COMMISSION
The Imperial County LAFCO Commission is comprised of five members:
- Two city council members representing the seven cities in Imperial County, appointed by the City Select Commmitte
- Two county board of supervisors represeting the Imperial County, appointed by the county board of supervisors
- One public member representing the public in Imperial County, appointed by LAFCO
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- There is one alternate member for the city, county, and public.
STAFF
The Imperial County LAFCO is an independent agency. While the Commission consists of members from the county board of supervisors and members of the city councils, it is truly not an organization under the control of either the county or any of the cities. The Commission is supported by staff, which includes an Executive Officer, an Accountant, and a Clerk/Analyst. Current staff members are as follows:
LAFCO, having the authority to retain its own independent legal counsel, currently utilizes the contract services of Walker & Driskill.
To process the various projects that come before the Commission, LAFCO does use the services of independent consultants to achieve accurate and timely processing of projects.
Legislature charged the Local Agency Formation Commissions with carrying out changes in the governmental organization to promote specified legislative policies now codified in the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act of 2000, as amended. Among the major policy statements are that:
LAFCO is to encourage orderly growth and development essential to the social, fiscal, and economic well-being of the state of California. (Government Code Sec. 56001)
LAFCO is responsible for encouraging the logical formation and determination of boundaries while discouraging and eliminating "islands". (Government Code Sec. 56668)
LAFCO must exercise its authority to ensure that the affected population receives efficient and quality government services. (Government Code Sec. 56841)
LAFCO is required to exercise its authority to guide development away from open space and prime agricultural land uses unless said actions would not promote planned, orderly, and efficient development. (Government Code Sec. 56377)
By state law, the Imperial LAFCO Commissioners are selected from the groups most affected by its decisions, e.g., the public, the cities, and the county. The Imperial LAFCO is currently composed of five members, each of whom serves a four-year term. The expiration date of the term of office for each member is the first Monday in May in the year the members term expires. Members required are as follows:
Two city council members are appointed by a committee consisting of a mayor from each of the seven cities within Imperial County (known as the City Select Committee).
Two Imperial County Board of Supervisors are appointed by the Imperial County Board of Supervisors.
One public member is appointed by LAFCO.
In addition, the Commission could allow the seating of two additional members representing the special districts. While LAFCO has encouraged the seating of special districts, to date, the districts have elected not to serve on the Commission.