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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 10271998 - C76 C.76 THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA Adapted this Order on October 27, 1998 by the following vote: AYES: Supervisors Uilkema, Gerber, DeSaulnier, Canciamilla, and Rogers NOES: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None SUBJECT: Correspondence C.77 LETTER, dated October 14, 1998, from Alan C. Miller, President, Stege Sanitary District,P.O. Box 537, El Cerrito, CA 94530-0537, requesting the Board of Supervisors to defer to the District the apointment of a qualified candidate to fill the third vacancy on the District Board of Directors which will occur on December 4, 1998. *****REFERRED TO COUNTY COUNSEL IT IS BY THE BOARD ORDERED that the above recommendations as noted'{*****} are APPROVED. 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 SHOW/N.r ATTESTED nj' " .ti / 161W Phil Batchelor,Clerk of the Hoard of Supervisors and County Administrator By - Jim+ - . Deputy c.c.Correspondents (1) County Council _ - �� STEGE SANITARY DISTRICT- — — -g 3 Board of Directors: O!District NianagerlEnireeer: t 9 '• JohnT.Andrew Lawrence C.Rugaard,P.E. Jay Z.James j Alan C. Miller District Counsel: �3 Beatrice R.O'Keefe William D.Esselstein Donald C.West,Jr. October 14, 1998 Honorable Members of the Board of Supervisors of Contra Costa County 651 Pine Street, Room 106 Martinez, CA 94553 Dear Supervisors: The purpose of this letter is to respectfully request that the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors, in its role as the appointing authority of the Board of Directors of this District under Elections Code Section 15015(b), defer the exercise of its appointment power Iso as to enable this District's Board of Directors to fill a vacancy on the District Board which will occur at noon on December 4, 1998. Background„ Stege Sanitary District is governed by a five-person Board of Directors. At noon on December 4, 1998, the terms of three directors' offices will expire. Only two candidates, incumbent Director Alan C. Miller and candidate Dwight Merrill sought nominations to be elected to fill the three vacancies. Under Elections Code Section 15015(a), they are deemed elected and your Board will appoint them to fill two of the vacancies. A copy of a letter dated September 3, 1998 from Assistant County Registrar Hugh Denton confirming the foregoing is attached. Ordinarily,under Elections Code Section 15015(b), your Board would appoint,a qualified person to fill the vacant office. Mr. Denton has advised us that when that situation arises it has been your Board's practice to make the appointment upon a recommendation from the District. He also has advised that if for some reason an appointment was not made by your Board, the duty to till the vacancy would become the responsibility of the District's Board as of the date of the vacancy. In that case,the usual procedures for filling vacancies pursuant to Government Code Section 1780 would apply. Under those procedures the District Board would have sixty days to make the appointment. Reasons For The District's Request There are several important reasons why the District is requesting that your Board not make an appointment to fill the vacancy,but instead defer to the District's Board for that purpose. In Mr. Denton's September 3' letter, he states that your Board will need to receive the District's recommendation by November 18, 1998. We believe that is insufficient time for the District Board to provide the recommendation. To ensure that the best possible candidate is selected, our past experience teach us that three to four weeks are required to inform the District's constituency of the vacancy and to solicit statements of interest and qualifications. Several additional weeks would be 7500 SCHMIDT LANE - P.O.BOX 537, EL CERRITO, CA 94530-0.537 • (510)521-4668 • FAX:(5 E 0)524-4697 Honorable Members of the Board of Supervisors October 14, 1998 Page 2 needed for the District Board to schedule and conduct interviews of the candidates, engage in deliberations, and to notify your Board of the District's recommendation. Ordinarily when the District Board makes appointments under Government Code Section 1780, it has 60 days to complete its work.. A month is too short an interval to do a careful and through job. But by deferring action,the District can start the process of notifying interested persons about the vacancy now,and there will be ample time to complete the process within 60 days after December 4". Another consideration is that the District is already hampered by a vacancy on the Board. Very recently and unexpectedly Director John T. Andrew found it necessary to resign his office as of October 12, 1998 due to a change in his residency to Sacramento County. The District Board has determined there is insufficient time left in Director Andrew's term to justify attempting to fill the vacancy. Thus the important work of selecting a recommended appointee in the short amount of time remaining would be left to a four-member Board. Also by waiting until the vacancy occurs on December 4`'', Mr. Dwight Merrill, who will be appointed to the District Board on that date, would be able to participate fully in the selection process. Since Mr.Merrill will be on the Board for the next four years,his input in choosing a well- qualified candidate is likely to be very valuable to the District Board and its constituents. Summary Our Board's request is that the Board of Supervisors defer to the District the appointment of a qualified candidate to fill the third vacancy on the District Board and that your Board not exercise its appointment power under Elections Code Section 15015(b). By leaving the task of filling the vacancy to the District Board under Government Code Section 1780. The Board i of Supervisors and the District's constituents can be assured that the opportunity to select the most qualified candidate will be preserved. We took forward to your response. Thank you for your consideration. Very truly yours, /464t0- Alan C. Miller President of the Stege Sanitary District Board of Directors Enclosure cc: Hugh Denton C I,71 ca o Ci'I m > 3 a � a a v 44 w 14 �w aaN '•.t:' Vii''�O h �