Absence forces new supervisors' vote on flood fee
Brad Breithaupt
Marin
Independent Journal
Article Launched:08/25/2007 10:41:06 PM PDT
Supervisor Charles McGlashan's trip to the bathroom during a July board
meeting is forcing the county Board of Supervisors to take another vote
on the controversial Ross Valley flood fee.
McGlashan left the July 17 hearing and missed the vote ratifying the
fee, but his brief absence meant only three supervisors were present.
While supervisors voted 3-0 to approve the fee, legal questions
surfaced about whether two-thirds approval was needed from the
five-member board, not just the quorum present at the time.
County Counsel Patrick Faulkner said another vote on the fee -
scheduled for Tuesday - would "remove any doubt as to the validity of
the vote" and answer a potential legal challenge.
McGlashan has said he would have voted for the fee if he had been in
the room.
At the July 17 meeting, Supervisors Hal Brown, Judy Arnold and Steve
Kinsey voted to impose the fee. Supervisor Susan Adams was out of town.
The fee, narrowly approved in a controversial mail-in vote, levies an
annual average charge of $125 on more than 15,000 Ross Valley
taxpayers. The 20-year fee is expected to raise $40 million for
drainage and flood-control improvements.
At their 9 a.m. meeting Tuesday, supervisors will hold another hearing,
leading to a second vote on whether to levy the fee.
"We are just going to reaffirm the whole thing," Brown said on Friday.
"It's not a big deal."
San Anselmo lawyer Ford Greene has filed suit to overturn the fee. He
said Tuesday's vote won't repair the "fatally flawed process" used in
the mail-in election.
A court hearing on the lawsuit is scheduled for Sept. 7.
Contact Brad Breithaupt via e-mail at bbreithaupt@marinij.com
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