Agenda

Return

C. 90

To:	Board of Supervisors
From:	David Twa, County Administrator
Date:	February 3, 2015

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

CLERK'S CERTIFICATE TO INITIATIVE PETITION OF REFERENDUM OF ORDINANCE NO. 2014-10

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 02/03/2015

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor
Mary N. Piepho, District III Supervisor
Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor

Contact:

JULIE DiMAGGIO ENEA 925.335.1077

I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: February 3, 2015
David Twa,

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

ACCEPT the Clerk-Recorder’s certificate of signature verification results for referendum petition on Ordinance No. 2014-10, which would have adjusted the salaries of the Board of Supervisors members, as recommended by the County Administrator.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The estimated cost associated with the 2014 salary ordinance was $235,000, $66,876 of which was pension cost.

BACKGROUND:

On November 4, 2014, the Board of Supervisors adopted Ordinance No. 2014-10, which amended the County Ordinance Code to adjust salary of members of the Board of Supervisors to an annual amount equivalent to seventy percent of Superior Court judges’ salaries and provided that, prospectively, Supervisors’ salaries would be adjusted as necessary to maintain a base salary equivalent to seventy percent of judges’ salaries. Judge’s salaries are linked to the salary increases of State employees. The Supervisors' salaries had not been raised since 2007 and were the lowest in the State for urban counties, and the second lowest for counties in the Bay Area.

BACKGROUND: (CONT'D)

On January 2, 2015, a coalition of labor organizations filed a referendum petition, calling on the Supervisors to rescind the salary increase and, effectively, suspending the ordinance that was to have taken effect on January 3, 2015. The County Registrar of Voters advised that the petition must contain 25,407 valid signatures in order to be deemed sufficient. The petition filed on January 2 is estimated to contain approximately 39,000 signatures but the number of valid signatures would be determined by the Elections office.

The County Clerk has examined the petition and verified the signatures by examining the records of registration in this county, and has determined that the required number of qualified electors have signed the petition. The County Clerk certifies that the attached report regarding the signatures is true and correct.

During the interval in which signatures were being verified, the Board of Supervisors, on January 20, 2015, took action to repeal the salary ordinance (No. 2014-10) in recognition of the public expression through the petition process and to minimize the expenditure of time and resources to verify the petition signatures or hold an election on the matter.

CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:

Not applicable.

CHILDREN'S IMPACT STATEMENT:

Not applicable.