Wieder Says Chairmanship Will Be a Tool of Change : Government: The supervisor orders array of advisory committees to study the county’s new and diverse needs. She also proposes televising the board meetings.
SANTA ANA — Borrowing popular themes that have transformed the philosophy of national government, Harriett M. Wieder on Tuesday began a yearlong term as chairman of the County Board of Supervisors by sketching broad proposals for change.
Wieder, 72, a 15-year-member of the board who last served as its chairman in 1988, ordered the creation of an array of advisory committees that would tend to such diverse needs as new economic strategies and open government.
“Someone recently said that changing government is like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic,†Wieder said in her opening address at the Hall of Administration. “Well, this is what I am going to talk about, as I prepare to lead this county for the coming year--not about deck chairs, but about change.â€
As presented, the new chairman’s nine-page speech lacked many specifics but emphasized an overall intention to make county operations more accessible to the public. Included were proposals to broadcast weekly board meetings on countywide cable television and to seek residents’ input on state legislative priorities in public meetings.
Also among Wieder’s goals for her 12-month term were:
* Creation of a task force that would attempt to foster better relations with Orange County’s growing multiethnic communities.
* A small-business committee to recommend how the county government can remove obstacles to profitability.
* Restructuring board policies to ensure that large monetary contracts posted on the board’s weekly calendar receive more open review and discussion by the supervisors.
* Promoting private business interests in construction of jail facilities to relieve current overcrowded conditions.
* And developing housing and health aid programs for the county’s burgeoning low-income population.
At the same time, however, Wieder provided an ominous backdrop for her agenda, calling the state’s projected $7-billion 1993 shortfall “very frightening†to the county.
“As the governor’s 1993 budget proposal so dramatically confirms, county government is considered by the state to be nothing more than their handmaiden,†the new chairman said. “Housekeeper is a more accurate description. Well, if we must function as a housekeeper, it is time for some spring cleaning.â€
Virtually all of the proposals, Wieder said, would require little additional funding, or, at most, a redirection of existing money or staff time to accomplish.
“What it’s really about is not rearranging the deck chairs, but developing innovative ways to steer the ship,†she said.
For the most part, Wieder’s message was warmly received, but it did not win the overwhelming endorsement of some of her own board colleagues.
Supervisor Thomas F. Riley was skeptical over the broad committee approach to government proposed by Wieder.
“It’s not my way of leadership,†he said. “But she feels otherwise, apparently, and that’s been characteristic of her leadership.â€
Riley said he was also concerned that two other Wieder proposals--a review of the board’s weekly calendar procedure and broadcast of board meetings--might only prolong regular board meetings.
Wieder has been critical of the board’s consideration of calendar items, saying big-money contracts are often approved unanimously with little time for consideration or public debate.
“I just don’t see what we are gaining by it,†Riley said of the calendar proposal. As for the plan to broadcast meetings, Riley added simply: “People feel an obligation to talk more on television.â€
Wieder appeared unconcerned by Riley’s comments.
“If there is skepticism, it’s only typical because with changes of any kind, there’s always a fear of the unknown,†she said.
Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez said he would “reserve judgment†on Wieder’s ideas until they were addressed more specifically. But in general, he said, Wieder offered “upbeat, ambitious proposals . . . many of them doable.â€
Outgoing Board of Supervisors Chairman Roger R. Stanton, who reportedly attempted to keep his chairmanship from passing to Wieder under traditional board rules, offered only praise for Wieder’s plan.
“I thought her speech was marvelous,†Stanton said.
In other county business, the board sought to ease post-storm cleanups by allowing cities an extra 30 days to pay for their use of the Frank R. Bowerman Landfill, a clay-lined site used for wet debris.
Vasquez, whose district includes the landfill, said he was upset to learn that bond-financing measures blocked the county from waiving the landfill fees altogether.
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