Article V — DUTIES OF OFFICERS

501. In General.

Unless otherwise specified in this Charter, officers of the county other than members of the Board, shall have such duties as shall be prescribed by the Board from time to time and such other duties as shall be required of officers in charter counties by the Constitution and general laws of the State of California.

502. County Executive Officer.

• (a) Appointment. The County Executive Officer is the chief administrative officer of the county. The County Executive Officer shall be appointed by the Board on the basis of executive and administrative qualifications and experience. The County Executive Officer's performance shall be evaluated by the Board from time to time. The County Executive Officer serves at the Board's pleasure and may be removed by affirmative vote of three of its members.

• (b) General Powers and Duties. The County Executive shall be responsible to the Board of Supervisors for the proper and efficient administration of the affairs of the county as are or hereafter may be placed in the provisions of this Charter, or of any ordinance, resolution or order of the Board of Supervisors with respect to any necessary or proper coordination of functions of officials and boards not under his jurisdiction or control.

503. Other Duties.

• (a) Coordinate the work of all offices and departments, both elective and appointive, and devise ways and means to achieve efficiency and economy in all county operations.

• (b) Appoint, suspend or remove subject to confirmation by the Board of Supervisors all appointive department heads except County Counsel. Appointments shall be on the basis of executive and administrative qualifications as determined by screening and selection procedures.

• (c) Formulate and present to the Board plans to implement policies and accomplish goals established by the Board.

• (d) Provide systematic planning of the budget, recommend long-range capital planning, and recommend an annual budget after reviewing requests of all departments and agencies for which the Board is responsible or which request county funds.

• (e) Have responsibility for the administration of the budget after its adoption by the Board.

• (f) Provide for an in-depth analysis and review of all county programs on a regular basis in such manner that the Board may make policy decisions.

• (g) Provide and implement systems of adequate checks and controls to safeguard county money and property.

• (h) Implement the system of priorities and levels of service established by the Board.

• (i) The County Executive Officer shall have such other power and shall perform such other duties as are consistent with this Charter as prescribed by the Board.

504. Board Meetings and Deliberations.

The County Executive Officer may attend any meeting of the Board of Supervisors except that attendance at a meeting at which the County Executive Officer's evaluation or removal is considered shall be at the Board's discretion. The County Executive Officer may participate in discussions of the Board but may not make motions or vote.

505. Cooperative with County Executive Officer.

All elective officers of the county and all officers appointed by the Board of Supervisors shall cooperate with the County Executive Officer.

506. Communication with Employees.

A Supervisor shall communicate recommendations or instructions to officers and employees under the County Executive Officer's supervision only through him/her. This section does not limit a Supervisor's right to obtain information.

507. County Counsel.

The County Counsel shall be appointed by the Board of Supervisors and serve according to the terms of Government Code Section 27641 as currently enacted or hereafter amended including any successor statute enacted by the State Legislature to replace it. Unless his duties are otherwise prescribed or modified by an ordinance of the Board, he shall have all the powers and duties of a County Counsel now or hereafter set forth in the general laws.

Note: On Nov. 4, 2008, the voters approved Charter amendment "S" which changed the terms of employment of the County Counsel from an at-will appointment to terms consistent with Government Code Section27641

ARTICLE VI GENERAL

601. Charter Review.

The Board of Supervisors shall convene a Charter Review Committee within two years of the effective date of this Charter and within five years of the last Charter review thereafter. The committee shall review the Charter and, after at least two public hearings, make recommendations for amendments to or revisions of this Charter to the Board.

602. Fiscal Provisions.

General law shall govern the assessment of property, the levy and collection of taxes, the adoption of the county budget, and the appropriation, accounting and transfer of funds unless otherwise provided for in this Charter or by ordinance.

603. General Law.

Unless the context of this Charter otherwise requires, the terms "general law" or "general laws" as used herein mean the Constitution and statutes of the State of California.

604. Continuation of Laws in Effect.

All laws of the county in effect at the effective date of this Charter shall continue in effect according to their terms unless contrary to the provisions of this Charter, or until repealed or modified pursuant to the authority of this Charter or the general law.

605. Continuation in Office.

Nothing in this Charter shall be construed to affect the tenure or office of any of the elective officers of the county in office at the time this Charter goes into effect, and such officers shall continue to hold their respective offices until the expiration of the term for which they were elected, unless sooner removed in the manner provided by law. But the successors of each and all of such officers shall be elected or appointed as in this Charter provided or as shall be provided pursuant to ordinances enacted under the authority of this Charter.

606. Severability of Provisions.

If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this Charter is, for any reason, held to be invalid or unconstitutional, such invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect the validity or constitutionality of the remaining portions of this Charter. It being hereby expressly declared that this Charter, and each section, subsection, sentence, clause and phrase thereof would have been prepared and proposed, adopted, approved and ratified irrespective of the fact that any one or more other sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid or unconstitutional.

607. Initiative, Referendum, Recall and Charter Change.

The electors of the county may be majority vote and pursuant to general law:

(a) Exercise the powers of initiative and referendum.

• (b) Recall an elected officer who has held office for six months.

• (c) Amend, revise or repeal this Charter.

608. Purchasing.

Preference to County Products and Services. When the combinations of price, quality, terms and other conditions of sale are substantially equal, the county shall give preference in purchasing to Placer County goods, services and suppliers.

Note: Added Nov. 2, 1982; amended by Ord. No. 6027-B, eff. Nov. 3, 2020..

609. Grammatical Corrections.

The Board of Supervisors may direct County Counsel to make spelling, punctuation or grammatical corrections in the County Charter or to change the sequence of specific Charter provisions as long as no change in the legal meaning or intent of the Charter results.

Note: Added June 6, 1984.

RECORDING INFORMATION: The approved Charter was recorded in the Placer County Recorder's Office on August 4, 1980, at 3:37 p.m., Number 28490.