The County of Orange Bids Farewell to Supervisor Moorlach
By: Shawn Nelson, Chairman of the O.C. Board of Supervisors
Tuesday December 16th marked the last full board meeting of Supervisor John Moorlach’s term on the Board of Supervisors. Supervisor Moorlach began his service to the county in 1994 when he was appointed Treasurer/Tax Collector shortly after the county filed bankruptcy. Moorlach gained national fame as the leading voice sounding an alarm about the county’s risky financial moves prior to the bankruptcy. From 1994 to 2006 then Treasurer Moorlach managed the county’s finances and guided us back to financial sustainability. Thanks to many of the reforms Moorlach implemented as treasurer the bankruptcy debt is scheduled to be paid off in 2015.
Supervisor Moorlach was first elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2006 and was re-elected to a second and final term in 2010. Much like his tenure in the Treasurer/Tax Collector’s office, John focused his efforts on substantial reforms aimed at good government and long term sustainability. As Second District Supervisor, Moorlach spearheaded several projects important to the constituents he represents, notably the John Wayne Airport Settlement Agreement and the annexation of Sunset Beach by Huntington Beach. On a countywide level, Supervisor Moorlach led the way on a voter approved initiative that stipulated voters must approve increases in pension benefits, the Civic Openness in Negotiations (COIN) ordinance and the creation of the Office of Independent Review and the Performance Audit he also championed having Orange County be the first large county in California to fully implement “Laura’s Law” among countless other contributions.
Prior to Tuesday’s board meeting a reception was held in the lobby of the Hall of Administration to recognize Supervisor Moorlach’s service and contributions. The ceremony featured speeches and gifts presented by many elected officials and county department heads. Supervisor Nelson was honored to emcee the event and offered well wishes. Immediately before the board meeting the Board of Supervisors presented Supervisor Moorlach with a Resolution from the county and expressed their thanks and gratitude for their departing colleague.
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Eight years and virtually zip to show for it.
GREAT news that the BK debt will be gone in 2015! NOW the NEXT question, is, will trash tipping fees and JWA Airport surcharges, etc., be LOWERED to give long-suffering residents a break, or will they just be RE-DIRECTED to fund pet projects, salary spiking. pension give- aways, etc??
BTW, his pet project – the OIR – was nothing but a cherished scam that accomplished nothing. In Moorlach’s own words: if you can’t measure it you can’t manage it. No mention of all the millions pee’d away fighting a hopeless lawsuit against the OCSDA or the daisy chain of IT disasters since 2007. That would be bad form.