A measure that would nearly double the size of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is headed to the ballot in November.
Here's a look at what residents should know before casting their votes.
Why change the size of the board?
The powerful county board now has five members, who represent 2 million people each and oversee a $46 billion budget. The proposal, which supporters have said is long overdue, would increase the size of the board to nine members.
The idea is that members would represent fewer people and smaller geographic areas so they would be better attuned to the needs of their districts.
"It's time to expand the board so it is more representative of the beautiful diversity of Los Angeles County,” said Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, one of the authors of the measure, at a recent board meeting.
Two sitting supervisors have said they oppose the measure.
“I’m not sure how we can stand up the infrastructure as proposed with no additional funds with a perception of simply reallocating funds," county Supervisor Holly Mitchell said previously.
Supervisor Kathryn Barger has said nothing is wrong with the current structure of county government, and instead the problem is with elected officials.
“While there is certainly a lot of blame to go around, we should acknowledge it is not usually the structure that prevents us from moving forward, it is often the inability to make decisions,” Barger said.
What else would the measure change?
The ballot measure, if passed, would also make the county CEO an elected position — sort of like a mayor — instead of appointed by the board members. It would also create an independent ethics commission that would increase restrictions on lobbying and investigate misconduct.
And it would create a non-partisan legislative analyst's position to review proposed county legislation. The city and state have similar positions.
