Note: There will be no Board of Supervisors for the next two weeks, November 19 and November 26. Enjoy the holiday!
In a sign of a recovering economy, the Board acted to recognize $2 million in “Teeter” revenue. Teeter is a method by which the county advances property tax revenue, in the amount due, to other entities within the county. Taxes collected are always less than the amount due. However, when the delinquent taxes are collected, including penalties and interest, those revenues belong to the county. During the recession, the amount of delinquent taxes increased, and the county did not budget for increased revenue. As a result, funds have begun to accumulate in the county’s Teeter account. By the action today, the county will transfer $2 million to the Accumulated Capital Outlay account. This amount, plus an additional $500,000 in the Accumulated Capital Outlay account, will be available in the event the county is awarded funds for an Adult Detention Facility. The Board has already approved the application for state funds from the California Board of State and Community Corrections for the Adult Detention Facility on October 15. The state requires documentation that the county can provide the necessary match if the grant is awarded. This $2.5 million will meet the state’s requirement. The facility proposed is a medium security adult rehabilitation center to supplement the county jail.
The County Public Works Department received approval for a county match of just over $300,000 to a federal grant to rehabilitate J.F. Kennedy Memorial Drive at Whiskeytown. The road is 50 years old, and the pavement, culverts, guard rails and other elements are worn out. The Federal Highway Administration grant for the work has been approved for $4.8 million, and the National Park Service has put up half the match requirement, another more than $300,000. Supervisor Leonard Moty acknowledged the excellent collaboration with the National Park Service to upgrade this county road.
The Board approved a successor agreement with the Shasta County Employees Association – Supervisory Unit for calendar 2014. The agreement includes a 3% pay increase beginning June 29, 2014. This increase is consistent with agreements that the Board has entered into with other bargaining units this year. County Executive Officer Larry Lees has commented to the press earlier that this increase comes after several years of no increases and, indeed, voluntary pay cuts taken earlier in the recession to save jobs.
The Board convened as the Shasta County Water Agency Board of Directors and voted to support a draft Northern Sacramento Valley Integrated Regional Water Management Plan, which is nearing completion. The Plan is intended to provide a roadmap for water supply reliability for all beneficial uses in the Sacramento Valley. The Plan is the product of a consortium of six counties (Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Shasta, Sutter and Tehama). The Plan must include any projects eligible to apply for state funding, and according to the Report to the County on this day a North Fork Battle Creek Groundwater Management Plan has been included in the Plan. As contentious as water issues have been, this draft Plan occasioned comparatively little comment. This is likely because the Plan itself is the product of local water agency plans, and is more general than specific. The Board voted 4-1 to support the draft Plan, with Supervisor Bill Schappell voting no. Readers wanting to see the Plan can go to www.nsvwaterplan.org.
Catherine Camp is currently retired. During her career, she worked as a policy and budget analyst for the California Assembly and California Senate, in health and human services fields. She worked as a policy analyst and advocate for California’s public mental health system. Early in her career, she worked in the Community Action and Head Start programs in Shasta County.
