The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors initiated the process to abolish the Office of the Treasurer-Tax Collector-Public Administrator and merge its parts with other elected county officials at their scheduled meeting today.

Today’s initial action by county supervisors, which will be final on January 26, and take effect thirty days later, creates the following offices.

Sheriff-Coroner               to   Sheriff-Coroner-Public Administrator
Auditor-Controller-Recorder   to   Auditor-Controller-Treasurer-Tax Collector
Assessor                      to   Assessor-Recorder
.

*The Auditor-Controller-Treasurer-Tax Collector will also assume the duties of Director of Central Collections.

*The Assessor will also assume the duties of County Clerk and  have control over County Archives.

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Today, as expected, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisor’s hired Ontario city manager Greg Devereaux as it next County Administrative Officer effective February 13, 2010.

The vote was a unanimous 5-0.

Devereaux’s level of experience was highly sought out by county supervisors.

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Greg Devereaux

January 11, 2010 5:33 PM
NATASHA LINDSTROM Staff Writer

SAN BERNARDINO • County supervisors Tuesday are expected to name Ontario City Manager Greg Devereaux and the new county administrative officer, multiple knowledgeable sources said.

Tuesday’s board agenda includes hiring the county administrative officer. Devereaux had been rumored as the next CAO since shortly after former CAO Mark Uffer was fired “for no cause” on Nov. 17.

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10:40 PM PST on Monday, January 11, 2010

By IMRAN GHORI
The Press-Enteprise

San Bernardino County supervisors appear likely to appoint a new county administrative officer at their meeting today.

The agenda includes a closed-session discussion on the possible appointment of a county administrator and, in the public part of the meeting, approval of a contract for whoever is hired. The contract was not available Monday but a report from board Chairman Gary Ovitt said the agenda item was “posted in anticipation there will be an announcement from closed session.”

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Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

U.S. legislators say criticism over funding is an attempt to deflect blame for state’s budget problems.

By Michael Rothfeld and Richard Simon

January 12, 2010

Reporting from Washington and Sacramento – For Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, blasting the federal government for California’s problems has become an oft-used routine since his first days in office. But in a new twist, federal officials are firing back.

The bicoastal fusillade, which continued Monday, began last week when Schwarzenegger attributed part of the state’s $20-billion deficit to what he called an unfair federal funding formula, criticized the national healthcare plan and included an implicit message of extortion for federal lawmakers in his budget: Come up with an extra $6.9 billion for California or share the blame for eliminating state programs for children, the elderly, the disabled and the poor.

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Sharon Harper, who was demoted after auditors found that she had improperly helped her son-in-law obtain a county job, has yet to report to her new position in the Sheriff’s Department.

By Garrett Therolf

January 12, 2010

Sharon Harper, demoted last year from Los Angeles County’s second-highest executive job, has been on paid medical leave since November and has yet to report to her new job in the Sheriff’s Department, according to county officials.

Harper was forced out of her $260,000-a-year job less than two weeks after The Times reported that county auditors found that she had improperly helped her son-in-law obtain a county job that was “overcompensated” by nearly $1,000 a month.

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By Josh Richman
Monday, January 11th, 2010 at 2:22 pm in 2010 governor’s race, Steve Poizner.

When I watched Steve Poizner pitch his platform to the Fremont Chamber of Commerce in early October, he was in third place behind GOP primary rivals Meg Whitman and Tom Campbell.

As he pitched his platform to the Livermore Chamber of Commerce this morning – three months later and another $15 million committed from his own pocket – he’s probably in third place still. But to hear him tell it, he’s got ‘em just where he wants ‘em.

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10:00 PM PST on Monday, January 11, 2010

By DUANE W. GANG
The Press-Enterprise

In an effort to avoid layoffs, the Riverside County court system is expected to offer early retirement to 78 employees — a move that could save more than $7 million a year.

Under a measure before the Board of Supervisors today, the court employees would receive an additional two years of service credit in their pension accounts if they decide to retire between Feb. 1 and May 1.

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10:00 PM PST on Monday, January 11, 2010

By DAYNA STRAEHLEY
The Press-Enterprise

The Riverside Unified school board voted Monday to postpone laying off 124 kindergarten through third-grade teachers for the 2010-11 school year.

A majority of board members of Riverside Unified School District said they wanted more information.

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10:00 PM PST on Monday, January 11, 2010

By ALICIA ROBINSON
The Press-Enterprise

The estimated cost of the Riverside Renaissance has dropped to $1.57 billion from $1.68 billion, and some projects likely will get designed but not built before the city’s five-year public-works initiative wraps up in 2011.

Some of the cost reductions are due to low construction bids and some are due to the uncertainty of federal, state and local funding sources, Riverside City Manager Brad Hudson said Monday.

Hudson will update the City Council on the Renaissance at a meeting tonight.

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LAKE ELSINORE: Thomas Buckley’s DUI arraignment postponed until March

10:00 PM PST on Monday, January 11, 2010

By SARAH BURGE
The Press-Enterprise

Lake Elsinore City Councilman Thomas Buckley will not enter a plea on misdemeanor DUI charges until after the Feb. 23 election to determine whether he will be ousted from office.

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Michael J. Sorba, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/11/2010 02:43:04 PM PST

HIGHLAND – As a young man fresh out of college, Ron Cochran had a life-changing experience while driving down a road in Glendora.

The shriek of a siren led him to notice the flash of red and blue police lights in his rear view mirror. After pulling over, the police officer who stopped him made it clear his only crime was being a black man in the wrong part of town.

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