Members of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors have proven they are incapable of policing their own members and their subordinate staff or controlling their insatiable appetites to have increasingly more taxpayer dollars deposited in their personal bank accounts. In 2006, the Board sponsored Measure P, promoting it as “term limits.” What Measure P really accomplished was to raise supervisors’ salary from $99,000 per year to over $152,000 per year over a two-year period.
Upon approval of Measure P, supervisors then voted to increase their benefits, including the option of a county-paid health insurance policy that exceeded $25,000 per year. Some parts of that increase were reduced in 2009 under duress. Supervisors continue to participate in multiple county-paid retirement plans and receive a substantial automobile and communication device allowance.
During the several-year period in which the supervisors facilitated substantial increases to their taxpayer-paid compensation packages, they reduced the number of weekly meetings convened to deliberate county business and listen to the concerns of its citizens in open forum. They limited the number of meetings to 27 out of 52 weeks per year. In other words, they are meeting approximately half of the year while receiving full-time compensation.
In November 2010, the Board of Supervisors created by ordinance and without voter approval the non-elected position of “County Executive Officer” whose powers and authority far exceed that of the former “County Administrative Officer” position. The Board included a “non-interference” clause, limiting their ability to act on behalf of their constituents. The contract for this non-elected “County Executive Officer” includes language requiring a 4/5th vote to terminate his employment and allows termination only under a very narrow set of circumstances usually reserved for elected officials guilty of malfeasance in office. Without the consent of the People, the Board in effect circumvented the will of the People by transferring some of their power to a non-elected official that is not accountable to the People and cannot be removed by the People.
The Board of Supervisors has significantly increased the size of their personal staffs and has rewarded them with substantial contracts, some of which approach $225,000 in salary and benefits. The total cost to taxpayers for the salary and benefits of these staff members now exceeds $6 million per year.
Members of the Board of Supervisors have used taxpayer funds to purchase for their own use top-of-the-line vehicles and lease lavish office space for district offices. Taxpayers are forced to foot the bill for multi-million dollar office remodels. Car insurance policies, vehicle maintenance, and fuel are paid for by taxpayers so that the supervisors and their families can drive county-owned vehicles out of the country and/or out of state while on vacation.
The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors has violated the trust placed in its members by the voters to act on behalf of the residents in a fiscally responsible manner. Board members have proven they require a higher level of oversight and restrictions placed upon them by the residents of San Bernardino County.