Intentions. We all have them – good and bad. Some are easily identified, others not so much. Intentions can even be intentionally obfuscated for various nefarious purposes.
This week it was my intention to write about the hacking of the Tehama County Social Services computer network and the Tehama Flood Control Water Conservation Board meeting which took place Monday. Maybe add in the Supes meeting Tuesday if there was room. We don’t have much information on the SS hack or how it could have been avoided, but the FCWC meeting deserves at least 2 acre feet of column inches, so I’ll give you a little homework before we tackle it in the weeks to come.
Photo of puddles forming between almond trees on tehamacountywater.org. WTH?
To hear the contempt held for the board by some members of the Commission in their own words, please listen to the audio of their Feb. 23, 2022 meeting at the link below. Start about 10 minutes in. It’s almost as if they didn’t realize they were being recorded. They’re a lot more polite when the board is right there in the room with them.
But on to the Main Event. The morning session of the Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday was pretty uneventful. You’re not going to believe it, but I actually applauded an item brought by District 4 Supervisor Bob Williams. It was a request for Chairwoman Carlson to sign a letter of support for Golden State Natural Resources. I have been so conditioned to mistrust everything Williams says and does that I actually researched GSNR, expecting to find some villainous outfit masquerading as a non-profit. Instead, I found them to be a solid 501c3 that has launched many biomass projects – upcycling unmarketable wood into energy producing pellets and more. This reduces fuel for fires in the forests and creates jobs and income for local entities. Win win. Williams looked a little shocked at the display of approval, but credit where it’s due.
The afternoon session was dedicated to the American Rescue Plan Act and how to spend the socialist $12,641,804 TEHAMA COUNTY is getting from that Biden guy. Not one person yelled out Let’s Go Brandon or called for the money to be returned. Instead they were all there with their hands out.
The ARPA Ad Hoc Committee – Chairwoman Carlson and Vice Chair Moule – spent many hours whittling down original requests from the public for a piece of that $12M pie and came up with a list of 32 worthy projects, 25 of which could be paid for at the recommended amounts.
The problem is that many of the items simply aren’t eligible for that money, which must be used for losses incurred during and because of the pandemic. The Act itself is an over 400 page document with additional updates and a Final Rule. To my knowledge, the only County employee who has read the entire thing is Administrative Services Director Dava Kohlman, who is diligent, responsive and goes out of her way to help the public. In other words – a keeper.
The projects listed are all worthy – well, mostly – but since many are not a result of Covid and we can’t legally spend the money on them. This is a different scenario from the CARES Act money, which we were allowed to shove into the General Fund when former CAO Goodwin discovered law enforcement salaries were an eligible category. Since the salaries were already budgeted for, the CARES Act money was reimbursed into the General Fund as discretionary funds and we used millions of those dollars to bridge the budget gap created by our horrendous spending practices. Yay.
Currently, the recommended ARPA list includes a denial of almost $75,000 to the Rancho Tehama HOA for USDA loan assistance.
Screenshot from ARPA Worksheet 041222.pdf
That item is ineligible because debt service is not allowed. So what to do? Wave a magic wand and magically turn debt assistance into losses incurred by the HOA due to Covid. If the HOA gets the dues reimbursed, they can afford to pay the loan. Shell game much? This is what they do all the time. Is it intentional misappropriation of funds? That’s for the federal auditors to decide.
Photo by Julie R. Johnston/Tri-County Newspapers – did she climb a tree? What a trooper!
I wonder how many dollars in dues were lost to the Rancho Tehama HOA during the cannabis lien days of 2015-2019?
Homeowners abandoned their properties because of $10,000-$60,000 liens. If they weren’t paying their property taxes you can bet they weren’t paying their HOA dues. Sure, Rancho got rid of a few cartel growers, but took out many poor and sick people, too. But I digress.
The biggest surprise on the ARPA list was the Courthouse Annex. Yep – it’s baaaaack. The item requests $500,000 to remodel the annex, which we do not own and don’t want to buy unless it costs $5.37 or less. Yes, I made up that number. The county has been unable to provide any evidence that we are legally obligated to purchase it from the state, and the Judicial Council is trying to dig up a contract or promise ring or something.
Photo courtesy courthouses.co
The item says funding already exists for the purchase of the annex through the same tobacco tax that built the Administration Palace. When the Rob Reiner “Meathead Tax” passed in 1998, the extra 50 cents per pack was earmarked for children’s programs where they would learn how bad smoking tobacco is for them. Instead, Tehama County used our allotment to build a Taj Mahal for the board of supervisors. Now we’ll use more of it to buy that crappy building with no parking? Whose idea was that?
And who will work there? The county has hundreds of open positions and nobody to fill them. Social Services has closed their Corning office to the public for lack of staff. The Tax Collector’s office will be closed during lunch hours for the same reason, except during high traffic times of year when taxes are due. The sheriff’s department has limited hours that their offices are open to the public. So what we clearly need is another building to fill with imaginary workers. Not.
And even if it turns out we are obligated to buy it, what happens if we just say no? They sue us? These questions have been asked for years now and nobody seems to have any answers. Apparently it is the intention of some on the board to buy this white…er, brick elephant. Former CAO Bill Goodwin and Bob Williams have been pushing hard for it as long as I’ve been paying attention. I guess that just leaves Williams now.
The proposed use of the annex has changed many times, too. Not sure what the initial proposals were, but you may remember the homeless navigation center, the IT Hub, the mix of IT and Public Health, now just Public Health.
The list was only made available to the supes the evening before the meeting and some didn’t see it until that morning. District 3 Supervisor Dennis Garton, who often doesn’t seem to have looked at the agenda before he takes his seat on the dais, threw a hissy fit about the tardiness of the recommendations and stormed out in anger. He left the FCWC meeting early the day before for a doctor’s appointment. Two early departures in two days. While we all wish him the best of health, one questions his priorities and scheduling acumen.
Dennis Garton with giant lollipop. Photo by Susan Meeker – Corning Observer
Garton’s opponent in the upcoming June election is a fearless gal named Pati Nolen.
Photo by Pati Nolen
Pati is my neighbor up the street here in Manton. Super smart tough cookie with more knowledge and experience in hydrology and water management than any sitting board member or member of the GSA. If she and Matt Hansen can both win the seats away from the career politicians who currently hold them, we will have a brighter future. The intentions of both are to help us, not themselves.
