DATE: February 6, 2018
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Jean M. Rousseau, County Administrative Officer
SUBJECT: Proposed Amendment to the Fresno County Charter
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Consider adoption of resolution placing an amendment to Fresno County Charter, section 16, relating to the qualifications of the Director of Public Works and appointment of the County Surveyor on the June 5, 2018 ballot for voter approval.
REPORT
The recommended resolution calls for an election to amend the qualifications for the Director of Public Works and appointment of the County Surveyor in section 16 of the Fresno County Charter (Charter), increasing the future candidate pool for the position.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
The Board could decline to approve the recommended resolution, the proposed amendment would not be submitted to the voters at the June 2018 election, and the pool for future qualified applicants would continue to be limited.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Costs to place the measure on the ballot for June 5, 2018 are estimated by the County Clerk/Elections Official at approximately $90,000 and includes sample ballot booklets, direct salaries, and publications costs.
DISCUSSION:
During the June 7, 2016 Board of Supervisors Meeting, your Board discussed several potential amendments to the Charter including the amendment to section 16. On June 21, 2016, your Board approved the placement of Measure U on the November 8, 2016 ballot. Measure U sought to amend section 16 to remove the Director of Public Works as county surveyor and authorizing Director of Public Works to appoint a county surveyor. Measure U failed with 132,101 (55.88%) no votes and 104,288 (44.12%) yes votes.
California Business and Professions (B&P) Code, sections 8708 and 8725 prohibit a person from practicing surveying unless licensed by the State or specifically exempted from licensure. Thus, under the current version of the Charter, pursuant to section 16, the Director of Public Works must be both a registered civil engineer and licensed or authorized to practice as a surveyor. B&P Code, section 8731 exempts a person from this prohibition if the individual became registered as a civil engineer before January 1, 1982. However, very few potential candidates for the position were civil engineers licensed before January 1, 1982, over 36 years ago. Further, it has become less likely to find individuals with professional public works management experience who have both civil engineering and surveying licenses.
Given these requirements, the pool of qualified applicants for the Public Works Director position is substantially diminished. This situation may be corrected by amending section 16 to repeal the provision making the Director of Public Works the “ex-officio County Surveyor,” and to enact a provision for the Director to appoint a separate qualified County surveyor, if the Director lacks the requisite surveying license. No new position will be created as the Department currently has licensed surveyors who perform the actual surveying work.
With your Board’s approval, the recommended resolution would place the amendment of section 16 on the June 2018 ballot, removing the Director of Public Works as County Surveyor and authorizing the Director of Public Works to appoint a County Surveyor. A majority (50% plus one) is required for voters to pass a proposed amendment to the Fresno County Charter.
REFERENCE MATERIAL:
BAI #4, June 21, 2016
BAI #5, June 7, 2016
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
Resolution Calling an Election to Amend Fresno County Charter, section 16
CAO ANALYST
Sonia M. De La Rosa