<p>This past April, the California Supreme Court unanimously rejected a legislative scheme that stripped city councils and county supervisors of their power to approve pay and benefits for police and firefighters, and transferred that authority to a private arbitrators. The court rightly ruled that the law was unconstitutional because it "deprives the county of its authority to provide for the compensation of its employees and delegates to a private body the power to interfere with county financial affairs and to perform a municipal function."</p>