There were some questions Thursday about whether the Shasta County Board of Supervisors could legally place a controversial and potentially illegal voter initiative on the ballot. When the initiative entitled “Local Transparency and Security Reform” was first introduced, the County Counsel refused to give it a title and summary for fear that it would end up getting the county sued. A judge ruled that the counsel had a responsibility to write the title and ballot summary. Enough petition signatures were verified, so it appeared the board had an obligation to offer it to voters and pass a resolution for the change in the county charter to appear on a ballot next June. However, some public speakers suggested that because of a failure by Chair Kevin Crye to move paperwork along in time, the county was not actually a charter county when the measure was certified and the petitions circulated. Allen Long referred to the County Counsel, who said that made no difference to their ministerial duty to approve the measure for a ballot, and they did so unanimously.
-Steve Gibson