DATE: June 6, 2017
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Daniel C. Cederborg, County Counsel
SUBJECT: Resolution Granting Settlement Authority of Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000) to County Administrative Officer
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Adopt Resolution authorizing County Administrative Officer to settle legal disputes, proceedings, actions and litigation in an amount not to exceed Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000) and to authorize County Counsel to waive litigation costs in limited circumstances.
REPORT
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
The Board of Supervisors could decline to adopt the resolution.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no general fund impact resulting from the adoption of this Resolution.
DISCUSSION:
The Board of Supervisors, by Resolution adopted in 1993, granted settlement authority in Risk Management liability cases to the Director of Human Resources in the amount of ten thousand dollars ($10,000) and to the Risk Management Director in the amount of five thousand ($5,000) dollars. This settlement authority is limited to liability claims against the County. No delegation of any settlement authority for general litigation, proceeding or claims in which the County is a party has been granted by the Board of Supervisors. Over time, the low level of risk/liability authority and the lack of any general litigation settlement authority granted to staff has resulted in unnecessary delays in resolving minor cases as well as increased staff time and expense being expended on setting minor settlement matters on the Board of Supervisors' agenda.
The proposed Resolution would delegate fifty thousand ($50,000) of settlement authority to the County Administrative Officer to resolve all types of legal disputes, claims, proceedings or litigation to which the County is a party. California Government Code ?935.4 allows the Board of Supervisors to delegate to a County official up to fifty thousand dollars of settlement authority on claims against the County. The Cou...
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