The regularly scheduled Tuesday morning meeting of the Shasta County Board of Supervisors was called to order at 9:01 a.m. on Tuesday, June 25, 2024. The complete video and agenda are available here. Timestamps are in parentheses.
(2:33) CALL TO ORDER
The Invocation was conducted by Elder Brian Boyd, Cottonwood Community Church. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Supervisor Crye.
REGULAR CALENDAR
Members of the public may comment on any item on the Regular Calendar before or during the Board’s consideration of the item. Members of the public may also address matters scheduled for public hearings at the time such public hearings are opened for comment. Those wishing to participate in public comment for Regular Calendar items must submit a speaker request card to the Clerk of the Board before public comment on the item begins. Each speaker is allocated three minutes to speak. All speaker request cards submitted after public comment for each Regular Calendar item begins will not be heard by the Board.
County Administrative Office
(3:56) R1 Receive an update from the County Executive Officer on County issues and consider action on specific legislation related to Shasta County’s legislative platform and receive Supervisors’ reports on countywide issues.
No Additional General Fund Impact
No Vote
CEO David Rickert
(4:04) CEO Dave Rickert: I do have some budget information from California’s budget process. California Democratic lawmakers and Governor Newsom on Saturday announced a budget deal to close the roughly $47 billion shortfall in the following weeks and they have a number of budget spending priorities which they’re focusing on. Right now they’re proposing a modest reduction in social service programs, a $12.2 billion depletion of reserves, a $8 billion bond program of borrowing, $1.5 billion in housing reductions, $5 billion in revenue increases from adjusting and not operating loss for businesses for income tax purposes. And you’ll notice if you were following the math, we’re about $19.3 billion that are currently unaccounted for with the budget process that we’re going to closely monitor to see how the state closes that gap over the coming weeks. This concludes my report.
District 2 Supervisor Tim Garman.
(5:12) Supervisor Tim Garman, District 2: This last week I had a chance to meet with Adam Fieseler, Resource Management. We just talked about a little bit of the squatting issues which seem to be creeping up again in the Keswick-Old Shasta area. Adam, thank you for the time. I met with Troy Bartolomei, Public Works. We had a good conversation trying to try to see if there’s any grant money available for some parks in Happy Valley area. I know the county only has three county parks and this is maybe not the right fit, but we’re just opened up some conversations to see if we can create a park for the kids in the Happy Valley area. I met with District Attorney Bridgett. I met with Joanna Francescut. Had a First Five commission meeting supervisor. Supervisor Rickert, thank you for filling in for the Community Action Board for me. That was at the same time as the First Five commissioners. I couldn’t be at both places.
And one last time, I want to give a huge shout out to Paul Hellman, Director of Resource Management, for the well reimbursement program from the state. I actually received a text this week. Somebody got their reimbursement check. Sometimes the state actually follows through on something. So for once they did, but they would not have without the persistence of Mr. Hellman and his team pushing that issue. So I just want to say thank you, sir, for all the work you’ve done for Shasta County and our citizens. With that, that concludes my report.
Supervisor Patrick Jones, District 2
(6:30) Supervisor Patrick Jones, District 4: Took part in a RABA meeting which we have every week. And John Ando has kind of overhauled some of the operations of RABA and in making things better for Shasta County and Public Works. So we appreciate that.
Attended along with Chair Crye and Supervisor Kelstrom SRTA meeting and a fairly long meeting. Attended a BACC. That’s our air pollution board with Supervisor Kelstrom and of course, last week several days of our appointment of the ROV. I met with representatives from Shasta County Chamber of Commerce, had a good talk, and then this weekend we had a chance to go out on Salt Creek with CEO Rickard to take a look at an issue that will ultimately be coming before the board shortly. And that ends my reports.
District 5 Supervisor Chris Kelstrom
(7:28) Supervisor Chris Kelstrom, District 5: All right. I also attended the air basin meeting with Supervisor Jones on Friday. And then, I, you didn’t mention that we flew out of Redding and went down to LAX. We spoke, both spoke at a conference a G3 conference Saturday morning and then flew back to Redding. Sunday we had the Parka Palooza in Cottonwood. So there was Dusty Foster was playing and there was multiple vendors, food vendors. It’s a pretty good time. Although it was four days of fair followed by this. There wasn’t as many people in attendance as we’d hoped.
And then yesterday I met with the former airport manager and Nigel Skeet from the Shasta County Chamber of Commerce. We have an issue going on at the Redding Airport, which there’s a young man in the audience today that’s going to address that and speak to us about that. It’s something I think the county needs to get involved with. But, well, I’ll bring that up after public comment. And then yesterday, I had a Palo Cedro planning meeting with Paul Hellman and Adam Fieseler. And we went over Supervisor Rickert’s picks and my picks and that will conclude my report.
Supervisor Mary Rickert, District 3
(8:31) Supervisor Mary Rickert, District 3: Yes, I attended the PSA Area 2 Agency meeting on virtually, I just don’t remember what day that was. But then I also attended the Mental Health Alcohol Drug Advisory Board meeting and we had a meeting off site. We had a tour of The Woodlands and this is something that when I was on the mental health board we worked on to get this kicked off. And so The Woodlands 2, there’s actually two phases, Woodlands 2 completed in 2020, it provides housing and shelter for people that have trouble finding homes. And those there’s a certain component that has those with the diagnosis.
Attended on June 20 the agritourism meeting at Resource Management. That was a good healthy meeting. We’re moving forward on that particular ordinance and I appreciate all the effort that Paul and Adam have put into that. I also on Friday attended the Palo Cedro Planning meeting with Paul and Adam. We had initial discussions on what that particular committee will look like.
Saturday. I spent a good portion of my day at the Shasta District Fair at the junior livestock auction. Purchased a hog and a goat and then to make sure everybody was happy, I did several add-ons. It gets complicated when there’s over 500 kids and you wanna make all of them happy.
Yesterday, I attended the CAB meeting in Mr. Garman’s absence. I want to thank at this time, take an opportunity to thank Dwayne Green and Kayla Woodcock for their help in helping some constituent in my district find some transitional housing and it was kind of a crisis situation. So they really stepped up to the plate and were extremely helpful. That was a classic case of how people sometimes end up homeless though through no fault of their own with a medical condition, et cetera. So they had a good end result for this particular constituent.
And then yesterday, we had a secondary meeting with Paul Hellman and Adam Fieseler to go over more details on the Palo Cedro Planning Committee. So that concludes my report.
Supervisor Kevin Crye, District 1
(10:48) Supervisor Kevin Crye, District 1: I’ll keep mine pretty brief. I attended the SRTA meeting as Supervisor Jones mentioned. I had a meeting with the Shasta County Chamber as well. I am really curious how losing what it sounds like air service of one of the carriers, how that’s going to impact tourism. And I know that we don’t have a lot of inbound flights for people coming for tourism. Most people do come by vehicle or car. But, so I had a meeting trying to get ahead of that a little bit. Again, that is a City of Redding thing and I know Supervisor Kelstrom is working on that as well.
Met with Laura Burch and Christy Coleman with HHSA. We still have the At Home committee which is still moving forward and staying in close contact with them on the progress of some of that. Some of the things I’m looking into quite a bit, which I’ll have more of a report in our July 2 meeting, but just understanding some other areas of our cost plan and some things that I think we’re gonna be able to do to lower that for departments. And then also working with analyst Erin Bertain on the opioid dollars and the disbursement of that as there’s two or three constituents that have asked me some questions. So we’ll be bringing that back.
Finally, I want to tell Stefany Blankenship, I don’t usually talk about the agenda review. So Stefany, I know you work tirelessly hard with your staff with agenda review and I never bring it up. It’s something we do every week and I really appreciate the work you do. So thank you and that concludes my report.
(12:25) R2 Take the following actions: (1) Adopt a resolution for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024-25 which: (a) adopts the Budget that was the subject of public hearings on June 4 through June 6, 2024, and approved as revised by the Board of Supervisors on June 6, 2024; (b) approves the Committed Fund Balances; (c) adopts the Schedule of Position Allocations by Budget Unit; and (d) adopts the County Salary Schedule; and (2) adopt a Salary Resolution which reflects the Position Allocation Amendments approved in the FY 2024-25 budget effective June 30, 2024.
General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
Deputy County Executive Officer Erin Bertain made the presentation.
(12:39) Erin Bertain: I’m here before you today to present the final steps required to finalize the county budget for fiscal year 24/25. Over the course of three days beginning on June 4 and ending on June 6, this board received presentation that provided an overview of the recommended budget and included presentations from each one of the department heads. During that meeting, the board voted to reduce the Board of Supervisors budget in the account for food by $6000, reduced the budget for County Counsel by just over $220,000 in salary and benefits, along with deleting one attorney position and to restore one alternately staffed occupational/ physical therapist position to the CCS budget. The board then voted to approve the recommended budget with the adjustments. The item before you today finalizes the recommended budget as adjusted by way of a budget resolution that adopts the budget, committed fund balances, scheduled position allocations by budget unit, and the county salary schedule. The positions are further approved via salary resolution.
There was one public commenter, Delores Lucero.
(14:26) Delores Lucero: I think it’s pretty sad that we have three of you, three stooges here who actually make decisions for budget, for you to make decisions on any budget, period. Kevin Crye, you filed bankruptcy before you even started to run and I know you’re losing money because having this position, Patrick Jones, he doesn’t have anything to bankrupt. So, for you to make any decisions for the citizens, it’s a freaking ridiculous thing for you to do because you’re not capable of making decisions for the citizens or for the people at all or for this county.
(17:24) R2 passed by unanimous vote.
Treasurer-Tax Collector-Public Administrator
(17:37) R3 Approve an Order of Discharge of Accountability pursuant to Revenue and Taxation Code Section 2611.1 for unsecured property taxes and penalties more than ten years old.
General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
Treasurer-Tax Collector-Public Administrator Lori Scott made the presentation.
(18:10) Lori Scott: I am here, as I do every year, coming to you to have this discharged. Every year we come and we present these bills that were done at least 10 or 12 years ago. And then I’m going to go through the process of what we do to collect these so you know how much work we’ve done on these.
These bills are for boats, airplanes, business property, possessory interest such as houseboat permits. These are escaped assessments, mining claims or mining rights, and some fixtures. These bills come out in July of each year and we send the bills out. We then do delinquent notices that if people didn’t pay to let them know that maybe you forgot and you need to pay these. Then in September every year we do courtesy lien notices, giving you a chance then again to pay it before we file a lien against you. Then in November of the year, then we file liens and copies of those liens go out to the individuals. Then in January the following year, remember we sent the bills out in July, we then sent a request letter to the property owners or business owners or the person that owns the boats or airplanes again for payment. That’s in January. Then we let them know that we will seize if you do not pay your bills. In March the following year, we seize bank accounts. We send them out to every bank here in Shasta County. Then in May of that year, we send out another seizure notice to the banks in case we didn’t get the money the first time. Then we send another demand letter in June and then we do two more seizures in July and January the following year. And we do a seizure again in April and March and an audit letter in March. And then I come to you after all of this happens to do a discharge of accountability because we’ve gone way beyond trying to collect this money.
In the envelopes that come back, we try to do a search and try to find out where maybe the people have moved to maybe a different county. We work with the assessor’s office if they’ve moved the boat out of the county to make sure that that bill is then canceled and then get to the correct county. So in front of you, this is the lowest we’ve had in quite some time. We’re asking for that to be discharged.
Going through the list, we determined that 25 people on this list are deceased. So there’s a lot of times we don’t know what happened to the boat. It may be sitting in the property somewhere or destroyed, maybe it was destroyed in the fire and it just wasn’t gotten to the attention of the assessor’s office. We have 29 that are inactive corporations. We try to watch the newspaper and things like that. This last month we had three restaurants that closed and we tried to send out early billing so we can get the money done on that and then letting the assessor know when they watch the newspaper too to make sure that they don’t get billed further on for the years after that. We have one that we went out of state. We had 14 that we just were not able to locate at all. And we have quite a few different ways for us to try to find things such as the same software programs that the law enforcement use. And we had 67 that we just could not get them to pay. They do not have money in their bank account and we just weren’t able to do it. We don’t have the staffing to do what we call a seizure where we actually go to the business location and set up a till tap. We just do not have the staffing to do that. And I don’t know if it would be worthwhile because of the lack of businesses and they’re leaving the community quite quickly. So I’m asking the board if you’d please discharge this. This is discharging me. It is not discharging the taxpayer. This is like aging your account if you’re a business person and you have a business that we’re aging these accounts. When we had COVID going on quite a few got paid because the title companies and people were changing properties and the title companies pick up any of these we discharge and then we bring them back to the tax roll and get them paid also.
(23:21) There were no public commenters on R3. R3 passed by unanimous vote.
(23:53) PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD – OPEN TIME
During the Public Comment Open Time period, the public may address the Board on any matter not listed on the agenda that is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the Board of Supervisors. Each speaker is allocated three minutes to speak. Those wishing to participate in Public Comment – Open Time must submit a speaker request card to the Clerk of the Board before the meeting begins. All speaker request cards submitted after the meeting begins will be heard by the Board once all items on the agenda have been considered. Any public comment not heard prior to the 12:00 p.m. recess will be heard after the Board reconvenes from Closed Session and all agenda items have been considered.
There were seven public commenters.
(23:53) Nick Gardner: I don’t have anything to talk about, but I do have something and maybe you guys could facilitate a conversation between the sheriff, the Chief of Police and Redding, Anderson, and the district attorney. I took my CCW class through Jones Fort out there. It was brought to my attention that if there’s a laceration, argument or something like that and a CCW person has to pull out his gun to cool everything off, the person that needed to be cooled off, if they call the police first, they are the ones that will be on the prosecuting side and the CCW guy who was defending maybe some grandma that was being hassled or something to that effect or somebody’s being threatened, their life is being threatened. the CCW guy is automatically the defendant. And he gave one example where the guy called up just seconds after the first guy and the advice from the police was to get a lawyer. That doesn’t seem fair to me. I don’t know where we could go with that, but maybe you could start a conversation to where they had to listen to both sides before they decide who’s going to be the defendant and save somebody that is an honest taxpaying citizen a lot of money and a lot of time and a lot of headache. So that’s all I got.
(25:51) Max Walter: Of all the public commenters who came up to this podium last week and everybody who sat out in these seats, every single one spoke for Curtis or spoke for Francescut, not a single one spoke for Thomas Toller. .. Let’s see, Joanna’s 16 years of experience versus I shall not be beholden to the Secretary of State. Oh, we have an easy winner. Losers and suckers are we. And Joanna – she didn’t really even qualify because she didn’t meet your prerequisite that she indicate to you somehow, the three of you, that she flies her flag upside down, at least metaphorically. And Chris, before the interviews, man, you sure lavished the praise on her. We’re so thankful for you. You’ve done such a great job. You used the word phenomenal. A whole lot of lovey-dovey talk and then she was your third choice after Curtis and then Toller. You definitely seem like you appreciated her. You keep working hard, Joanna, you’ll get there… Somehow you guys live in that Bigfoot Museum. Shasta County desperately needs leaders who have the capacity for humility to admit mistakes and learn from them every damn day. Not a single person spoke in support of Toller. [Sings] You’re so vain. You probably think this county is all about you. You’re so vain. I bet you think this county is all about you, don’t you, don’t you, don’t you.
(29:13) Jared Culver: My name is Jared Culver and I’m the station manager for the Avelo Airlines Air Service here at the Redding Regional Airport. For those of you that aren’t familiar, right now we service the Burbank flight three days a week, previously Las Vegas. We’re the largest commercial aircraft that flies out of Redding capacity wise. I’m here because I feel that there needs to be a little bit more attention put on our air service matters here and I’m hoping the board will take interest and weigh in on air service concerns. I would just kindly like to remind the board that what happens in Redding affects the entire region. It’s not just here in Redding. That’s really all I have to say.
(29:51) Supervisor Kelstrom: So Avelo Airlines is managed by Trego Dugan Aviation and Trego is pulling out of California completely. So there’s no one to manage the flights. So I would like to agenda this item on the next board meeting or as soon as we can get it. I don’t know if we can vote or not, but time is of the essence.
The BOS voted 5-0 to bring this back to the next agenda.
(31:49) Dave Halligan: Good morning. I’m not going with my gut here. I’m going with facts. Tom Toller’s appointment to the ROV was not based on his skills, job, knowledge and qualifications. Let’s look at Tom’s application and some information that Tom shared. No skills listed. None, no references listed, none, no letters of recommendation attached, none, no speakers for Tom, none and supervisors, how many emails came in for Tom in this process? Tom stated he has been semi-retired for the last five years. Tom’s application shows he hasn’t led a team in over 12 years… Moving on, Kevin stated, “Joanna, it’s not your time” end quote really, but it’s Toller’s time with a little over four months until the November election. Kevin, when you gave an ultimatum to Jones and Kelstrom, and it was an ultimatum, you stated, “I’m going with my first choice, Tom. And if not Tom, I’m going with Joanna”. Kevin, you forced them to vote for Tom or the result would have been Joanna as the ROV… Mr. Crye, Jones and Kelstrom, you didn’t vote for a candidate. You voted against a candidate. You didn’t vote for Joanna, you voted against Cathy Darling Allen. You voted against DA Stephanie Bridgett. You voted against the Secretary of State Shirley Weber. Kevin, we do have some things to thank you for. Thank you for doing the interviews in public. Thank you for not selecting Clint Curtis. However, the three of you still failed in your decision making that resulted in the appointing of Tom Toller and not the most qualified person, Ms. Joanna Francescut.
(34:36) Supervisor Crye: Hey, Dave, I’m gonna respond and just as you walk back because I, I just, I mean, this is what you’re good. You can sit down if you want. But, but I think because for the people that watch this, I think it’s important we spent, I think what, 22 minutes on the phone yesterday and, and this is why people, a lot of times supervisors or I think elected officials just get tired of it because you, you try and actually work with people, you try and have the conversations and then you do the exact opposite of what we talked about. So that’s ok. I’m gonna stop because I’m not going to talk about it on my radio show because I just want to move on. Christian Gardner. Come on up, Christian, come on up, Christian, come on up, come on up Christian, we’re gonna move on. It’s just, it’s disheartening, it’s disheartening.
(35:30) Christian Gardiner: Hm. Kevin let’s face it. You defected. You know, here’s what you did. You went, Oh, gee, Clint’s feeling a little hot. Hey, I don’t wanna look too bad here. So, here’s what I’m gonna do. I’m gonna use Joanne as a foil, throw her under the bus and we’ll go with our number two, Toller that’s predetermined and I’ll look great and I’ll sleep really good. Like a rock Toller, who says he’s an old salmon coming upstream for a final resting place. Calls our elections a black box. He knows nothing. Clearly admitted he has no election experience. Zero zip. None. But really, it’s a good fit. Honestly, just like the JCK cartel and their cult leader, an adjudicated rapist and 34 time convicted felon Toller is either unqualified, ignorant, willfully ignorant or a liar or a combination of all three.
(38:44) Jeff Gorder: I’m glad that Clint Curtis was not appointed. I appreciate that. I think his appointment would have been disastrous for a number of reasons, but I don’t understand how it was decided that Joanna, it’s not her time, 16 years in the office, five years as an assistant 30 elections, she’s not ready somehow, it’s not her time but a lawyer who’s been semi-retired for about seven years with no election experience whatsoever is somehow ready. It’s somehow his time. I doubt if I’ll ever get that the risk was so great of not appointing Joanna. And yet the risk and then the risk of appointing Toller was so great because who knows what Joanna was going to do? She might have left. A lot of her staff might have left. I mean, if that had happened, as Toller said, he would have been at sea without any navigation instruments whatsoever. I mean, he would have been lost, there would have been an emergency and he would have been scrambling hard. But I want to commend Joanna for public service, committing to ensuring that we have an efficient and a fair election because I don’t believe that without her and the staff that she has that might have left you. I don’t think it could happen. I don’t think Toller could do it. So we’re very, very fortunate that she decided to stay on. I hope it goes well.
(44:44) CONSENT CALENDAR
The following Consent Calendar items are expected to be routine and non-controversial. They may be acted upon by the Board at one time without discussion. Any Board member or staff member may request that an item be removed from the Consent Calendar for discussion and consideration. Members of the public will be provided with a single opportunity to comment on one or more items on the Consent Calendar before the Board’s consideration of the Consent Calendar. Those wishing to participate in public comment for the Consent Calendar items must submit a speaker request card to the Clerk of the Board before public comment for the Consent Calendar begins. Each speaker is allocated three minutes to speak. All speaker request cards submitted after public comment for the Consent Calendar begins will not be heard by the Board.
County Administrative Office
C1 Accept a donation of furnishings from the Superior Court of California County of Shasta and approve budget amendments recognizing the donations.
General Fund Impact
4/5 Vote
C2 Approve agreements for leased ground space for construction of airplane hangars and sale of aircraft fuel at the Fall River Mills Airport with: (1) Western Pacific Produce, Inc.; and (2) Hat Creek Construction & Materials, Inc., and find the leases exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15303, Class 3 – New Construction or Conversion of Small Structures.
No General Fund Impact
4/5 Vote
C3 Take the following actions: (1) Approve year-end budget amendments to better align projected budgets as follows: (a) decrease appropriations in the Information Technology Budget (BU 925) in the amount of $450,000 and revenues in the amount of $500,000 offset by use of Retained Earnings; (b) decrease appropriations and revenue in the Surveyor Budget (BU 172) in the
amount of $3,000; (c) decrease appropriations in the CSA Admin Budget (BU 175) in the amount of $6,517 offset by a commensurate increase to appropriations for contingency; (d) increase appropriations in the Fleet Budget (BU 940) in the amount of $150,000 offset by use of Retained Earnings; (e) decrease appropriations and revenues in the Roads Budget (BU 301) in the amount of $9,395,263; (f) transfer appropriations between account numbers and decrease revenues in the Solid Waste Disposal Admin Budget (BU 00207) in the amount of $2,500,000 offset by use of retained earnings; (g) increase appropriations in the Shasta Lake Ranchos Community PRD Budget (BU 00382) in the amount of $4,000 offset by a use of fund balance; (h) increase appropriations in the Mr. Lassen Woods PRD Budget (BU 00611) in the amount of $3,000 offset by use of fund balance; (i) decrease appropriations and revenues in the CSA #3 Castella Water Admin Budget (BU 00374) in the amount of $1,676,000; (j) decrease appropriations and revenues in the CSA#6 Jones Valley Water Admin Budget (BU 00377) in the amount of $1,200,000; (k) decrease appropriations and revenue in the amount of $5,800,000 in the CSA #17 Cottonwood Water Admin Budget (BU 00387); (l) decrease appropriations in the amount of $2,425,000 in the WCL Replace and Improve Budget (BU 00206); (m) decrease appropriations in the amount of $31,520 and revenue in the amount of $315,240 in the Tobacco Settlement Budget (BU 174) offset by a decrease in reserves for contingency; (n) increase appropriations in the amount of $40,000 in the Board of Supervisors Budget (BU 101) offset by a commensurate decrease to appropriations for contingency; (o) decrease appropriations in the amount of $1,749,243 and revenues in the amount of $3,500,000 in the Miscellaneous General Budget (BU 173) offset by a commensurate decrease to appropriations for Reserves for Contingency; (p) decrease appropriations and revenue in the amount of $361,472 and in the Child Support Budget (BU 228); (q) increase appropriations in the amount of $6,500 in the Grand Jury Budget (BU 208); offset by a commensurate decrease to appropriations for contingency; (r) decrease appropriations in the amount of $599,767 and increase revenues in the amount of $100,000 in the Public Defender Budget (BU 207) offset by a commensurate increase to appropriations for contingency; (s) decrease appropriations in the amount of $100,000 Conflict Public Defender Budget (BU 203) offset by an increase to appropriations for contingency; (t) decrease appropriations in the amount of $1,098,339 and revenues in the amount of $560,000 in the District Attorney Budget (BU 227), offset by an increase to appropriations for contingency; (u) increase appropriations in the amount of $1,002,106 and decrease revenues in the amount of $1,582,261 in the Mental Health Services Act Budget (BU 404) offset by use of fund balance; (v) increase appropriations in the amount of $1,780,426 and revenues in the amount of $278,052 in the Mental Health Budget (BU 410) offset by use of 1991/2011 State Realignment fund balance; (w) increase appropriations in the amount of $102,113 and decrease revenues in the amount of $1,109,468 in the Public Health Budget (BU 411) offset by use of fund balance; (x) increase appropriations in the amount of $9,461 in the Shasta County Health Care Budget (BU 412) offset by use of fund balance; (y) increase appropriations in the amount of $150,256 and revenue in the amount of $309,878, in the California Children’s Services Budget (BU 417); (z) increase expenditures in the amount of $3,466,016 and decrease revenues in the amount of $371,751 in the Alcohol and Drug Programs Budget (BU 422) offset by use of fund balance; (aa) increase appropriations in the amount of $39,289 and revenue in the amount of $279,395 in the Perinatal Budget (BU 425); (ab) increase appropriations in the amount of $1,144,481 and decrease revenues in the amount of $177,080 in the Social Services Budget (BU 501) offset by use of 1991/2011 State Realignment fund balance; (ac) increase appropriations in the amount of $200,000 and decrease revenues in the amount of $568,091 Welfare and Cash Aid Budget (BU 541) offset by use of fund balance; (ad) increase appropriations in the amount of $700,000 and decrease revenues in the amount of $450,000 in the County Indigents Budget (BU 542) offset by a decrease to reserves for contingencies; (ae) decrease appropriations in the amount of $6,298,778 and revenues in the amount of $6,298,360 in the Community Housing Agency Budget (BU 590) offset by a decrease to reserves for contingencies; (af) decrease appropriations in the amount of $700 and increase revenue in the amount of $6,000 in the HSG CalHome Admin Budget (BU 591); (ag) decrease appropriations in the amount of $52,000 and increase revenues in the amount of $53,000 in the HSG Home IPP Admin Budget (BU 592); (ah) decrease appropriations in the amount of $604,205 and revenue in the amount of $403,800 in the CDBG Admin/Rehab Budget (BU 596) (ai) decrease appropriations in the amount of $913,263 in the General Revenues and Transfers Budget (BU 100) offset by an increase in appropriations in reserves for contingencies; (aj) decrease appropriations and revenues in the amount of $816,162 in the Land Buildings and Improvements Budget (BU 166); and (ak) decrease appropriations in the amount of $972,673 in the Reserves for Contingencies Budget (BU 900); (2) retroactive use of additional General Fund Balance in Fiscal Year 2022/23 in (a) the Tobacco Settlement Budget (BU 174) in the amount of $106,789 and (b) the Victim Witness Budget (BU 256) in the amount of $38,054; and (3) retroactive use of additional Retained Earnings in (a) the CSA#3 Castella Water Budget (BU 00374) in the amount of $3,288; (b) in the CSA #12 Alpine Meadows Budget (BU 00384) in the amount of $703; (c) in the Silverbridge Highlands PRD Budget in the amount of $586; and (d) in the Facilities Management Budget (BU 955) in the amount of $495,387.
General Fund Impact
4/5 Vote
Clerk of the Board
C4 Approve the minutes of the meetings held on May 21, and June 4, 2024, as submitted.
No Additional General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
C5 As introduced on June 11, 2024, enact “An Ordinance of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Shasta Amending Ordinance No. 645 to Suspend the Collection of Traffic Impact Fees.”
No Additional General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
Health and Human Services Agency-Administration
C6 Approve a Letter of Interest with Partnership HealthPlan of California (PHC) to participate in the Voluntary Rate Range Program (Program) and designate authority to the HHSA Director, or their designee, to sign and submit any documents related to the Program.
No General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
Health and Human Services Agency-Behavioral Health and Social Services
C7 Approve a renewal agreement with Casa Serenity, Inc., for residential care home services.
No General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
C8 Approve a retroactive agreement with St. Helena Hospital, dba Adventist Health Vallejo, for inpatient psychiatric hospitalization services.
No General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
C9 Approve a retroactive agreement with St. Helena Hospital, dba Adventist Health St. Helena, for inpatient psychiatric hospitalization services.
No General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
Probation
C10 Approve an agreement with Northern Valley Catholic Social Service, Inc., for the Rise Above Program for youth offenders.
No Additional General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
Public Works
C11 Adopt resolutions suspending traffic impact fees established by Resolution 91-115 and Resolution No. 2006-183.
No General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
C12 Adopt a resolution which repeals Resolution No. 2023-066 and approves a list of road projects funded by Senate Bill 1 for Fiscal Year 2024-25.
No General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
C13 Designate authority to the Public Works Director to sign a letter agreement with Union Pacific Railroad Company (UPRR) regarding the “CSA 17-Cottonwood Collection System Improvement Project,” Contract No. 610533 for the County’s installation of an underground sewer pipeline across UPRR’s property.
No Additional General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
C14 Approve an amendment to the agreement with USA Waste of California, Inc., for collection, transportation, and disposal of residential and commercial solid waste, the recovery of recyclables, and the operation of waste collection transfer stations which extends the term.
No General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
C15 Approve an amendment to the agreement with Burney Disposal, Inc., for the collection, transportation, and disposal of residential and commercial solid waste, green waste, the recovery of recyclables, and the operation of transfer stations in Burney and Fall River Mills which extends the term.
No General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
C16 Approve an amendment to the agreement with Tetra Tech BAS, Inc., for ongoing operations, engineering, and consulting services related to the collection and control of landfill gas at West Central Landfill, which extends the term.
No General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
C17 Approve General Fund loan extensions to be repaid within twelve months to cover the actual negative cash balance at Fiscal Year-end in amounts not to exceed: (1) $400,000 to the County Service Area (CSA) No. 2-Sugarloaf Water Administration Fund; (2) $50,000 to the CSA No. 3-Castella Water Administration Fund; and (3) $1,200,000 to the CSA No. 17-Cottonwood Sewer Administration Fund.
General Fund Impact
4/5 Vote
Resource Management
C18 Waive competitive procurement requirements as outlined in Section 3.04 of the Shasta County Code due to the necessary restrictions in specifications of the CalRecycle grants and approve an agreement with Tasto Inc., dba Waste Tire Products, for residential waste tire collection and disposal services.
No Additional General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
Sheriff
C19 Approve an amendment to the agreement with California Forensic Medical Group, Inc., for comprehensive health care services in the Jail which increases compensation for Fiscal Year 2024-25.
No Additional General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
C20 Approve a renewal agreement with National Medical Services, Inc., for forensic toxicology laboratory services.
No Additional General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
C21 Adopt a resolution accepting the California Highway Patrol Cannabis Tax Fund Grant Program (Grant) funds in the amount of $474,472.65 for prevention, education and the enforcement of laws related to impaired driving and designates authority to the County Executive Officer to sign documents specific to the Grant.
No Additional General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
Support Services
C22 Adopt a resolution which certifies the Teamsters Local #137 as the exclusively recognized employee organization for the Supervisory Unit and adopts an amendment to Supervisory Unit Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to incorporate Teamsters Local #137 exclusive recognition.
No Additional General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
(46:00) A motion was made to vote on all Consent Calendar items. Supervisor Rickert voted no on items C5 and C11, which passed 4-1. All other Consent items passed 5-1.
REGULAR CALENDAR, CONTINUED
SCHEDULED HEARINGS
A court challenge to action taken by the Board of Supervisors on any project or decision may be limited to only those issues raised during the public hearing or in written correspondence delivered to the Board of Supervisors during, or prior to, the scheduled public hearing.
County Administrative Office
(46:32) R4 Take the following actions regarding a Special Public Safety Transactions and Use Tax: (1) Conduct a public hearing; (2) introduce and waive the reading of “An Ordinance of the Board of Supervisors of the County of Shasta, Enacting Chapter 3.14 of the Shasta County Code Imposing an One Percent Transactions and Use Tax to be Administered by the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration for Construction and Operation of a New Jail Facility” (the “Ordinance”) to adopt a special transactions and use tax in an amount not to exceed one percent (1%) to be used for funding construction, maintenance, and operations of a new jail facility in the unincorporated and incorporated areas of the County of Shasta, to be effective upon approval by a two-thirds vote of the qualified electors casting votes; (3) adopt a resolution (the “Resolution”) which: (a) calls for an election and places the Ordinance on the ballot for the November 5, 2024, General Election for the purpose of enabling voters to approve or reject the Ordinance; and (b) provides additional direction and instruction related to the conduct of the election; and (4) find that the Ordinance and Resolution are not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for the reasons stated in the Ordinance and Resolution.
General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
Erin Bertain made the presentation.
(47:22) Erin Bertain: On May 21, the board received a presentation on the county’s inability to finance a new jail facility within current resources primarily due to the ongoing cost, and agreed the only way to realize this new facility would be to charge an additional sales tax. The board directed staff to return with items necessary to add a 1% sales tax increase specific to the construction, maintenance and operations of a new jail facility to the ballot for the general election in November.
Before you today is the first step of that process. Included is an ordinance and a resolution for your consideration. The ordinance and resolution reflect a 1% specific sales tax and includes annual audits and reporting requirements to ensure the board and the public get regular updates on how much revenue is received and how much money is spent. The expenditure plan is limited to the costs associated with a new jail facility which include construction and operations of this new jail facility. Operations include all normal operating expenses required, required services for inmates, and any repair, renovation and maintenance of the facility. In addition, costs associated with the required outside audit and costs incurred by the auditor controller and treasurer tax collector for administration of the special tax would also be an allowable use. As part of the process, a public hearing must be conducted. Should the board vote to move forward with adding a sales tax to the ballot in November, the ordinance would be brought back for enactment on July 16. I’d like to thank County Counsel for the quick turnaround on this item, and Deputy CEO Stuart Butel and the Clerk of the Board staff for the research on the prior sales that made it possible to get this item on the agenda in a time frame that meets the deadline requirements for the next election. That concludes my presentation.
(49:03) R3 went to board discussion. The BOS felt that R4 had no realistic chance of passing should it get on the November ballot.
(49:23) Supervisor Rickert: I don’t see this having any real chance of passing without a very united board.
(50:49) Supervisor Kelstrom: I think the chances of passing it is probably fairly slim myself, but I don’t think putting anything in front of the voters is a waste of time. I think the voters, we, the people are the ones that need to decide this. They need to vote on this. They need to give us direction. They’re the ones that call the shot. So I certainly don’t think it’s a waste of time to put it before the voters.
(51:20) Supervisor Jones: It’s very difficult for me to support an additional tax. This would be the right way to do it, which would be a dedicated tax specific. And the public’s response would be better than what happened in 2019 because it was so, so broad. And the reality when it comes down to it is what we’re asking is we’re going to be taking more money from the public.
(55:04) Supervisor Garman: You know, I’m not going to support this. It’s not that we don’t need to jail. It’s not that I wouldn’t support something in the future. But if you look at the poll that supervisor-elect Matt Plummer put out, we had 885 responses. 21.7% of the people said they want more information and the other numbers just dictate. There’s no chance. This has zero chance.
(56:25) Public comment on R4 opened. There were two speakers, both of whom felt a tax could and should be passed but not in the way proposed for R4.
(1:04:24) A motion was made by Supervisor Crye and seconded by Supervisor Jones to deny R4. The BOS passed the motion 5-0.
Public Works
(1:04:51 ) R5 Take the following actions regarding Siskiyou County solid waste disposal parcel charges: (1) Conduct the public hearing; and (2) adopt a resolution which continues parcel charges for Fiscal Year 2024-25 to receive a portion of the revenue necessary for the operation, maintenance, and administration of Siskiyou County solid waste disposal facilities.
No General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
Don Rens made the presentation.
(1:05:04) Don Rens: The item for consideration today is to adopt a resolution on a parcel charge for of $72.45 to be assessed on the developed parcels in the Castle Rock School District, which is the northwest part of Shasta County up in Siskiyou. This money is to be paid to County of Siskiyou to help operate, maintain and administer their solid waste disposal facilities. A little context in history. In 1987 Siskiyou County implemented parcel charge of $63 on developed parcels in their county to partially offset the costs associated with the solid waste facilities, operation and maintenance, and services provided by their haulers. Shasta County residents in Castle Rock School District were allowed to use these facilities through a service agreement with Siskiyou County. As part of that agreement, the county agreed to collect the same charge on those parcels plus a 15% administration fee. The Shasta County parcels are assessed $72.45 per year with a residential multiplier being applied as shown in the table in the resolution. For example, a small restaurant uses those services more. They pay twice as much as a residential parcel. This charge has remained unchanged for 37 years now.
There were no public commenters on R5.
(1:07:08) R5 was passed by unanimous vote.
(1:07:28) R6 Take the following actions regarding the formation of a single, countywide Permanent Road Division (PRD): (1) Conduct a public hearing; and (2) adopt a resolution which forms the Shasta County Permanent Road Division, a countywide PRD, with all existing PRDs becoming zones within the Shasta County PRD.
No General Fund Impact
Simple Majority Vote
Assistant Public Works Director John Heath made the presentation.
(1:07:34) John Heath: The item before you this morning is considering PRDs. If you recall at the last meeting, we brought an item on consent to conduct a public hearing regarding the formation of a single countywide PRD. This is that follow-up action.
I know you’re all familiar with PRDs. I think we’ve discussed them here a couple of times, but I just thought for purposes of the presentation, I’d just give you a brief rundown. So PRDs – permanent road divisions – they’re a provision of the California streets and highways code that provide for maintenance of non-county maintained roads. So these are public roads but they are not maintained by the county. The process provides for maintenance through a parcel assessment. So property owners that live on these particular roads, they agree to pay an assessment to the county. The county collects those funds and then public works does maintenance and improvements on their road via the public works contract process.
PRDs have been commonplace in the county since 1995. When the county actually quit accepting new roads into its maintained mileage. At that time, they allowed for PRDs and HOAs. That process changed in 2009 when HOAs were no longer allowed, leaving PRDs. Since that time, the county has amassed 92 individual permanent road divisions. The process works well, but with 92 PRDs there is a lot of paperwork reporting, budgeting, auditing, a lot of processes that are duplicated for each individual PRD. I believe the auditor’s office and the CAOs office were looking for ways to make the PRD process a little more efficient in terms of budgeting and auditing, and they found a provision in the streets and highways code which actually allows for the formation of a single countywide permanent road division, and then incorporation of new PRDs or new maintenance districts into that into that countywide PRD as zones.
So that does a couple of things. It increases the efficiency. So the easiest way to think about it is currently, the process is 92 PRDs, each with their own budgets and each operating as a single fund, 92 of them all with a single line item. The new process with the countywide PRD would create one PRD with 92 line items. I know it’s a subtle distinction but it will create efficiencies in management of the PRDs. One thing important to remember and I know Supervisor Kelstrom, you brought this up when the item was on consent. There’ll be no commingling of PRD funds. All of the individual zones will stay distinct. They will have their own assessments and they will have their own maintenance and improvement projects. Really, in fact, the participants in the PRD process will not see any change in how this operates. This is kind of creates some internal efficiencies for us. That concludes my presentation.
There were no public commenters on R6. A motion was made by Supervisor Kelstrom and seconded by Supervisor Rickert to pass R6. R6 passed by unanimous vote.
OTHER AGENCIES
The Shasta County Board of Supervisors will recess and convene as the Shasta County Housing Authority.
SHASTA COUNTY HOUSING AUTHORITY
The Shasta County Board of Supervisors does not receive any additional compensation or stipend for acting as the Shasta County Housing Authority. The Shasta County Housing Authority will adjourn and convene as the Shasta County InHome Supportive Services Public Authority Governing Board.
(1:13:17) A motion was made by Supervisor Rickert and seconded by Supervisor Kelstrom to approve Consent Calendar item C1. There was no public comment. The motion passed 5-1.
(1:13:33) Erin Bertain: I’m here before you today to present the final steps required to finalize the Housing Authority budget for fiscal year 24/25. On June 6, this board received a presentation and voted to approve the budget as recommended. The item before you today finalizes the recommended budget via a resolution to adopt the budget. In addition, for your consideration is the schedule of position allocations for the Housing Authority and the county salary schedule. That concludes my presentation and I’d be happy to answer any questions at this time.
There was no board discussion and no public commenters.
(1:14:03) The board voted to finalize the Housing Authority budget 5-0.
SHASTA COUNTY IN-HOME SUPPORTIVE SERVICES PUBLIC AUTHORITY GOVERNING BOARD
The Shasta County Board of Supervisors does not receive any additional compensation or stipend for acting as the Shasta County In-Home Supportive Services Public Authority Governing Board.
(1:15:15) Erin Bertain: I’m here before you today to present the final steps required to finalize the in-home supportive services budget for fiscal year 24/25. On June 6, this board received a presentation and voted to approve the budget as recommended. The item before you today finalizes the recommended budget via a resolution adopting the budget. In addition, for your consideration is the schedule position allocations for the housing authority and the county salary schedule that concludes my presentation and I’m happy to answer any questions.
There was no board discussion and no public commenters.
(1:15:57) The Board voted to finalize the In-Home Supportive Services budget 5-0.
The Shasta County In-Home Supportive Services Public Authority Governing Board will adjourn and convene as the Shasta County Water Agency.
SHASTA COUNTY WATER AGENCY
The Shasta County Board of Supervisors does not receive any additional compensation or stipend for acting as the Shasta County Water Agency. The Shasta County Water Agency will adjourn and reconvene as the Shasta County Board of Supervisors.
(1:16:55) Erin Bertain: I’m here before you today to present the final steps required to finalize the water agency budget for fiscal year 24/25. June 6. This board received a presentation and voted to approve the budget as recommended. The item before you today finalizes the recommended budget via a resolution adopting the budget. That concludes my presentation. I’d be happy to answer any questions.
There was no public comment and no board discussion.
(1:17:32) The Board voted to finalize the water agency budget 5-0.
(1:18:07) ADJOURN
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