Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Don Horsley, President, Board of Supervisors
Dave Pine, Supervisor
Subject: Resolution Establishing a 2018 Charter Review Committee to Make Recommendations to the Board of Supervisors Regarding Proposed Amendments to the County Charter
RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt a resolution establishing a 2018 Charter Review Committee to make recommendations to the Board of Supervisors regarding proposed amendments to the County Charter.
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BACKGROUND:
Section 801 of the County Charter provides as follows:
“The Board of Supervisors shall convene a Charter review committee within eight years of the last complete Charter review. The committee shall review the Charter and, after public hearings, make appropriate recommendations for amendment or revision to the Board.”
The last Charter review committee was convened in 2010, therefore it is appropriate for the Board to convene a new committee at this time. On July 25, 2017, this Board created an ad hoc subcommittee consisting of the undersigned supervisors for the purposes of developing and presenting recommendations regarding the creation of the 2018 Charter Review Committee. The subcommittee reviewed prior charter review materials and has met with staff from both the County Manager’s Office and County Counsel’s Office and has developed recommendations concerning the composition, scheduling, and guidance to be given to the 2018 Charter Review Committee.
DISCUSSION:
We are presenting a resolution for the Board’s consideration and approval that would form the 2018 Charter Review Committee. The proposed resolution does the following:
1. Specifies that the Charter review committee will consist of sixteen (16) members, selected as follows: (a) each Board member will select two members, each such member being a resident within the supervisorial district of the appointing Board member; (b) the following five organizations would each select one designee to serve on the Committee: the Council of Cities, the County School Boards Association, the League of Women Voters, the Central Labor Council, and SamCEDA; and (c) the Board shall nominate a representative from the community representing businesses with more than 100 employees. All designees shall be individually named, and there shall be no alternates. It should be noted that, in light of the desire to convene Charter Review Committee meetings as soon as possible after January 1, 2018, the Board should appoint its nominees on or before its December 12, 2017, meeting.
2. Specifies that County Counsel and the County Manager, or their designees, shall serve as staff to the Committee.
3. Provides guidance regarding the organization of the Committee and the conduct of its business in the following areas: compliance with the Brown Act, appointment of officers, and quorum and voting requirements.
4. Specifies that the Charter review committee should consider any changes to the Charter as authorized by the Constitution and State Law, which in its opinion are appropriate, including but not limited to: the consolidation of the offices of the controller and treasurer-tax collector into a single Director of Finance position such as that in Marin County and Santa Clara County; the appointment of County officers not required by the State Constitution to be elected; and technical and administrative clean-up items concerning matters such as the appointment process for the County Manager and the consolidation of the elections function with the Office of the Assessor-Clerk-Recorder.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The convening of a Charter Review committee will result in only incidental impact to the General Fund relating to the staffing of the committee.