No fiscal impact with supervisor switch to 'full time'

The recent ordinance change that specifies the Colusa County supervisors as full-time employees will have no fiscal impact on the county, officials said.

Still, there is some confusion on whether the supervisors were considered full-time or part-time prior to amending the ordinance on June 26.

Supervisor Mark Marshall said it is his memory that the board was told several years ago that they are considered part-time.

He is the senior member on the board.

It may have been, Marshall said, when the board went from meetings every Tuesday of the month, to meetings on the second and fourth Tuesdays each month, but he could not recall specifically.

County Counsel Tom Parker said that if the supervisors were not explicitly considered full-time, then at the very least they were implicitly considered full-time, and Auditor Peggy Scroggins said they have always been treated as full-time in terms of their benefits.

And benefits, such as PERS and health, are at the heart of the issue.

Marshall said new state legislation would make part-time elected officials ineligible for PERS benefits and other compensation such as stipends, and because the board already has the right to enroll in PERS, he did not want to lose that option.

So the board last week amended the ordinance that defines its salary level.

The old language simply stated that each board member receives $2,400 a month. It was enacted on Feb. 1, 2009.

The new language states that each board member is "a full-time county-elected official," who receives the $28,800 annual salary.

Scroggins confirmed Tuesday the language will not impact the county financially.

Supervisor Denise Carter said the change, whether needed or not, does more accurately reflect the kind of workload the supervisors carry.

Parker agrees.

He said it is a misconception that the board's time is limited to the hours they meet on Tuesdays.