San Bernardino County, California

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San Bernardino County is one of fifty-eight counties in California. As of 2007, the population was estimated by the California Department of Finance to be 2,028,013. San Bernardino County is the largest county in the United States by area, and is larger than each of the nine smallest states.

San Bernardino County is located in the southeast of California, extending from the outskirts of the populous Riverside-San Bernardino Area to the Nevada border and the Colorado River.

The county seat is San Bernardino. The county is considered to be part of the Inland Empire region of California.

[edit] County governance

San Bernardino is governed by an elected five-member Board of supervisors, and has six additional county-wide elected officials.

[edit] County clears requests with unions

Starting in 2008, San Bernardino County officials adopted the procedure of notifying two unions--the San Bernardino Public Employees Association (SBPEA) and the San Bernardino County Safety Employees Benefit Association--when the county is preparing to release information requested under the California Public Records Act that deals with county employees.

In December 2007, a local newspaper (The Sun and Daily Bulletin) published a database on its website of the names, positions and salaries of every public employee working for the county.

This prompted an outcry from the unions, and the newspaper subsequently removed the names of the employees from the website, but left information up about positions and salaries.

The SBPEA called the newspaper "anti-public employee". The SBPEA has also called the Los Angeles Times anti-public employee because the paper was looking for public information about the salaries of employees at the Arrowhead Regional Medical Center.

[edit] Information sought on double-dipping

On August 5, The Sun and Daily Bulletin requested the names and salary information of all county employees who receive both a salary and retirement benefits from the county. As of September 23, the request had not been honored by the county.

County spokesman David Wert says that it was his error that the request wasn't fulfilled by also said, in an e-mail, "We are also affording the unions who represent county employees a heads-up on this and time to voice any views they may have on the release of this information."[1],[2]

[edit] Ethics concerns in Assessor's Office

In the wake of a scandal involving staff members in the office of county assessor Bill Postmus, including the arrest of a top Postmus aide, San Bernardino Board of Supervisors Chairman Paul Biane pushed for an Ethics Amendment to be added as the 39th amendment to the county's charter. Voters passed the amendment overwhelmingly in November 2008, with more than 80% in favor.[3],[4]

This action capped several years of concern. In May 2004, San Bernardino County Grand Jury suggested that there should be public oversight in the hiring of staff members. A majority of Board of Supervisors staff members in 2008 were employed via contracts approved by the Board of Supervisors during public meetings. In August 2007, the San Bernardino County Grand Jury again expressed concern about the qualifications of the assistants to elected department heads.

In June 2008, the San Bernardino County grand jury concluded that Assessor Postmus had filled top positions in the assessor's office with political allies who lacked the necessary experience for the job.

Political corruption issues in the assessor's office, according to the Grand Jury, included:

  • Some of the assessor's staff used the county email system during work hours to participate in partisan politics and help organize election campaigns.
  • Severance pay given to a departing employee was excessive and highlighted possible abuses of the county's education reimbursement benefit.
  • Authorities arrested Assistant Assessor Adam Aleman on six felony charges that included destroying and falsifying evidence in an attempt to mislead the grand jury. Aleman has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

[edit] Website evaluation

Main article: Evaluation of California county websites
Budget
Meetings
Elected Officials
Administrative Officials
Permits, zoning
Audits
Contracts
Lobbying
Public records
Local taxes
County websites

The good

  • The names and contact information for all board of supervisor members is published.[5]
  • Board of supervisor meeting agendas and minutes are published.[6]
  • The names and contact information for all administrative officials is available.[7]
  • The complete budget is published.[8]
  • Audit reports are published.[9]
  • Information on building permits and zoning is available.[10]
  • Contract information is published.[11]
  • Information on taxes is provided. [12]

[edit] The bad

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ↑ Contra Costa Times, "SB County funneling public records requests through unions", September 22, 2008
  2. ↑ Daily Bulletin
  3. ↑ San Bernardino County Ethics Measure on tomorrow's ballot, November 3, 2008
  4. ↑ Voters to get voice on ethics issue
  5. ↑ Board
  6. ↑ Board
  7. ↑ Contacts
  8. ↑ Budget
  9. ↑ Audit and Business Plan
  10. ↑ Land Use Dept.
  11. ↑ Contracts
  12. ↑ Taxes
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