Orange County is set to dump the top-dollar public relations firm it hired to safeguard its image on Wall Street while weathering its $1.7 billion bankruptcy.

The firm's December bill was $249,628 - about the same amount cut from the county's indigent health-care budget this week. The January bill isn't in yet.

"They did, what, 25 news releases?" county supervisor Jim Silva said Wednesday. "That's $10,000 each. People cannot believe it. They're enraged."

In defending hiring the firm, county Board Chairman Gaddi Vasquez said, "We relied on the experts. While I may have some reservations about this billing, the experts remain convinced that the firm was there for the purpose of providing very critical information in very short order to a very important market."


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Bankrupt Orange County gives the boot to pricey PR firm hired when crisis broke