Orange County Contracts

Three years after privatizing the service, the Board of Supervisors will decide today whether to transfer responsibility for a job-training program to county employees who submitted a lower bid than the private sector. In 1993, the county selected a private contractor, Maximus Inc., to handle case management services for the General Avenues of Independence program, which provides job training and placement help to welfare recipients.

After 18 months of talking about scaling back the size of government and handing over some of its functions to the private sector, the Board of Supervisors weighed a proposal Tuesday that amounted to "privatization" in reverse. The county staff had recommended that the supervisors award a $1.6-million contract for a job training program to a group of county employees who submitted a lower bid than an outside firm.

The Board of Supervisors this week agreed to extend through July 1998 the contracts of two employee associations. The Orange County Law Enforcement Managers Assn. represents captains and lieutenants in the Sheriff's Department, and the Orange County Attorneys Assn. represents county lawyers and prosecutors. The two bargaining groups have a total of about 420 members.

The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday rejected a proposal by the county parks department to seek bids from firms interested in operating the golf course at Mile Square Regional Park and developing another portion of the Fountain Valley site. Instead, some supervisors suggested that the county negotiate a new contract with Mile Square Park Partnership, which has operated the facility since the 1960s under a 29-year contract that expires next year.

The Board of Supervisors will decide Tuesday whether to spend $80,000 on a consultant to help develop a far-reaching government restructuring plan unveiled earlier this week by Chief Executive Officer Jan Mittermeier. The restructuring plan calls for the county, as well as local cities and special districts, to reassess how best to provide public services and to consolidate some government entities.

The Board of Supervisors is set to decide today whether to hire former state Treasurer Thomas W. Hayes as the county's co-financial advisor. Under the proposal, Hayes' brokerage firm, Metropolitan West Securities, would be paid $500,000 to serve as financial advisor along with Salomon Bros. Inc. The contract is expected to run through the summer, when the county is scheduled to emerge from bankruptcy. Salomon Bros. has agreed to reduce its annual compensation from $3 million to $2.

The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday hired a contractor to build a $2.9-million addition to the county's overcrowded Juvenile Hall. The plan calls for an extension that will accommodate 30 additional beds for young offenders, as well as the installation of a security fence. Martin J. Jaska Inc., a San Bernardino County company, won the contract. County officials said they hope the addition will help the Probation Department deal with the increasing number of juveniles who commit crimes.

A subcommittee of Orange County's tollway agencies has recommended that Lockheed Martin's toll collection contract be renewed for two more years, despite what they say is the company's demand for $75 million more in fees. "Our decision was to not discontinue the contract at this time," said Laguna Niguel Mayor Patricia C. Bates, one of the subcommittee members. "Our thought was, 'Do we really need to be butting heads on this?'

Orange County's tollway agencies are debating whether to fire Lockheed Martin, a subsidiary of the aerospace giant that serves as its toll collection contractor, for demanding $75 million more in fees than originally negotiated.

If Los Angeles County gets its way, it could soon be sending a new export south to Orange County: Trash. On Tuesday, Los Angeles County supervisors unanimously supported a plan to allow county officials to begin negotiating with their Orange County counterparts in order to get a long-term deal to ship Los Angeles garbage south of the county line. One benefit would be to reduce the need for dumps in Los Angeles County--especially the controversial Elsmere Canyon Landfill near Santa Clarita.