A majority of supervisors decided in closed session last week to offer the permanent county administrative officer role to interim CAO Ray Espinosa, officials have confirmed. Before hiring him, the board had to lower the position’s minimum qualifications to no longer require a college degree.
Board Chairman Anthony Botelho and other county officials have acknowledged making the closed session decision last week to offer Espinosa the county’s top administrative job. Supervisors, though, never officially reported the action in public after the meeting.
A state open meetings law expert called their inaction a violation of the Brown Act, but board members and the county counsel denied any legal missteps while citing that they’re involved in personnel negotiations with Espinosa.
While Espinosa had yet to accept the county’s job offer as of Monday afternoon, supervisors Tuesday took one more step before they could permanently promote him. The board agreed 4-1 to lower the minimum qualifications for the CAO job. Supervisor Robert Rivas had the dissenting vote.
They had to do so because Espinosa’s background does not meet the county’s minimum standards that call for at least a bachelor’s degree in public or business administration or a related field, with a preference for a master’s degree. The amendment will change the CAO position’s qualifications to use the same language – but add administrative experience as an alternative, according to the ordinance change as approved Tuesday.
Botelho responded Monday and defended the board’s non-reporting of the matter after closed session last week. He argued that the county and Espinosa remain in the negotiation phase regarding the permanent role and officials don’t have to report any action until both sides reach a deal.
Jim Ewert, general counsel for the California Newspaper Publishers Association and a lobbyist in support of open meetings legislation, argued that the board was legally required to announce their decision – to offer the job to a candidate – in public following the closed session agreement. He said because it was listed on the agenda as an appointment under Government Code 54957 – and not as a negotiation matter under a subsection of the law – supervisors should have reported the action to a certain degree. Ewert said supervisors could have announced that they agreed to offer the position without naming the candidate.
County Counsel Matthew Granger contended that there was no need to report any action because Espinosa had not accepted the job or signed a contract agreement.
“There was no decision,” Granger said of the closed session. “You can’t unilaterally force a job onto a person.”
Botelho said the county would look “foolish” if it announced offering jobs to candidates if those applicants then ended up turning down the positions.
“It’s always been done that way,” Botelho said about finishing contracts before announcing personnel moves.
Botelho also expressed confidence in Espinosa as CAO despite the former I.T. manager lacking the CAO position’s minimum qualifications, as stated by the county code, before Tuesday’s change.
When hired as interim CAO late last year, Espinosa’s resume said he had been working toward a bachelor’s degree from Golden Gate University in Monterey. That resume document now lists a bachelor’s degree in information technology management from Almeda University, an online college.
“We feel he’s qualified for the position,” Botelho said. “Otherwise we would not offer him the position, and he wouldn’t be working in the position that he’s been working in for the past (10 months). And so, naturally, we feel he’s more than qualified for the position.”
Other supervisors reached on the issue were relatively quiet before Tuesday’s meeting.
Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz repeatedly declined to comment, citing it as a personnel matter.
Rivas focused on the CAO qualifications proposal in a statement he released before Tuesday’s meeting. He pointed out that the CAO oversees a $100 million-plus annual budget and more than 300 employees.
“If the board approves this measure, we would become the only county in the entire state of California who will have a fulltime County Administrator who does not have a college degree,” Rivas wrote.
Espinosa did not return phone calls seeking comment before Tuesday’s meeting. Espinosa took on the interim CAO role in November 2012. He succeeded former CAO Rich Inman, who had resigned and agreed to settlement terms with the board after two years on the job.
The CAO role came with an annual salary of $152,790 two years ago, according to the most recent data on the state controller’s office website. Espinosa has been working under his old I.T. manager salary – about $89,000 in 2011 – plus a $10,000 stipend.
