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Home My WebLink About78-065. WHEREAS, th~s Board has received a copy of a memorandum ~rom W. R. Lawrence, County Auditor, ta Jim Johansen, Assistant Auditor, dated March 8, 1978; which is attached hereto as Exhibit "A" and a memorandum to the Board of Supervisors dated March 8, 1978 from W. R. Lawrence, which is attached hereto as Exhibit "B"; and WNEREAS, the Board has also received a copy of a memorandum from Jim Rackerby, County Personnel Director, to Clif Mickelson, County Administrative Officer, dated March 14, 1978, on the subject of reassignment in the Auditor's office, which is attached hereto as Exhibit "C"; and WHEREAS, this Board wishes to make clear for all concerned of the County's po7icy regardtng these matters and to exercise its supervisory powers pursuant to Government Code Section 25303: NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by thfs Board as fol7ows: 1. That this Board does not tolerate, nor wi11 it excuse any attempt by an elected County official to utilize threats, veiled or otherwise, against County emp3oyees in his department so as to attempt to contro1 the method and manner of that employee's right to car~paign for the office in question. 2. That this Board spectfically disavows and further abhors the position taken by the Auditor relative to his ~Issistant as expressed in the last three paragraphs of Exhibit "A". That in ~he event the threats of ~hese last three paragraphs are in any wa,y attempted to be carr~ed aut, this Board will take all appropriate legal action to insure that all concerned's legal r~ghts are protected and further wi11 ho1d the Auditor personally liable on his bond for any expenses that the County of Bu~te is ~Forced to undergo in so protecting the rights of all concerned. -z- 3. That in the event the County of Butte substains any: 7oss whatsoever emanating from the proble~s described in Fxhibit "C", that likewise this County shall hold the Auditor persanally liable on his bond for any such loss, and further affirmatively instructs ~he Auditor to comply with all of the rules and regula- tions of the County merit system. 4. That this Board respectfully requests that ~he Grand Jury of this County review this matter in its entirety. PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Butte Count.y Board of Supervisors, State of California, as follows: AY ES: Supervisors Mad3g , Moseley, Rich er and Chairman Winston NOES: None ABSENT: gupervisor ve e N07 UOTING: None \ ~ - • - ROBERT A. WINSTON, a rman of he Butte County Board of Supervzsors ATTEST: CLARK A. NELSON, County Clerk and ex-of~Ficto Clerk af the Board gy ~~~c~_!'Z ~~ ~~ i 0~ T1' . _ r ~ b t .;6'~ '1;,:~,~1. ~~. / 5 ~~~~~-~~~~r~ ' ~~: i ~ ~~~~a~~~d~~ ~~C µ~'~*~ ~°~: J~m Johansen, Assistant Auc~r~r~r'-ControJ.ler ~RO~: W. R. Lawrence, Audi~or-~Contro~ler . 5U83GCY: G3~1C~1CZ1C~7 for Cflunty Audita~' . t~ oa~E: Ma.~ch 8, 1978 ~7h~tever your reason for declaring your candidacy for Caunty Audi~or,~ T ~.annot deny you the ~ight to seek election to the of~zc~. ~ Nor can I~remove you ~'xom yaur posi.tion wi~h the Cot~nty (withaut cause) duri~g the couxs~ of the campaign. Your action., howev~r, has p~aced a serious canstraint an our relationship as principl.~ of~a.cer and assistan~ because S am seeking re-e~ection as Atida~.to~ . In order to ralieve you from r~sponsibil.ity for the.conduc~ af my offic~ during the campaign, and ta assure that none o~ your actions wil~ re~lec~ ~nfavora}aly on the conduc~. o~ my du~ies, I believe it ~s in the b~s'~ inte~-~~~ of a~~ concerned (incl~.dzng the voters and '~axpayers} ~o cancel yc~ux appointmer~t as a Deputy Auditor untzl af-~~~ the 1978 election. Effect~.v~~March ].~, ~978,- you a~e also ~eli.eved of any authority or - responsibi~.ity ~o sign any correspondence or repor~s ~manating from ~his offic~, ta es~ab~ish polacy or procedures for this a~£ic,e, ta hir~, fi~e ~r d~.scipline any emp~oyee, to provide advic~ and guidance to the Board ,.- af Supervisors, Caun~.y departments or any other_ en.~ity under the fiscal jurisdic~zo~ a£ this office unless specz~ical~.y directed by me to da so, to approve any contrac~s ar agreements an behalf of ~his otfice, ta grant any l.eaves o~ absence to employees or ta perforra any ather executi~re or adrr~ina.st~ative act for ~this of~Eice unless so directed by me in wziting. '~.TGLlr' du~y ~ssignments during the cou~se of the campaiqn will consis~ prima~i~.y of budget coordinatian ancl compilation, p~xfarmance of district audits when so in~~truc~.ed, performance ot Treasury Cash Caunt and ~veri:Eication, ~econ~i.~.iation af Auditor's Cash 3.edgers with those of the Treasurer and the Supt. o~ Schools and with ~.he Auda.~or's subsidiary 1Zevenue, Expenditure and Budget ledgers, and ta generally pez'~orm the duties of ~vel.ene Payne wh~~e she is on ma~ernity leavee Details o~ you~ specific duti~s will be established through fu~ure con.:Eerences. • Dur~.ng the campaign interval you ax~e to refer a1~. communica~ions ~personal, teZephon~c or written) regarding cor~tracts;or agr~emen~s to NoZan Hyde; regarding budgetary or accounting matters to Dick Pue~~.cher; °zegar.d.~.~q executive, adminis~~ative or personnel matters ~o me or ~o vick Pue~.iche~ in the event of my absence. 1 ~ // ~x~i~~'~ ~ ~ ;': Jim Johansen, March 8, 1978 Page 2 Assistant Auditor-Can~ro~ler Yaur supe~rviso~y r~sponsibil~ties du~i.ng ~his interval wa.ll. be li.mited to the Front Counter sec'tion, the WeJ.fare Accoun~ing sec~ian, ~hE Revenue and Tax Aceoun-ting sec~~,on and the Interna~ Audit sec'~ian. 'Supexvisiorr. over o~her sec~ions of the o~~ice wilZ b~ per~ormed by Dick Puel.ichez o~' ~ys~~.f. - : Dick Pueli.cher w~.ll. be the responsible Deputy in 'the e~ent af my absence from ~he o~tice and Maur~en Staple~an wil~ assume control in ~he event a~ bo~h our alasenc~se ~ have con~idence in your in~egr~.ty, but I must ~drewarn you thafi any faa.l.ure to perform your assigned duties, under this in~erim.arrangement, in a compl~te, accura~~ and ta~me~y mann~~ could be cause ~'oar disca.plinary _ actian. Upon ~ermzna~ion o~' the electian campaignF I wi.ll review and re-esfi.ablish yo~.~ status a.n th~ a~~z.ce d~pen,den~ on ~.he outcome a~ the electian and ~he mann~x' in wh~.ch you con.duc'~ your campaign. z wi].~. not tolexate any fa~.se or mislead~,ng statements abo~t the conduct of ~his af~ice ox about my personal performance~ The cit,~zens of ~his County ar~ entitled ~o select ~he b~st qualified persan~a~ th~ir Auditor.; I there~oL e cauta.on. you to main~ain a"clean" campa~.gn in yQUr a-~tempt ~o ab~a~n the off~ce o~ Auditor. ~ Z~i. Ro awrenc~ - Audi.ta~-Con~rol.1 er ~+TRL/~kt cc: A1x Depar-ttne~t Heads and Cotxnty Supervisors AI.1 Other En~ities Unde~ Fa.scal. Ju~isdic~ion o~ Caunty Auditor .~ .. ` . , ~ - ~ ~ -~ . $~YT , ....,.- . ' ~ _ , ` _ ~ ~~ f\\ ~~~~r~~~~~~°~ „ ~ ~~s~ra~du~ . `,. .~ \~ ;-~{l~° ~ To: Board af Stxpervisars and A~ `~~par~ment Heads FF14hi: W. R. Lawrence, Auditar-ControZl~r SLBJECT: St.3tt15 of Ja.m JohanSen in Aud~tor ~ 5 O~tice ,~ ~° ~ ~A~"~: March 8 , 1.9 78 . ~ The attach~d capy o~ my memo ta Ji.m~ Jahansen ~~cpl.ains why I have ~ faund i~ necessary ~o can.cel. his appoin~ment as a Deputy Audito~ and ~a r~liev~ him of c~rtain authora.t~_es and r~sponsibili.ties ~ ~ during ~Y~e course of ~he 1978 elec~ian campai.gn. . ~ ~iJnt~.l such ~a.me as Jirrt's sta~us is redeterinined, anly inquiri~s . . related ~o budge~ campilation shauld be directed to him., Any ma~~er.s rela'~i.ng tn con~rac~s or agre~ments shou~d b~ dir~cted to Nol~n Hyde ar myseJ.~, and a~~ other contacts (not related to a specific op~rating center~ with this o~fice should be dixec-~ed to Dick Puela.cher or myself. - m . - . Yo~. wi~.~. be ad~rised i~ and wh~n ~.here is any sign~~icant change in ~im's status. . : : ~ Wa Lawrence . . Audi~ar-Contra~ler ' WRL/~kt f A~tachment cc: A1.]. School and Special Dist~ic~s and ~O~her En~ities Und~r Fisca~ Jurisdic~.ion r~f ~h~ County Auditora ~ James Caok, BCEA Executive Director ~ ' Fo~eman, County G~and Ju~y ~"X !~ ~ ~1T f ~~ ~~ . . ~ -~ __ _~_. _ ___ _ __ ~ _- - . . _. _ _ _ ~ ___ _ . ~ _ _ _. . ~_ __ _ ~ _ . ~~ .1_ ~1. ' . . .r ~ ~ - . . . . . , ~ ~ i_...: ER- DEPARTMENTAL NF.NiORANDU~=Y- ~ . St1TTE COUNTY P~RSO~dNEL U~FICE T0: C~if Mick~lson, Co~nty Administrative Officer BY: Jim Rac[cerby, Personr~el Direc~or ~ SUBJECT: Reass~gnr~ent of Du~i~s ir~ the Aud~tor's 0-~fice DATE: March 14, ~97~ Yaur n~marand~m of R~arch 17, i978 requests a review and analysis of the new s~aff assignm~n~s ~nade by the Auditor as a resu~t of his actior~s s~r~pping ~im JohansEn o~ the authority of - his positio~~as Assis~ant Aud~tor-Contra3ler. • Tf~e job description ~or the Assistant. ' A~aditor-Con~raller sta~es, "Und~r general , directifln, to assist~the AUdi~or-Contro11er in the accaunt~ing, budge~ary, and s~atist~cal . ~ ~unct~ons of tE~~ office; to direc~ the preparation . ~ ~ of requ~red reports o~ the.Auditor-Contraller's - Of-F~ce; ~o take charge of the Auditor-Contro73er's " Of~Fice ir~ t~e department head's absence; and ~ to do other related work as required:` Th~ action by the Auditar in his memo of March 8, I978 rEmoved ~'rom J1m Johansen's d~t~es and ~ ~ responsibilities '~hose managet~ent and adm~nistrative ~ funct~ons se~ f4rth ~r~ -~he job descriptian. Ji~ ~ Johansen's ass~gnment accard~ng to ~he me~norandum is a cambination of dutie5 as described ~n various Zower ciass~~Fica~ions d55~~l1@d to the Audltor's Qf-F~ce. The "perfor~ance of . distric~ audi~s" is in ~he job desc~^iption ~'~r ~ an Interna1 Audi~or I, "To perform audzts of county departments and special assessment dis~ricts." The resp~nsi6~7ity for budge~ coordinat~on and compilatior~ appears ~r~ t~e Accountan~ IFI job ~escription, ~~Participates in ~he~d~velapment of reven~e ar exper~diture ~ partions of ~he county budget....supervises - and participat~s in -~ax ra~e compila~~on....." The assign~er~t~ involving reconc~~iation of various ~edgers and acco~~~s ti~~i~h the Auditor's records appears in the Rccoun~an-~ II c~ass~fication, ~ "Performs a variEty of accoun~ing and-s~a~is~ical ~ ~ work ~n reviewirrg, ana~yzing, exam~ning; and ~ main~a~n~ng accounts records." ~he su~erv~sory responsi~ilities are res~ricted tQ the -~ron~ c4u~ter section and variaus accaunting sectians. ~hese fcanc~ions are found in the job descriptian ' for t~e Rccou~tant III, "To plan and review -~he work o~' Accoun~ants and clerica~ staff." The reassignment ofi D'ick:Pue~icher to "be the r - G x~Y! 1 ~ ~ ~ `l~ /_ . .. -~ _ _~__._.. _ _~_~ . . __~ _ .. . ~ _.._ . ... . Page 2 . _.. res~onsible deputy in the event of my (~av~rence's) absence is par~ of the Assistant Auditor-Controller's job requirement. Dicfc Pue~icher is ~he Chief of Accounting, whose respansib~~ity is to "under dlrection, to p~an, organize, and direct t~e . acca~anting fur~c~zans o~' ~he Auditor=~ontral1er's 0-Ffice." There ~s, however, in the example of du~ies of the Ch~ef of Accounting a s~tatemer~t that ~ermits the incumben~ ir~ this p4si-~ion ~o "per~'orr~s d~ties of higher level admin~5trators in their abs~r~c~." There is some question r~garding t~e app73ca~ion ofr t~is duty requirernent; when in ~'ac~ the "higf~er levei admin~strator" is not absent, 6u~ mereZy reass~gn~d. _ Nia~areen Sta~~~~on is an Accountant I~. Her classi~Ffca~ion states, "The work of pos~tivn~s a~loca~ed -~o the classi~ication of Accountant iI is perfarmed under general supervis~on, Th~s is a~u~~y--qua1ified, working ~evel class in the series." There is no refer~nce ir~ the Accountant II job descrip~ion,ta acting as the Audi~or=Con~raller in his absence. The anly reference ~o supervision is the statemertt, "Niay supervise fiscal worEc performed by clerical staff." Nol an Hyde i s al so ar~ Accour~tant I I, who wi 11 be handling camm~nica~ions regarding cor~tracts and agreements throughout Jim Joha~sen`s reassignment period. These functions appear ,. normally to be considered in the jab descrip~ion af the Asslstan~ Audi~or-Cor~troller, "Coordinates the var~ous activ7~ies of the office with ~hose of other county departments." . County ord~~ance number 1724 sets ~Forth the provisions o~' ~he Personnel and Merit Systeme Section 2-27 of this ardinance sta~es in part, "~rotec~ion of emplayees fram discr~m~na~ion, arbi~rary remvval, and po~~tical pressures.... The "ordinance alsa sta~es in sec~tior~ 2--30 tha~ all posit~ons exce~t those held by eiected afficers, boards, or commissions s~a71 be included in a c~assifica~ion p1an and shall be classified accarding to th~ dutles and respansibili~ies in such a way that an equi~able schedule of compensatior~ may b~ applied." The ordinance a~sa states in section 2-~31, "Al1 classes or position in ~he c~assi~icat~on p~an shail be assigned a saiary range or ra~e as ~rovided for by a 5a~ary ordinance. Employees ~appoin~ed to positions in the classification ~~an shall be paid a salary wi~hin ~he range or rate sa provided..." ~age 3 The Persannel and Mer~~ Sys~em Reso~u~ipn number 76-136 prov~ded ~n section 5.5, "The Board may rec~assify a posit~on when 7t appears that there ~as been a signi~ica~~ change in ~he ~uties and responsi6il~tie~s of the pos~tion.° D~par~ment heads o~ ~heir own initia~ive may not reciassify an employee's ~051t70~; howev~r, ~hey nay assign emp~oyess ~o the variaus ac~ivit~es as se~ ~or~h in . ~~e classification plan. Chapter 8 of the Person~el Ru~es s~t ~orth ~ the grievance procedur~. Sec~ion 8.1(a) of the rules s~a.te, "A grievance may be • ~~~ed by a~ employee z.f a management in~erpre~atian ~ of applica~ion o~ a law, ordinance, reso~ut#on,. regulat~on, or rule adversely af~ects emp~oyee's wa~ges, hours, or conditions of e~playment•" ~- Th~s ru~e is normally applicable in ~he case o~ ciassification assignmen~s. Tf a departmen~ head ass~gns an ~mployee ~~~~es and responsibilities outside of t~e'appointed classif~cation, such assignment a~ffects the "conditior~s::of employm~n~" and may be gr~eved. In order that a bonafide grievance exis~s, an.employee would have to p~r~'orr~ ~h~ out-o~F-c~ ass du~ies as requi red ' and ther~ grieve the issuee 1'he Personnel Rules also pravide employee protection. - f "Employees who present grievances shaIl not ` suff-er reprisal or other p~nitive ac~ion by coun~y management because o~ ~he exerci~~ of ~I~e r~ght ~o present or. appeal a grievance." The Auditor's reass~gnment as s~ated in his memoranc#ur~ of March 8, 1978 a~pears to have . a sigr~ifican~ impact on ~he wnrk-~ng canditions of several emp~oyees wit~in the Audi~or-Contraller`s O~f~c~. Should the Rudi~or's plan be implemented, th~ emp~oyees would have a r1gh~ to grieve assignr~ents outs~de of their classification which wo~ld in fac~ affec~ "t~e condi~ions o-~ employmen~." JR/kms cc: Bill Lawrence . . - : ,'. _ . ~:~~j:'=--'~:~y~ . ~ ' ~ . ... . . /P _ ~:n`9 ~ . _.. . ~~y~p t~~+ '¢~'~' T,~~~p~~-~~~~~~~~~~d~~ ~ ~~~~rY "~~~WiIU ~E~o~~~.~4, . . ti`\ ~..E~;.J e`, . . . \Q ~_r7~. '//~ -ro: ~or•_rnan of the 8u~te County G~nr~ JUry-~ ~ ~ FR~M: C~QE'~ A, Nefson, County ClerEc and Ex-~~ficio Clerk af the Board of Supe~visors , suas~cr: I?~salUtion 78-55 re Couniy Auditor's memos to Jirrt Johanson pA ~~- March 24, f 978 ~ Attached pfease finc~ a certified copy of the abave en~itled resolution, adapted by the Baa~ of Seiperv~sors at their rneefiing of March 21, 1978. This is farward~d ta you for your study and invest~igai'io~. a