To: Board of Supervisors
From: Monica Nino, County Administrator
Report Title: APPROVE APPOINTMENT PROCESS FOR AUDITOR-CONTROLLER
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE process for appointment to vacant office of Auditor-Controller, effective March 30, 2025.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The cost of staff time to conduct recruitment.
BACKGROUND:
On December 13, 2024, Robert Campbell informed the Board of Supervisors and County Administrator of his intent to retire from the office of County Auditor-Controller, effective March 30, 2025. The current term of office for Auditor-Controller began on January 2, 2023, and expires January 4, 2027. Government Code section 25304 requires the Board of Supervisors to appoint someone to fill the vacancy. The person appointed to fill the vacancy will hold the office for the unexpired term; that is, until noon on January 4, 2027.
The Board has used the following process in the past when filling elective office vacancies, appointing the Clerk-Recorder in 2012 and 2019, the District Attorney in 2017, and the Treasurer-Tax Collector in 2024:
• Establishing a period for accepting applications;
• Review qualified applications at a public meeting after the filing deadline;
• Publicly identify the applicants Board wishes to interview;
• Conduct public interviews.
It has been the Board’s practice to obtain criminal history information under the authority of Penal Code section 11105(b)(11), before filing a vacancy in an elective office. This allows the County to verify that the person selected is not disqualified from holding office by Constitutional or state statute. The Board also has asked the selected candidate to provide an economic disclosure statement (Form 700).
Qualifications for Office - Education and Experience (Government Code section 26945) Human Resources will validate that each candidate meets at least one of the following criteria prior to the recruitment:
• The person possesses a valid and active certificate issued by the California Board of Accountancy under Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 5000) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code showing the person to be, and a permit authorizing the person to practice as, a certified public accountant.
• The person possesses a baccalaureate degree from an accredited university, college or other four-year institution with a major in accounting, as described in subdivision (a) of Section 5081.1 of the Business and Professions Code, as that section read on December 31, 2009, or a business-related degree that includes at least 24 semester units, or equivalent quarter units, in accounting-related subjects, including, but not limited to accounting, financial reporting, auditing, and taxation, and has served within the last five years in a senior fiscal management position in a county, city or other public agency or a non-profit organization, dealing with similar fiscal responsibilities, including, but not limited to, public accounting or auditing responsibilities, for a continuous period of not less than three years.
• The person has served as County Auditor, Assistant County Auditor, Chief Deputy County Auditor or an equivalent position for a continuous period of not less than three years.
Government Code section 24001 and Elections Code section 201 requires that the appointee for Auditor-Controller as an elected office be a registered voter of Contra Costa County at the time of appointment.
Proposed Recruitment and Appointment Timeline- Human Resources will be conducting the recruitment.
• 1/15/2025 Recruitment commences
• 2/11/2025 Recruitment closes (4 weeks)
• 2/20/2025 Applications Disclosure/Board of Supervisors Agenda Published
• 2/25/2025 Board Identifies Applicants to Interview
• 3/11/2025 Regular Meeting of Board of Supervisors: Interview Applicants and Make Appointment
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
Negative action would delay establishment of a process for appointment of a County Auditor-Controller for the reminder of the current term of office.