Measure G on the ballot for Los Angeles County voters would increase the number of county supervisors from five to nine. NBC4’s Conan Nolan speaks with the Holly Mitchell and Kathryn Barger, two LA County Supervisors who say that although they like the idea of increasing the number of seats, they don’t like a number of key things in the measure.
Los Angeles County voters will have the final say Tuesday on a package of charter amendments that would overhaul county governance structure.
Measure G would do so, in part, by expanding the size of the Board of Supervisors and making the county CEO an elected position.
If approved by voters, Measure G would expand the Board of Supervisors from five to nine members following the 2030 Census and the county CEO would become an elected position by 2028. The measure would also create the positions of County Legislative Analyst and Director of Budget and Management.
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The proposal also includes the establishment of an Ethics Commission and a Compliance Officer by 2026. The Board of Supervisors has already begun the process of creating an Ethics Commission, with Supervisor Kathryn Barger noting that the move doesn't require voter approval. But if it is approved on the ballot, its existence would be codified in the charter, along with the establishment of a compliance officer, protecting it from being disbanded in future absent another public vote.
The measure also has a series of other provisions, including the creation of a commission that would review the county charter every 10 years; require the all county departments to present their annual budgets during
public meetings; require all Board of Supervisors agenda items to be posted at least 120 hours prior to a regular meting; authorize suspension of an elected official charged with a felony relating to a violation of officials duties; create a task force to oversee the implementations of the changes; and require that the changes be made with no additional cost to taxpayers.
The charter changes were championed by Supervisors Lindsey Horvath and Janice Hahn, and supported by Supervisor Hilda Solis.
Horvath and Hahn have argued on the need to bring about the changes -- saying the current County Charter was adopted in 1912, when the population was about 500,000. But the county now has 10 million residents and encompasses 88 incorporated cities within its border.
Currently, 10 million people in the county are represented by five people on the board.
But there has been dissension on the board about the proposals. Supervisors Holly Mitchell and Kathryn Barger both voted against placing the package on the ballot. They suggested the changes were being rushed forward, and they questioned if nine would be the proper number of members on an expanded board.
They also opposed the concept of an elected CEO, saying in a ballot argument against the measure that the person would lack accountability, serving with no term limits while endowed with the power to control the county's massive budget and weakening the Board of Supervisors' authority over the budget and the ability to hold department heads accountable.
Opponents have also questioned the notion that the changes could be implemented without any new costs to taxpayers, given its creation of new elected positions and county offices.
