FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 25, 1998
Contact: Diane Thomas
(714) 834-6203
County "Wows"
Big Apple With Financial Presentations
SANTA ANA - Visits
to key members of the New York finance community and a
prime spot on the agenda of a national investors conference
by County of Orange officials won rave reviews from their
audiences.
Board of Supervisors Chairman James W. Silva and Vice
Chairman Tom Wilson accompanied by CEO staff were in New
York last week to meet with rating agencies, insurers
and bond investors to update them on the County’s
five-year strategic financial plan and progress in the
County’s recovery.
CEO Jan Mittermeier and CFO Gary Burton were also invited
speakers at The Bond Buyer’s national investor forum
on June 15. The Bond Buyer is a leading national newspaper
focused on the bond market.
"It’s important for key players to reach out
in this way to the investor community," said Kate
McDonough, managing director of public finance for AMBAC
Indemnity. "The investors’ ability to have confidence
in the County is based not only on track record, but also
on the ability to meet and talk with those in leadership
roles. Everyone I talked to who had seen Orange County’s
presentation said ‘Wow.’ The County has a great
story to tell."
Other conference presenters included the cities of New
York and Washington D.C. and the states of Florida, New
Jersey and Connecticut.
"The County has a tremendous success story to tell,"
said Silva. "We emerged from the bankruptcy even
stronger than before. We’ve restructured, organized
the County’s mission into department business plans,
developed a long-range financial plan, and now we’re
developing performance measures and pay for performance.
We received very positive feedback from everyone we met
with. I was very proud to be from Orange County."
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