Torrance Treasurer Seeks Committee to Oversee Investments : Finances: The proposal comes in the wake of the discovery of $6 million missing in a scandal linked to a Newport Beach investment adviser.

Amid the furor over $6 million missing in an investment scandal, Torrance City Treasurer Thomas C. Rupert is proposing a new board to oversee city investment policy.

The board would consist of five city officials, with Rupert as chairman. But some City Council members are hesitant to approve the idea, saying that more far-reaching reforms may be needed. Too much authority for investments may currently rest with the treasurer, they said.

“To put all the responsibility on one person--I don’t think it’s fair to him. I don’t think it’s fair to the system,” Councilman Timothy Mock said Wednesday.

The discussion comes in the wake of disclosures that millions in city funds may have been lost in a scandal linked to investment adviser Steven Wymer of Newport Beach, who has pleaded not guilty to 30 counts of securities fraud and other charges. Wymer handled investments for a number of cities in Iowa and California, including Torrance.

Still missing is more than $6 million Wymer was investing for Torrance, a figure that represents one-eighth of the city’s investment portfolio.

City officials are continuing to deal with fallout from the scandal. This week, the council hired legal help to track down the money and heard from a community group concerned about whether there should be more oversight of the city treasurer’s office.

Although the council is not rushing to blame Rupert, who has been Torrance’s treasurer for nearly 28 years, some council members say the treasurer’s role may need to be redefined.

Rupert’s proposal, outlined in a Monday memorandum to the council, recommends creating an investment review board with members including the treasurer, finance director, and representatives of the city manager and city attorney.

The board would review the treasurer’s monthly reports on city investments as well as “any new, significant investment activity,” Rupert wrote. He suggested the City Council could create the board at its meeting next week.

But council members said they want more time to review the issue.

At Tuesday’s council meeting, some members asked City Manager LeRoy J. Jackson for information about the treasurer’s job and how other cities handle investments. A report is expected in two to three weeks.

Mayor Katy Geissert said she is reluctant to “rush into an advisory group that, in essence, would not have any authority.”

Instead, Geissert said, the city needs to look at the treasurer’s responsibilities, which she said have “grown somewhat beyond those outlined in the City Charter.”

The Torrance City Charter does not specifically mention investments but requires the treasurer “to receive and safely keep all monies which shall come into his hands.”

The City Council in 1965 assigned the treasurer the responsibility of initiating and overseeing a short-term investment program, according to research by the city manager’s office. And in 1975, the council delegated investment authority to the treasurer.

Rupert said Wednesday that he thinks sufficient checks and balances are already in place to protect the city’s money.

The city finance department receives documentation of the treasurer’s activities, and the city’s books are audited regularly, he said.

“I can understand why the community and why the council are concerned. . . . I’m as concerned as anybody,” Rupert said.

The missing money is also drawing the attention of community groups. Sara Horne, president of the Torrance League of Women Voters, addressed the council Tuesday to talk about the loss.

“Our understanding is that there is no city department/committee/commission that oversees the city treasurer,” Horne said in statement read to the council. “Evidently the framers of our City Charter felt the voters were the only watchdog the city treasurer needed.”

Horne called for a council-appointed committee to review the charter and recommend “a method of filling the city treasurer and city clerk’s positions with qualified personnel that meet job specifications.”

Both positions are currently elected by the public.

Also on Tuesday, the council agreed to spend up to $300,000 to pay for lawyers and other assistance to try to recoup some or all of the $6.1 million.

The city will probably hire an investigator and maybe an accountant to help in the effort, City Atty. Kenneth Nelson said.

“There’s a lot of money involved in this,” Nelson said. “Unless I find we’re throwing good money after bad, I’ll keep after this.”