(a) General Supervisory Authority. Government Code § 25303 provides that the Board of Supervisors shall supervise the official conduct of all County officers. The Charter of the County of San Bernardino provides that the Board of Supervisors may remove any County officer other than a Supervisor by a four-fifths vote, for cause. The Board of Supervisors’ responsibility in this regard is to insure that all County officers faithfully perform their duties and that the conduct of these officers meets the high standards required by State law, County ordinance, and County policies.
(b) Removal of Elected County Officers other than County Supervisors. The removal of an elected County officer is an extraordinary act and should occur in only the most egregious of circumstances and only when the interests of the citizens of the County cannot be reasonably served by any other means. These circumstances include the exposure of the County, or its employees, to irreparable harm.
(c) Removal/Definition of Cause. Section 6, Article II, of the San Bernardino County Charter provides as follows: “Any County officer other than supervisor may be removed from office in the manner provided by law; also any such officer may be removed by a four-fifths vote of the Board of Supervisors, for cause, after first serving upon such officer a written statement of alleged grounds for such removal, and giving him a reasonable opportunity to be heard in the way of explanation or defense.”
For purposes of Section 6, Article II,
CAUSE shall be defined as:
(1) Flagrant or repeated neglect of duties;
(2) Misappropriation of public property;
(3) Violation of any law related to the performance of the officer’s duties;
(4) Willful falsification of a relevant official statement or document.
(Repealed by Ord. 2498, passed - -1980; Ord. 3863, passed - -2002; Am. Ord. 3875, passed - -2002)