County Puts New Limits on Workers

Stung by a land deal investigation that ended the county career of one supervisor’s top aide, San Bernardino County supervisors Tuesday banned all county employees from buying surplus county land.

The board also barred employees from bidding on county property, such as items at sheriff’s auctions, and approved fining top officials up to $100 if they’re late filing financial disclosure documents.

The efforts are part of an attempt to improve a county image tarnished by a mid-1990s corruption scandal and recent spats among board members.

“We’re trying to restore -- or earn -- the public’s trust,” said Supervisor Gary Ovitt.

The board recently moved forward with plans to post various public records online, including campaign finance reports, county contracts and a database of board agendas. Ovitt and Supervisor Paul Biane plan this week to ask officials in the county’s 24 cities to post their public documents online as well.

The county also plans to hire an ethics officer to oversee its ethics training program and fraud, waste and abuse hotline. County administrator Mark Uffer said he hoped to fill the position in the next month or so.

“Although it should be common sense on how to be ethical ... you have to really teach people with what is right and what is wrong,” he said.

San Bernardino County has struggled with its image since the mid-1990s corruption scandal, which implicated two former top county administrators, former Supervisor Gerald Eaves and other politicians and businessmen in bribery and kickback schemes.

More recently, supervisors have weathered criticism that political favoritism and secrecy still permeate county business. One example is the land deal investigation that spurred the new county rules and prompted Supervisor Dennis Hansberger’s top aide to resign in September.

Jim Foster was accused of violating ethics policies by buying surplus county land through an intermediary, an act barred for top officials since 2001.

The county hired an outside attorney, Leonard Gumport, to probe the sale and other matters; after the attorney submitted his initial findings, Foster resigned.

The auction policy, which goes into effect in April, forbids the county’s nearly 17,000 employees to bid on or buy surplus land or property.

If top officials -- including department heads or their secretaries -- were to do so, it would be considered a misdemeanor, with a fine up to $1,000. Ovitt called it a way to prevent employees from exploiting insider information for profit.

“It’s not the first measure one would think of as a way to address corruption in local government, but it’s a constructive step,” said Peter Scheer, executive director of the California First Amendment Coalition.

The new policies would also force top officials to meet deadlines for filing their statements of economic interests, which note officials’ potential conflicts.

If the statement is not filed in a specified period of time, the county could turn over the matter to the state Fair Political Practices Commission, which enforces campaign laws.