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Section 303. Elections and Term of Office.
The term of office of each elective County officer is four years. All elective County officers shall be elected at the general election at which the Governor is elected, and shall take office at noon on the first Monday after the first day of January next succeeding their election and shall hold office until their successors are elected or appointed and qualified, unless sooner removed as provided by this Charter. All such elective County officers shall be nominated and elected in the manner provided by general laws for the nomination and election of such officers.
Section 304. Consolidation and Segregation of Elective County Offices.
The Board of Supervisors may, by ordinance, consolidate any two or more County offices or may separate any offices now or hereafter consolidated. In the event of consolidation of an elective office with an appointive office, such consolidated office shall be filled in the same manner in which the elective office is filled.
Section 305. Removal of Elective Officers.
Any elective County officer may be removed from office in the manner provided by law. Any elective County officer other than a Supervisor may be removed by a four-fifths vote of the Board of Supervisors, for cause, after such officer has been served with a written statement of alleged grounds for such removal, and such officer has been given a reasonable opportunity to be heard in the way of explanation or defense.
For the purposes of this section, cause is defined as: a flagrant or repeated neglect of duties; a misappropriation of public property; a violation of any law related to the performance of the officer's duties; or a willful falsification of a relevant official statement or document.
Section 306. Filling of Vacancies.
If there is a vacancy in an elective office, the Board of Supervisors shall within 60 days of the effective date of the vacancy either appoint a replacement or call a special election. Nomination and election of the elective County officer shall be as provided in Section 303.
If the effective date of the appointment is no less than 130 days from the statewide general election at which the United States President is elected, the appointment is provisional to the first Monday after the first day of January next following the election. When making the appointment, the Board of Supervisors shall call for a special election for this office for the remaining term and shall order the special election to be consolidated with such statewide general election. The special election shall be a single-winner election. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes is elected.
If the effective date of the appointment is less than 130 days from the statewide general election at which the United States President is elected, then the appointee shall serve the remainder of the term of the office.
If the Board of Supervisors does not make an appointment and instead calls a special election, the special election shall be held on the next established election date, as defined in Division 1 (commencing with Section 1000) of the Elections Code, that is no less than 130 days from the date that the special election is called. When calling a special election to be held on the next established election date that is no less than 130 days from the date that the election is called, the Board of Supervisors may authorize the election to be conducted wholly by mail, provided that the special election is not held on the same date as a statewide primary or general election or is not consolidated, as defined in Elections Code section 10400, with any other election. The special election shall be a single-winner election. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes is elected.
If the Board of Supervisors does not make an appointment or call a special election within 60 days of the effective date of the vacancy, then a special election shall be held to fill the vacancy. The special election shall be held on the next established election date, as defined in Division 1 (commencing with Section 1000) of the Elections Code, that is no less than 130 days from the 60th day after the effective date of the vacancy. In the discretion of the Register of Voters, the special election to be held on the next established election date that is no less than 130 days from the 60th day after the effective date of the vacancy may be conducted wholly by mail, provided that the special election is not held on the same date as a statewide primary or general election or is not consolidated, as defined in Elections Code section 10400, with any other election. The special election shall be a single-winner election. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes is elected.
If an election is required pursuant to this section and the date of such election as required by one of the preceding paragraphs of this section would be less than 180 days from the statewide primary election vacant office, then notwithstanding such preceding paragraph, the regular nomination and election process shall be followed pursuant to Section 303.
Section 307. Staff Members of the Elective County Officers.
Staff members of the elective County officers, at the level of assistant department head or its equivalent level, shall serve in the unclassified service at the pleasure of the appointing elective County officer and in that elective officer's sole discretion. Except for the offices of Sheriff and District Attorney, qualifications for all staff members in the unclassified service of elective County officers shall be established by the elective County officer and approved by the Board of Supervisors. The persons to be appointed as Undersheriff shall be certified by the California Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) and the persons to be appointed as Assistant District Attorney shall be a member in good standing of the State Bar of California. This section shall not apply to the staff of the County Superintendent of Schools.
Section 308. Compensation of Elective County Officers.
The annual salaries of elected County Officers, excepting that of the County Superintendent of Schools and other than Members of the Board of Supervisors, shall be set by, but shall never exceed, the average of the salaries paid to corresponding officers in the following California Counties: Riverside, Kern, San Diego, Orange and Ventura. The salaries shall be computed each year on December 1 as follows: On December 1, 1985, 70 percent of the average, on December 1, 1986, 80 percent of the average, on December 1, 1987, 90 percent of the average, and on December 1, 1988, and thereafter, 100 percent of the average; provided, however, that on December 1, 1989, and each December 1 thereafter, regardless of the amount of increase in the average salaries from the other counties, no increase shall exceed 4 percent of the annual salary of the elected officer unless submitted to and approved by the voters of the County at a County-wide election. Where no comparable offices exist in a majority of named counties, the salary of the office shall be adjusted by the average of the percentage adjustments of the other county officers governed by this section. No provision of this amendment shall provide retroactive benefits. No salary adjustment shall be made on December 1, 1985, for any elected official whose salary has been adjusted since November 7, 1978, but such salaries shall be adjusted thereafter in accordance with this section. This section is intended to operate as a continuous application of the third paragraph of Section 1 of Article VI of the County Charter of 1913.
The salary and benefits that elective County officers are eligible to receive shall be posted on the County website and accessible from a link located on the home page of the County website.
ARTICLE IV: APPOINTIVE COUNTY OFFICERS
Section 401. Appointive County Officers.
The appointive County officers shall be:
Chief Executive Officer
Clerk of the Board of Supervisors
County Clerk
County Counsel
The Board of Supervisors shall appoint the above-identified County officers. The appointive officers of the County shall also be any such officers as are otherwise required by this Charter, the general law, or ordinance. The Chief Executive Officer shall appoint all other appointive County officers, unless such appointment authority is designated by the Constitution of California, the general law, or by ordinance.
Section 402. Powers and Duties.
Each appointive County officer shall have the power and perform the duties now or hereafter prescribed by the general law, except as otherwise provided in this Charter or by ordinance, and shall have and perform such other powers and duties as are prescribed in this Charter or by ordinance.
Section 403. County Officer Appointing Assistants and Others.
Each appointive County officer shall be the appointing authority for all assistants, deputies, clerks, and other persons employed or serving in his or her office, except as otherwise provided by the general law, this Charter, or by ordinance.
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