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Adopt the ordinance revising and republishing Chapters 1 and 2 of the Solano County Code, relating to county offices and officers
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Published Notice Required? Yes ____ No _X _
Public Hearing Required? Yes ____ No _X _
DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board adopt the ordinance revising and republishing Chapter 1, General Provisions, and Chapter 2, Administration, of the Solano County Code.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
As the county develops and the complexity of issues increases, it becomes critical that we maintain a current Solano County Code because it contains the county’s body of laws as enacted by the Board of Supervisors’ ordinances and keeps the public properly informed.
The Board initially adopted the code in 1968, with the first major revision to Chapters 1 and 2 occurring in 1992. The proposed revision constitutes the second major revision, with minor revisions occurring in 2001 and 2004. During this span of time, the county emerged from its strictly rural character to one of a healthy mixture of rural and suburban. To address these changes, our body of laws also changed.
Although we have now retained a publishing company to efficiently maintain our code, the current code requires extensive technical revision. Unfortunately, not all of the ordinances adopted by the Board were either not incorporated into the code or mistakenly entered. The proposed amendments will correct or eliminate inaccurate, incomplete, missing, outdated or unnecessary language and provisions. Since the amendments are numerous, we provide a summary of some of the more pertinent ones.
Chapter 1. General Provisions
The ordinance eliminates the reference to a number of criminal law rules that are contained in the Penal Code or established by case law, both of which are subject to periodic judicial review and legislative revision.
The ordinance adds two important enforcement provisions: it confirms that a violation of any code provision constitutes a public nuisance, which will assist us in remediating nuisances; and it authorizes any county public officer to make an arrest without a warrant, which will assist our officers in enforcing our animal control laws and park regulations. It also confirms a deputy’s authority in the absence of the office holder, the territorial jurisdiction of the code and the manner in which we compute time for notices and effective dates.
Chapter 2. Administration
The ordinance distinguishes between the establishment of an office and the creation of a position-they are distinctly different --- and, it clarifies duties and responsibilities. For example, the Board establishes the offices of the department of health and social services, public administrator and public guardian and creates the positions of the health and social services director, the public administrator and the public guardian, but it appoints the director to serve as the public administrator and public guardian. In the past, the public administrator and the public guardian reported to the director. The ordinance reflects that the resource management director is appointed the zoning administrator and the director of transportation, who, in this capacity, appoints the county surveyor. Similarly, while state law recognizes the county officers of county librarian and county veterans service officer, the ordinance authorizes the Board to designate the county librarian as the director of library services and the county veterans service officer as the director of veterans services, with the offices remaining the same. Finally, while the county clerk traditionally serves as the county elections officer, the ordinance authorizes the Board to establish the office of the registrar of voters and to appoint the chief information officer as the registrar of voters, who discharges the duties vested in the county elections official and not the duties of the county clerk that relate to election procedures.
As currently published, the code does not contain all of the ordinance provisions previously passed by the Board, for example: the duties of the director of human resources relating to insurance and risk management and the duties of the director of general services are incorrectly recited; the supervision of the Nut Tree Airport now resides with the general services director and the Parks now reside with the resource management director, and not vice versa as reflected in the current code; and the Aviation Advisory Committee no longer exists and is replaced by the Airport Land Use Committee, with expanded statutory duties. The ordinance corrects these omissions.
The ordinance also eliminates sections that are no longer appropriate or relevant, for example: Article V, Voluntary Campaign Financial Ceilings and Limits [superseded by state law]; the enforcement of laws and regulations by the Planning Commission [code enforcement division’s responsibility]; and the fee for findings of fact by the Assessment Appeals Board [the assessment appeals board’s rules establish the fee].
Finally, we adopted a format that hopefully makes access to the code provisions easier.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
There is no net impact on the General Fund.
ALTERNATIVES:
The Board could refuse to adopt the ordinance, but we recommend against this option because the changes reflect current conditions and existing law.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
We consulted with the Chief Probation Officer, the Director of Library Services, the Director of Veterans Services and the County Administrator’s Office.
CAO RECOMMENDATION:
APPROVE DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION