Pass: 23647 / 51.31% Yes votes ...... 22443 / 48.69% No votes

See Also: Index of all Measures

Impartial Analysis from County Counsel

Under general California law, most contracts may be either written or oral. A written contract is one where all of the terms of the contract are in writing and that writing is signed by all parties. Section 602 of the Charter of the County of El Dorado requires that the procurement of all services by the County from a private entity be by written contract. This measure would amend Section 602 of the Charter to provide the Board of Supervisors with the authority to allow the procurement of services costing less than $10,000.00 without the need for a written contract. That authority could be exercised only through adoption of an ordinance which sets forth alternate procedures for processing and documenting such purchases.

The effect of this amendment is to allow the Board of Supervisors to eliminate the requirement of having a written contract signed by all parties in the case of certain, relatively small purchases. It allows the use of a document such as a purchase order, which is signed only by the County, to obtain services. Purchase orders are already in common use to obtain goods, but do not meet the requirements of Section 602 regarding the acquisition of services. The purpose of the measure is to simplify the contracting process with service providers who do not traditionally use signed contracts in their businesses, and who frequently resist the County's request for a written contract. However, the proposed amendment does not allow for undocumented transactions. Nor does it shift authority for making such purchases away from the County Purchasing Agent to individual County departments. Contracts which are exempted from Section 602's requirement would still have to be properly requested, authorized and documented through standard procedures set forth in the County's procurement ordinance and policies, and such additional policies as are adopted by the Board of Supervisors.

For example, the County sometimes retains veterinarians to treat animals in its custody. In their everyday practice, these veterinarians do not use written contracts for their services. Instead, in their dealings with members of the public, they generally provide their services under an oral agreement. The charter requirement that the County obtain a written contract signed by both parties can meet with resistance from the service providers, can be time consuming in terms of persuading the service providers to sign a contract to begin with and having to negotiate the form of the contract, and can result in a delay in obtaining necessary services. The proposed amendment to Charter Section 602 would allow the County to use more streamlined processing for these types of routine services.

A YES vote is a vote in favor of the amendment to Section 602 of the Charter.

A NO vote is a vote against the amendment to Section 602 of the Charter.

Louis B. Green, County Counsel