Citing a lack of time for personal study and public input, San
Benito County Board of Supervisors members decided this week not to
pursue a major overhaul of the county’s elected positions.
Hollister – Citing a lack of time for personal study and public input, San Benito County Board of Supervisors members decided this week not to pursue a major overhaul of the county’s elected positions.
Though Tuesday’s supervisors meeting was the first time the issue had gone before the board, the topic of restructuring county elected offices was first broached several months ago when John Hodges, who holds the title of county clerk/registrar/auditor, told County Administrative Officer Susan Thompson that he wanted his position split, so the county auditor is separate from the clerk and registrar of voters.
On Tuesday, supervisors also saw proposals for the restructuring of the county’s assessor and treasurer positions, but Hodges proposal to split his position garnered the most discussion.
“I feel that we should have a stand-alone auditor/controller. It’s for the good of the citizens of the county,” Hodges, 65, told the board Tuesday.
Hodges said that because the job of auditor has become more complex and specialized over the years, he thinks the county needs a person dedicated to that job alone. The vast majority of California’s 58 counties have stand-alone auditors.
Hodges, who first got elected to the position in 1982 and has kept it ever since, concedes the finance department duties he’s technically in charge of as auditor are a little over his head. The county’s finance director, Dan Vrtis, takes on the lion’s share of the auditor duties. They include preparing the county’s financial statements, including the budget, overseeing payroll and ensuring mandatory audits are performed periodically. Hodges said that he still hasn’t decided if he’ll run for the position again when it comes up in next year’s election.
Under Hodges’ proposal, the split would have resulted in the creation of the new elected position of auditor. In order to establish the new position in time for the November, 2006 election, supervisors would have had to approve the split before Dec. 30, 2005. While they seemed open to exploring the idea of creating a separate auditor position – be it elected or appointed – in the future, supervisors did not want to rush a decision without giving ample time for personal study and public input.
“I just don’t think the board felt like it wanted to rush into a decision,” Chairman Reb Monaco said after the meeting. “Yesterday was the first discussion we had as a board on this issue.”
Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz said he was in favor of creating a stand-alone auditor position, but he wanted it to be done in a “slow, systematic, methodical” way.
“The public should have the opportunity to express its feelings on the issue,” he said.
After the county had to pull nearly $2 million from its reserves this year to balance its budget, the $120,000 annual cost of having a new elected position is also a concern shared by supervisors.
“The key issue for me is the fact that, on our depleted budget, we need to really take a hard look at creating new positions at this time” Supervisor Don Marcus said.
If a separate auditor position is eventually created, whether it should be an elected or appointed position is up in the air.
De La Cruz said that he has yet to decide his position on that question. But, he added, because the job has become complex and specialized, he could see some benefits with having an appointed auditor who is hired because of expertise and experience rather than an ability to successfully campaign.
“In a political situation some one with a good machine behind them can most likely win and not be the best candidate,” he said.
Both Supervisor Anthony Botelho and Marcus said they think the auditor should be appointed, so the board has more control over what type of person gets the position.
Supervisor Pat Loe said she wanted to study the issue further before deciding on whether auditor should be an elected or appointed.
Supervisors said that restructuring elected positions is something they are open to looking into in the coming years, but have not set a timeline for when they might do so.
In addition to the proposal for splitting Hodges’ position, Thompson presented supervisors with other restructuring options Tuesday. One scheme would have combined the assessor position, which is held by Tom Slavich with the county clerk, recorder and registrar of voters position held by Hodges. That scheme would eliminate one elected position.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Slavich, who said he will seek reelection next year, spoke in opposition to that arrangement.
“I believe combining the offices with the assessor’s is going to diminish the effectiveness and efficiency of the office,” he said.
Another scheme entailed scraping elected auditor and treasurer positions and creating an appointed finance director position. Although County Treasurer Mary Lou Andrade could not be reached for comment, Thompson said Tuesday that Andrade had told her that she is not in favor of having her position consolidated.
Luke Roney covers local government and the environment for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or at
lr****@fr***********.com
.
