To: Board of Supervisors
From: Monica Nino, County Administrator
Report Title: DETERMINE PROCESS FOR APPOINTMENT OF COUNTY TREASURER-TAX COLLECTOR
?Recommendation of the County Administrator ? Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. ACCEPT a report from the County Administrator on the appointment process for a new Treasurer-Tax Collector;
2. DETERMINE process for recruitment of vacant Treasurer-Tax Collector position to be vacated effective December 31, 2023; and
3. PROVIDE staff direction on next steps.
FISCAL IMPACT:
No fiscal impact.
BACKGROUND:
On September 25, 2023, Russell Watts informed the Board of Supervisors and County Administrator in writing that he is retiring from the office of County Treasurer-Tax Collector, effective December 31, 2023. The current term of office for Treasurer-Tax Collector began on January 2, 2023, and expires on 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.
1. Appointment Process
The law does not specify a process for appointing someone to the elective office of Treasurer-Tax Collector. In the past decade, there have been three resignations/retirements from elective County offices, and the Board adopted a similar appointment process each time. The Board adopted a process to appoint a replacement for the Clerk-Recorder in 2012, for the District Attorney in 2017, and for the Clerk-Recorder in 2019. In each appointment process, the Board took the following actions:
* set a period for accepting applications (e.g., four weeks);
* reviewed all applications at a public meeting after the filing deadline;
* publicly identified the applicants that the Board wished to interview; and
* conducted public interviews.
It has been the Board's practice to obtain criminal...
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