Back to the Table of Contents Page

Back to The Almanac Home Page

Classifieds

Issue date: October 25, 2000

San Mateo County ballot measures A & B

By Marion Softky

Almanac Staff Writer

Two county measures are on the November ballot: Measure A -- a potential pay raise of nearly 50 percent for supervisors -- is controversial; Measure B -- a $13 million bond issue for a new crime lab -- appears popular, but requires a two-thirds vote of the electorate.

How big a raise?

Proponents and opponents of Measure A appear to agree that San Mateo County's five supervisors deserve a raise above their present base salary of $71,386 per year. They divide over how much that raise should be.

Measure A would change the way the supervisors' salary is set. Rather than requiring a countywide vote every time the supervisors get a raise above the cost of living, Measure A would allow them to raise their salaries up to a maximum of 80 percent of the salary of a Superior Court judge.

When Measure A was first proposed for the ballot -- but not yet approved by the supervisors -- it would have allowed the supervisors to set their salaries as high as $94,000 a year. But last summer the Legislature gave the judges a husky raise, effective next January, thus raising the cap on supervisors' salaries to $106,000 -- or nearly 50 percent more than their current salary if they took it all if Measure A passes.

"Under Measure A, nothing is automatic," board President Rich Gordon stressed. Any salary raise would require the supervisors to adopt an ordinance, following public hearings. "If the public came out, I think the board would respond," he said.

Leading the opposition, Richard Silver, former clerk of the Board of Supervisors, objects to the size of the potential raise, the lack of research to justify it, and the process used to put it on the ballot. "They should have had some sort of public hearing," he said. "It leaves a bad taste in the mouth when they sneak it through."

Supporters argue the supervisors need higher salaries because they oversee a county with a billion-dollar budget and 4,800 employees. They are responsible for directing a public health system, a criminal and court system, welfare, services for children and seniors, and land use over 75 percent of the county. The job, they say, has grown from part-time to full-time, as supervisors also have to deal with regional issues, from transportation and housing, to water resources and air pollution. "They fight on our behalf in Sacramento," says the ballot argument.

Supervisors' salaries have not increased beyond cost of living since 1992. Their raises have been even less than those enjoyed by county employees, Supervisor Gordon noted.

Even Mr. Silver agrees the supervisors need some kind of raise, possibly about 11 percent, to match county employees.

Mr. Silver suggests it would be more appropriate to peg supervisors' salaries to state legislators than to Superior Court judges. "There is more correlation between the work and duties of the supervisors and state legislators in Sacramento, than judges," he said.

New crime lab?

Criminal evidence from rapes, murders, robberies and other crimes in San Mateo County currently goes for processing to a 1929 laboratory that is outdated, plagued with fungus and dry rot, and could fall down in an earthquake.

Measure B would authorize a $13 million bond issue to build a new crime lab to analyze criminal evidence for the county and its 22 police departments.

While Measure B has strong support and no formal opposition, it could still be a hard sell because it requires two-thirds of the votes to pass.

The crime lab, located in the county complex on Tower Road in Belmont, processed material from more than 20,000 cases last year, according to a release from San Mateo County Citizens for Crime Reduction Yes on Measure B. This includes murder-scene evidence, DNA analysis, toxicology for drug and alcohol analysis, sexual assault evidence, and gunshot analysis.

A 1999 study found major problems with the present crime lab and recommended building a new facility to meet law enforcement needs of the 21st century.

Among other problems to be addressed are:

**Low ceilings and multi-wings are inadequate for a modern laboratory using state-of-the-art equipment and computers.

**Lab computers need to be networked and connected to state and federal databases for fingerprint, firearms and DNA matching.

**Lab space is needed to accommodate research on computer-related high-tech crimes.

**Clean spaces are needed for DNA testing.

**Space is needed for storage, an adequate firing range and vehicle examination.

Measure B will cost the owner of a home assessed at $500,000 $5.70 a year. Its supporters include a virtual "who's who" of city councils and law enforcement officials in the county, starting with Sheriff Don Horsley, Supervisor Mike Nevin and District Attorney James Fox.