Sonoma County Grand Jury • 2002-2003

Weddings: an Unequal, For-profit Opportunity

Published: July 10, 2003 2 pages
View Original PDF

Findings and Recommendations 5 findings

F1
Although legislation does not require it, selection of Deputy Marriage Commissioners has been restricted to current and former county employees only. General citizens are restricted from taking the training and thus cannot take advantage of this income- producing position. The reason stated by County Clerk for this restriction is ease of supervision and an ability to control accuracy of the documents.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
All interested and qualified citizens should be allowed to receive the training, acquire the Deputy Commissioner of Civil Marriages title, and be added to the list of available Deputy Marriage Commissioners to perform marriages in this county. Required Responses to Findings None Required Responses to Recommendations County Clerk: R1 Board of Supervisors: R1 1
F2
The stated reason for allowing county employees to keep all of the money is that it enables the county to avoid paying any overtime or arranging adjusted work schedules if the employee performs these marriages outside regular work hours.
No recommendations for this finding
F3
The Deputy Marriage Commissioners voluntarily cover after hours and weekend duty on a rotational basis and a list is maintained and available at the County Clerks office.
No recommendations for this finding
F4
In the past, the County Clerks office has provided training for citizens who want to become a “Deputy Commissioner for a Day”, in order to perform marriage ceremonies for their friends. The County Clerks office plans to provide this training again this year, by midsummer, but only for a one-day certificate. These one-day Deputy Marriage Commissioner candidates will have to pay the county for this training. This money will go into the County General Fund. County employees who receive this training, do so on county time, and pay no fee.
No recommendations for this finding
F5
County facilities cannot be used by Deputy Marriage Commissioners for ceremonies after regular business hours. Conclusions Due to the considerable income generated, restricting the performance of marriage ceremonies to county employees and prior employees creates the appearance of preferential treatment. Opportunities to perform ceremonies are not available to all citizens of Sonoma County. County employees are trained on County time and allowed to acquire additional income while off duty, but the average citizen has to pay for the one-day certificate.
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
All interested and qualified citizens should be allowed to receive the training, acquire the Deputy Commissioner of Civil Marriages title, and be added to the list of available Deputy Marriage Commissioners to perform marriages in this county. Required Responses to Findings None Required Responses to Recommendations County Clerk: R1 Board of Supervisors: R1 1

Conclusions 1

No Responses Found 2

Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.

Sonoma County Board of Supervisors Elected County Office
Sonoma County County Clerk-Recorder Elected County Office