Jessica Cejnar Andrews / Wednesday, April 24 @ 3:58 p.m.
Del Norte Supes Sign Off On Strategic Plan Despite Continued Reservations; ClearGov Platform Goes Live
Courtesy of Del Norte County
Previously:
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(Correction: The Del Norte County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday tabled the creation of a human resources and risk management director position.)
Randy Hooper followed through on his goal to get a final strategic plan before the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors by April 23.
But while the assistant county administrative officer and Board Chairman Dean Wilson stated that the 62-page document — and ClearGov platform that went live on Tuesday — allows residents to track its progress, concerns persisted.
Wilson’s colleague Valerie Starkey questioned the point of having another compensation study, asking what the county’s plan would be for following through on its recommendations. She said she also wanted a status update on items addressed in the strategic plan that predate its development. This includes the rehabilitation of the Del Norte County Jail, using $10 million in Encampment Resolution Funding dollars and renovating Pyke’s Field.
District 1 Supervisor Darrin Short, along with Chris Howard, took issue with a proposed short-term vacation rental ordinance suggested as a way to increase housing availability for potential employees. The Board of Supervisors already decided against pursuing an ordinance.
“I think the surface allegation that because we have short-term rentals we don’t have a place for people to stay is shallow in thinking,” he said. “We had a strategic planner make a comment here and they said that’s not really the truth. I think we’re losing our sights on economic advantages [of] short-term rentals as well. I don’t think we should have that as one of our goals as of now.”
Short proposed approving the final strategic plan minus the goal of creating a short-term rental ordinance. However, after a 2-2 vote with Howard, who owns a vacation rental, abstaining, Short’s motion failed. Starkey and District 4 Supervisor Joey Borges dissented.
The Board of Supervisors approved the strategic plan as-is by a 3-1-1 vote, with Howard abstaining a second time and Short dissenting.
A priority of Wilson's when he sought the District 5 seat on the Board in 2022, county supervisors directed staff to work on developing a strategic plan back in December. In February, the county deployed a questionnaire to gauge public opinion on what its focus should be.
Supervisors also met consultant Don Ashton, project manager for Municipal Resource Group and held a public workshop.
In March, the Board of Supervisors approved the plan’s foundational elements, which included addressing staff vacancies, combatting homelessness, economic development and improving county programs, services and infrastructure.
At that March 12 meeting Howard urged his colleague to slow the process down. He reiterated his reservations on April 9 when Hooper presented the draft strategic plan to the Board of Supervisors.
“There’s a lot on this piece of paper,” Howard told the assistant CAO. “And I have some of the same concerns the public has expressed. There’s a lot on this paper. We need to think hard about getting focused on what is achievable and what is not.”
On April 9, Hooper presented the plan, and its four focus areas, to the Board of Supervisors and the public.
The plan calls for creating a stand alone Human Resources Department, holding job fairs and creating an employee appreciation program to reduce turnover and increase retention.
In terms of economic development, the strategic plan calls for improving county parks, using Measure R moneys for public improvements at the Veterans Memorial Hall and near the sheriff’s office and cleaning up and making improvements to county property.
Under the “law, justice and homelessness” focus area of the document, the strategic plan calls for creating a public defense department, continuing to work on the pallet home project with wraparound slated for Williams Drive using ERF dollars and to use Proposition 64 money to transition the juvenile detention facility into a youth opportunity center.
The area of the strategic plan focusing on general governance and budget calls for updating the county’s master fee schedule, transitioning the operation of the Del Norte County Animal Shelter from the sheriff’s office to a non-governmental organization, and addressing potential changes to California’s minimum wage.
Hooper also included a proposed timeline for when items in the strategic plan should be addressed.
For example, the proposed compensation analysis is scheduled to be implemented in the final quarter of this fiscal year and first quarter of next fiscal year. Finalizing the design for the jail rehabilitation project as well as securing a new home for Search & Rescue is also scheduled to start this fiscal year.
In response to concerns Starkey raised, Hooper agreed to stipulate which items in the strategic plan needed approval from supervisors before they could be implemented.
Starkey also raised concerns about the compensation analysis, pointing out that the county had completed a study in 2021 from the Collective Good.
“My concern is if this new comp analysis comes back and it’s 10 times as much as the initial one that was [done] in 2021, are we going to then be encouraged to follow that comp analysis,” she asked Hooper. “How is that going to work for us?”
Hooper said a compensation study is used as a management tool when negotiating with employee unions. However, nothing is decided until both parties agree and the Board of Supervisors approves it. He argued that while there would be a cost for a new compensation study, “it could pay dividends in terms of those negotiations and options we’ll ultimately be presented with.”
Norma Williams, president of the Del Norte County Employees Association, called the inclusion of a compensation study in the strategic plan a red flag. Del Norte County spent $157,000 on the Collective Good study, she said, but nothing ever came of it.
Compensation studies were also conducted in 2008-09 and in 2016 and nothing came of those, Williams said. The only time a compensation study was implemented was back in 2000, she said.
“You’re going to do another one? How much is that going to set you back?” Williams asked. “You say it’s for management purposes. Well I can guarantee you that the union, and I would assume other employee groups, would want to see that as well especially since it does impact county employees who we represent.”
A second red flag for Williams was the the possibility of an NGO operating the animal shelter, noting that the Del Norte County Employees Association represents shelter staff.
Williams also took issue with a proposed employee appreciation program, which recommended recognizing staff anniversaries, providing employee discounts at local businesses and holding awards ceremonies and other appreciation events.
“I don’t know how many houses have to fall on you to realize that we’re already underpaid,” she said Tuesday. “Any amount of discounts or awards or anything like that, though well intended or well meaning, won’t diaper a baby, won’t pay an employee grocery bill, won’t pay to put gas in the car, won’t pay rent, mortgage or utilities or out-of-state medical bills.”
Williams also pointed out that the current Board of Supervisors can’t guarantee how their successors will act.
After approving the strategic plan, the Board was expected to weigh in on a proposed human resources and risk management director, but chose to table the item until a later meeting. According to Hooper, creating stand alone HR position is a "monumental move" for Del Norte County.
“We have a human resources division without a director-level leader,” he said. “This would be establishing a dedicated human resources department.”
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