Coming up this week, county leaders respond to a grand jury report, and Buena Park spends public dollars to market a private bus line.
On Tuesday, county supervisors are set to discuss their response to a scathing grand jury report on Supervisor Janet Nguyen’s influence over the county’s health care plan for more than 400,000 poor, elderly and disabled people.
The report, titled “CalOptima Burns While Majority of Supervisors Fiddle,” raised troubling questions about hospital lobbyists writing controversial changes to CalOptima and then fundraising for Nguyen.
Nguyen claims no hospital lobbyists influenced major changes at the agency, though interviews and emails obtained by Voice of OC suggest otherwise.
The grand jury is said to now be planning two more reports on the issue.
County Counsel Nick Chrisos is also set to be reappointed to his job on Tuesday at an annual salary of $208,000 or $100 per hour.
And plans to build homes in open space south of Ladera Ranch appear to be moving forward, with the county’s scheduled approval of final tract maps for more than 100 single-family homes in the area.
Meanwhile, in Buena Park on Tuesday, city leaders are set to spend $146,000 in public funds for marketing the private Anaheim Resort Transit (ART) shuttle bus, including $90,000 in advertising payments to the travel website Expedia.
And in Cypress, council members are set to decide Monday night whether to post their campaign contribution disclosures to the city’s website. That comes after a Voice of OC article last month pointed out that many of Orange County’s cities don’t make that information available online.
Other top issues this week include:
Orange County Board of Supervisors, Tuesday, Feb. 26, at 9:30 a.m.
- Directing staff on response to last month’s grand jury report “CalOptima Burns While Majority of Supervisors Fiddle.”
- Setting March 5 as the date to provide in open session recommended clerk-recorder candidate names for interview by that Board of Supervisors.
- Discussing total compensation for county CEO.
- Receiving a staff report on the feasibility and cost of not using Orange County Fire Authority for aircraft rescue fire fighting services at John Wayne Airport.
- Approving final tract map for 78 homes at the future Sendero Village development in the Ranch Plan planned community south of Ladera Ranch.
- Approving final tract map for 29 homes at the future Gavilan development in the Ranch Plan planned community south of Ladera Ranch.
- Reappointing Nicholas S. Chrisos as county counsel at a salary of $208,000 per year or $100 per hour.
- Approving a $520,000 contract with Satellite Tracking of People LLC for GPS monitoring of inmates serving home detention because of jail overcrowding. Cost is $4.75 per inmate per day for up to 300 inmates per year.
- Increasing funding of Mercy House Living Centers Inc. from $1 million to $2 million through March 2014.
Laguna Hills City Council, Tuesday, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m.
- Rejecting a wrongful death claim by the family of Romeo Zavaleta, who died after being struck by an OCTA bus while riding his bicycle at the intersection of Alicia Parkway and Paseo de Valencia on Nov. 12, 2011.
Irvine City Council, Tuesday, Feb. 26, at 4 p.m.
- Approving an agreement that 50 of 104 planned housing units in the Cypress Village area near Jeffrey Road and Roosevelt will be affordable to very low-income people.
Garden Grove City Council, Tuesday, Feb. 26, at 6:30 p.m.
- Reducing the rent paid to the city by German Auto Center for leasing city-owned property from $1,600 per month to $800.
- Extending by three years a development agreement for adding a new 17-story tower to the Embassy Suites Hotel.
- Costa Mesa City Council Study Session, Tuesday, Feb. 26, at 6 p.m.
- Receiving a presentation on unfunded pension and retiree medical liabilities from Joe Nation of Stanford University.
- Receiving a presentation on fiscal effect of 2.5%@55 PERS enhancement.
Buena Park City Council, Tuesday, Feb. 26, at 5 p.m.
- Allocating $146,000 in AQMD pollution reduction funds for marketing the private Anaheim Resort Transit (ART) shuttle bus, including $90,000 in advertising payments to the travel website Expedia.
Rancho Santa Margarita City Council, Wednesday, Feb. 27, at 7 p.m.
- Receiving a report by Developers Research Inc. about developing the 92-acre Chiquita Ridge open space site.
Cypress City Council, Monday, Feb. 25, at 5:30 p.m.
- Approving the posting of campaign contribution disclosures for council members to the city website.
Orange City Council, Tuesday, Feb. 26, at 4:30 p.m.
- Purchasing a new Seagrave fire truck for $1.1 million from HGAC-Buy.
Brendan Wiles contributed to this report.
You can reach Nick Gerda at ngerda@gmail.com, and follow him on Twitter: @nicholasgerda.