BOS Attempts to Circumvent Will of the People

Greg Devereaux

The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors is set on Tuesday for the first reading of an ordinance to make a de facto amendment to the Charter of the County of San Bernardino.  The Charter of the County of San Bernardino is the county equivalent of the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of California, both of which were adopted through a vote of the people.  As such, the law is very specific as to how it can be changed.

The truth of the matter is that according to Constitution of California any change to any county charter must be approved by the vote of the electorate.  It CANNOT be made by ordinance as is being attempted by the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors.

The Constitution of California, Article 11, Local Government, Sec. 3, states:

(a) For its own government, a county or city may adopt a charter by majority vote of its electors voting on the question. The charter is effective when filed with the Secretary of State. A charter may be amended, revised, or repealed in the same manner. A charter, amendment, revision, or repeal thereof shall be published in the official state statutes. County charters adopted pursuant to this section shall supersede any existing charter and all laws inconsistent therewith. The provisions of a charter are the law of the State and have the force and effect of legislative enactments.

We understand that the Board of Supervisors is enacting an ordinance, not enacting a change to the charter, but the effect is the same.   They are changing a key element of the Charter of the County of San Bernardino. And they simply do not have authority to do so.

What the Board of Supervisors is proposing on Tuesday, REQUIRES a vote of the people.  They choose, instead, to violate our right to vote on this change and ramrod its proposal through, hoping it flies under the radar of an uninterested electorate.

The Charter of the County of San Bernardino is very specific, and was enacted with that specificity in mind, as to the powers of the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors.  From what we have been told, San Bernardino County is the only one of the state’s 58 counties to specify that the Chairman of the Board is the County’s Executive.   It states in pertinent part [emphasis added]:

Duties of the Chairman of the Board

SECTION 5. The Chairman of the Board of Supervisors shall be the general executive agent of the Board. It shall be his duty, subject to regulation and control by the Board, to exercise general supervision over the official conduct of all County officers and officers of all districts and other subdivisions of the County charged with the assessment, collection, safekeeping, management, or disbursement of public revenue; also over all County institutions, buildings and property. He shall report to the Board from time to time with such recommendations as he shall deem proper. He shall devote his entire time during usual office hours to the duties of his office. He shall keep an office in the room or rooms where the Board usually meets, and shall be in attendance at such office during usual office hours, except when elsewhere engaged in the performance of his official duties.

The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors is proposing to instead to transfer those powers over to the County Administrative Officer by ordinance rather than charter amendment as required by the Constitution of California.

12.0201 Position Established.
That there be, and there is, hereby created the position which shall be known and designated as Chief Executive Officer of the County which position may be designated as “Chief Executive Officer.”

Here are some of the duties they are turning over to him that will be included in Section 12.02.06:

(a) Act as the chief executive officer of the County and, as such, act as the primary administrative advisor to the Board of Supervisors on all matters relating to the efficient and economical administration of County government.

(c) Act on behalf of the Board of Supervisors in overseeing the implementation of authorized projects and programs.

(d) Directly manage all County functions and operations except those committed by law to elected officials or Board of Supervisor appointed department heads of the County and be cognizant of the administration of all departments.

(e) Provide budgetary, fiscal and administrative support, oversight, and direction as it pertains to Board of Supervisors’ policy and procedures for all elected and all Board of Supervisor appointed department heads and their agencies and departments.  [Emphasis added.]

But most disturbing is the addition of this section:

SECTION 8. Section 12.0103 is added to Chapter 1 of Division 2 of Title 1 of the San Bernardino County Code, to read:

12.0103 Non-interference.

Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the Board of Supervisors, as the governing board of the County, retains full authority to take any and all official action authorized for the governance of the County. Except, no member of the Board of Supervisors nor any member of his/her staff shall give orders to or instruct the subordinates of the Chief Executive Officer, either publicly or privately.

This section does not limit a member of the Board of Supervisors or any member of his/her staff from seeking or providing information. The provisions of this Code at Title 1: Government and Administration, Division 1: General Provisions, Chapter 2: Violations and Enforcement, shall not apply, except as to equitable remedies established by law.

The Board of Supervisors has an obligation to the electorate to assure the county is run according to the law.  It is shirking that obligation.

Equally disturbing is the fact that the Board of Supervisors has already given a contract to the County Administrative Officer that is in direct violation of the county ordinances.  That contract requires a 4/5ths vote of the Board of Supervisors to remove the County Administrative Officer.  This new restriction makes the 4/5ths all the more ominous.

This ordinance takes away a board member’s and the Chairman’s ability to correct inappropriate actions made by department heads and their subordinates, especially if the Board member cannot get three other members to agree with his/her position.  The Chief Executive Officer does not have to do anything a board member asks if that board member cannot get a super majority to side with him/her.  That is a very dangerous amount of power to bestow upon someone who is not elected by the people.  In this case, it is also an illegal transfer of power.

We ask once again:  If the Chief Executive Officer is given this amount of authority and power, why do we have a need for a full-time Board of Supervisors?  They are willingly becoming nothing but a ceremonial body and should be compensated as such.