Pass: 7,080 / 61.89% Yes votes ...... 4,360 / 38.11% No votes

See Also: Index of all Measures

YES
NO

Meaning of Voting Yes/No

A YES vote on this measure means:

A yes vote would indicate that you want the Town Treasurer and Town Clerk to be appointed.

A NO vote on this measure means:

A no vote would indicate that you want the Town Treasurer and the Town Clerk to continue to be elected.

Treasurers are responsible for overseeing municipal finances. They must comply with state laws governing the deposit and handling of public funds and provide written accountings of all municipal funds. The Los Gatos Town Treasurer invests Town funds pursuant to an investment policy developed in conjunction with the Town Finance Department and approved annually by the Town Council.

Clerks and treasurers may be either elected or appointed. In Los Gatos the Town Clerk and Town Treasurer are currently elected. These officers are required to live in the Town and be registered to vote in the Town. There are no requirements that candidates for these offices have any specific education, certification, or experience.

This measure would make the offices of Town Clerk and Town Treasurer in Los Gatos appointive rather than elective. Instead of voters selecting these officers, they would be appointed by the Town Council, unless the Council delegates this responsibility to the Town Manager. The Town Council could establish specific requirements for these offices, such as education, certification, or experience. These officers would no longer be required to live in the Town.

According to the Town Finance Department, making the Town Clerk office appointive would result in a savings of approximately $2,033, including the stipend paid to the Town Clerk and the retirement contributions paid to the California Public Employee Retirement System. Making the Town Treasurer office appointive would not result in any budget savings because the current annual salary of approximately $13,000 paid to the Town Treasurer, plus retirement contributions and medical benefits, would likely be reallocated to augment the Finance Department's professional support costs to ensure that the Town has sufficient resources to absorb the Treasurer's duties.

/s/ Orry P. Korb, Town Attorney
Town of Los Gatos

This is not an official copy of this ballot measure and its accompanying documents. For an official copy see the Town Clerk.

Town of Los Gatos

Los Gatos Observer 19 Oct 2007

• Council discussion - 15 Oct 2007

When Los Gatos was incorporated in 1887, the Town Clerk and Treasurer were elected, as was the practice at the time. All that was required was responsible citizens to record minutes of meetings and deposit monies in the bank. However, over time these jobs have grown considerably in terms of complexity and responsibility. Today the vast majority of California cities no longer elect their Clerks and Treasurers. Instead, they are appointed or hired as part of the city's professional staff.

The only qualification for being the elected Treasurer or Clerk is being a registered Los Gatos voter. However, the duties and responsibilities of these positions warrant considerable experience and professionalism in such areas as financial markets, investment policies, risk mitigation, information technology, records management, election processes and conflict of interest laws. Most lay persons do not meet these job requirements.

Some believe that only publicly elected officials can provide oversight and visibility for these jobs. However, today the oversight function is actually accomplished via external audits, performance reviews, mandatory Council approval of the Town's investment policy, publishing of agenda items and reports on the Town's website, television and Internet coverage of Council meeting, and the state's open meeting and public records laws.

The Clerk and Treasurer positions are too important to our Town to be left to the possibility of unqualified candidates or an electorate unable to evaluate their qualifications. It is time to join the majority of California cities and move to a more efficient, professional, effective government by voting to appoint these positions. Please join the people knowledgeable about both sides of this matter and bring Los Gatos into the 21st century by VOTING YES on Measure C.

/s/ Randy Attaway
Former Mayor & Council Member

/s/ Joanne Benjamin
Former Mayor & Council Member

/s/ Eric Carlson
Former Mayor & Council Member

/s/ Sandy Decker
Former Mayor & Council Member

/s/ MarLyn Rasmussen
Former Council Member & Clerk Administrator