County supes place two measures on ballot County supes place two measures on ballot (August 13, 2004)

The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors placed two measures on the November ballot last week that could redefine how the wages of county employees are determined.

The first proposal would amend the county charter regarding prevailing wage rate comparisons, according to county spokesperson Gwen Mitchell.

Wage rates for employees would be compared only to similar positions in the public sector of Santa Clara County rather than the presently instituted comparison to private sector positions during contract negotiations.

If the positions are unique to county governments, the jobs would be compared to the five other populous counties in the Bay Area, Mitchell said.

The counties that would be examined are San Francisco, Alameda, San Mateo, Contra Costa and Sonoma.

The second proposal placed on the ballot is in response to a proposal by unions representing county workers.

The union proposal calls for an independent arbitrator to settle contract disputes with the county.

The county proposal would allow for any ruling by an independent arbitrator to be placed on the next election's ballot so the public could have input in the decisions, according to Mitchell.

If the voters don't approve the contract provision, both parties would be required to renegotiate.

-- Bay City News

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