San Benito County supervisors today will consider an ordinance to increase their monthly salaries by $100 to make up for their car allowances for the same amount that could be deemed a violation of state legislation.
An ordinance adopted in May 2002 gave supervisors a car allowance of $100 monthly. Officials anticipating issues with legislation that identifies specific, allowable reimbursement expenses decided to propose the salary increase in place of the travel stipends.
The monthly salary for supervisors would increase from $3,620 to $3.720.
It was also decided that a cap be established to limit the amount of the increases for board members to the hikes granted to the general employees of the county in any calendar year, according to a county report.
Supervisors will also consider taking action to immediately, temporarily close unmaintained county roads in the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's Clear Creek Management area.
San Benito County has approximately 25 miles of unmaintained county roads in the area, according to the staff report. The Bureau of Land Management has recently closed 31,000 acres known as the Serpentine Area of Critical Environmental Concern to the public.
The closure is to protect the public's health and safety from exposure to asbestos. The area that is closed serves for off-highway vehicle use, rock climbing, hunting and other activities.
The closure will be for a few years, said Bureau of Land Management public affairs officer David Christy.
The board will also hold a public hearing on the fiscal year 2008-09 Capital Budget and the 2009-13 Five-year Capital Improvement Program, including capital projects and equipment.
The recommended Capital Budget for fiscal year 2008-09 is $23.6 million, according to the staff report. Equipment and facilities would cost $9.7 million and there's $13.9 million proposed for roads and bridges, according for the staff report.
The five-year Capital Improvement Program is $142.9 million, while $103.4 million would be for equipment and facilities and $39.4 million for roads and bridges, according to the staff report. Each year, a recommended five-year Capital Improvement Program is submitted for the board to review and provide direction to staff regarding the allocation of resources and schedules for the Capital Improvement Program.
Kristen Tolleson Kristen Tolleson covers San Benito County and education for the Free Lance. Contact her at ktolleson@freelancenews.com or (831) 637-5566, ext. 335.
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