CHC 1979-1980 Proposals - Rationale

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1°VII. RECALL AND IMPEACHMENT As an alternative to impeachment proceedings already in the Charter, the commission. proposes RECALL procedures. Recall allows the electors of the county to vote an elected officer out of office after 6 months of service. Not less than twenty-five percent of the registered voters of tit: most recent general election must sign a petition to initiate recall. If the officer fails to resign, a recall election will determine whether the officer is to be removed. The commission feels that twenty-five percent of the regis- tered voters is a sufficiently large number to insure that elected officials will not be subject to unnecessary harassment. For this reason, the commission proposes an increase from twenty-five to a hundred signatures to initiate impeachment proceedings. The commission has also spelled out the impeachment process. VIII. GENERAL PROVISIONS , VACANCYIN OFFICE Since the present Charter contains no definition of vacancy . and in order to avoid any possible future problem, the commission enumerates nine circumstances under which an office would be deemed vacant. An office is vacant upon death, resignation, determination that the officer was not qualified to run for office, leaving the county or moving from his district, absence from the county for Necal• three consecutive months without good cause,nimpeachment, determina- tion by three physicians that the officer is physically or mentally infprm and unable to discharge his duties for the remainder of the term,- filing of nomination papers for another elective office during his own term, and a conviction of any felony. MEMBERSHIP ON BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS Under the present Charr, realtors and developers are pre OArivb eluded from serving on the Planning Commission. The dilarterffeels that there are many persons in the community who have a g Aeat deal to contribute to the county and therefore proposes that a person should not be barred from serving on any board or commission simply -5-