state auditor's office issued a stinging report that challenged the movement of $282 million from unspecified accounts into the county's depleted general fund. Friday, county Counsel Terry C.

Orange County Auditor-Controller Steve E. Lewis said Friday that he wrote but did not send a confidential memo to top county officials in which he expressed doubts about then-Treasurer-Tax Collector Robert L. Citron's investment practices in May, 1993--19 months before the county filed for bankruptcy. In the memo to former County Administrative Officer Ernie Schneider, with copies to then-Board of Supervisors Chairman Harriett M.

Besieged Auditor-Controller Steve E. Lewis, who has been under pressure to resign because of his role in the county's bankruptcy, would keep his job but relinquish most of his internal auditing responsibilities under a proposed agreement reached Friday. The deal, which was brokered by Orange County Supervisor Jim Silva, reduces Lewis' duties to mostly bookkeeping and check-writing functions, but allows him to still receive his annual salary of $104,582.