SIERRA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS met for the first time in 2021 on Tuesday, January 5th via teleconference. The Board welcomed District 4 Supervisor Terry LeBlanc. LeBlanc appreciated the welcome and stated he’d been with Sierra County for 31 years in the solid waste business and became a supervisor as another chapter and hoped to take care of Sierra County and keep life as they are used to.
Vice Chair Lee Adams took over as Chair and Supervisor Peter Huebner was elected to Vice Chair for the 2021 year.
Under committee reports and announcements, Huebner reported that one more hotel is for sale in Sierra City, adding the only one in Sierra City open is Yuba River Inn.
Supervisor Sharon Dryden announced that Sierra Brooks received its Fire Wise status and stressed it would not have happened without the involvement of the community. She said they are now trying to find a placement for the signs.
During department managers’ reports Behavioral Health Director Lea Salas stated they’ve been working with Plumas County on the No Place Like Home project. She said Plumas County has selected a developer and once he is approved, Sierra County can file for an extension for the $500,000.
Human Resources Director Judi Behlke, gave a staffing update on the Chief Probation Officer vacancy stating interviews were occurring this day. She said they received 12 applications with six being very qualified. Two applicants withdrew and out of the four qualified, two were being interviewed.
A RESOLUTION pertaining to salaries for Sierra County Department Managers was discussed during the Board of Supervisors’ meeting held Tuesday. Chair Lee Adams who is also a member of the finance committee stated after meeting the day before, their recommendation is a 2% cost of living increase, which is in line with what they gave the employees in the last couple months. Adams said he certainly realizes the timing could be better but the finance committee took into consideration the department managers haven’t received a salary or cost of living increase in 15 years. He stated all managers have been careful with expenditures and consistently left budgeted monies on the table for carry over year to year, adding without that we could have been in serious financial trouble. Supervisor Paul Roen who is a member of the finance committee stated because of the department managers’ actions is why Sierra County is financially secure. Supervisor Peter Huebner reported he had a lot of phone calls and emails against this as the first finance meeting on December 15th was recommending an 8% increase. He had no problem with 2% but he would have voted no for the 8% raise. Adams said the Board did a take back during tough monetary times and forced the employees to pay some of their PERS contribution and doubled it for the department managers. There was some confusion on whether the department managers still had to pay this contribution. It was recommended to return it until the error was caught. He realizes the hardships out there especially in the private sector and knew more than 2% would be hard to justify. Supervisor Sharon Dryden appreciated all the time the fi-nance committee has put in on this and was in agreement with the 2%, adding she would not have supported the 8%. Jim Johnston from the public was ok with 2% and appreciated the hard work of the department managers and Board. Don Russell stated after covering so many board meetings, from his perspective the department managers ate a lot of raises. He also approved of the 2%. The resolution passed unanimously with Supervisor Terry LeBlanc abstaining from the vote based on only being a supervisor for less than two hours.
Vice Chair Lee Adams took over as Chair and Supervisor Peter Huebner was elected to Vice Chair for the 2021 year.
Under committee reports and announcements, Huebner reported that one more hotel is for sale in Sierra City, adding the only one in Sierra City open is Yuba River Inn.
Supervisor Sharon Dryden announced that Sierra Brooks received its Fire Wise status and stressed it would not have happened without the involvement of the community. She said they are now trying to find a placement for the signs.
During department managers’ reports Behavioral Health Director Lea Salas stated they’ve been working with Plumas County on the No Place Like Home project. She said Plumas County has selected a developer and once he is approved, Sierra County can file for an extension for the $500,000.
Human Resources Director Judi Behlke, gave a staffing update on the Chief Probation Officer vacancy stating interviews were occurring this day. She said they received 12 applications with six being very qualified. Two applicants withdrew and out of the four qualified, two were being interviewed.
A RESOLUTION pertaining to salaries for Sierra County Department Managers was discussed during the Board of Supervisors’ meeting held Tuesday. Chair Lee Adams who is also a member of the finance committee stated after meeting the day before, their recommendation is a 2% cost of living increase, which is in line with what they gave the employees in the last couple months. Adams said he certainly realizes the timing could be better but the finance committee took into consideration the department managers haven’t received a salary or cost of living increase in 15 years. He stated all managers have been careful with expenditures and consistently left budgeted monies on the table for carry over year to year, adding without that we could have been in serious financial trouble. Supervisor Paul Roen who is a member of the finance committee stated because of the department managers’ actions is why Sierra County is financially secure. Supervisor Peter Huebner reported he had a lot of phone calls and emails against this as the first finance meeting on December 15th was recommending an 8% increase. He had no problem with 2% but he would have voted no for the 8% raise. Adams said the Board did a take back during tough monetary times and forced the employees to pay some of their PERS contribution and doubled it for the department managers. There was some confusion on whether the department managers still had to pay this contribution. It was recommended to return it until the error was caught. He realizes the hardships out there especially in the private sector and knew more than 2% would be hard to justify. Supervisor Sharon Dryden appreciated all the time the fi-nance committee has put in on this and was in agreement with the 2%, adding she would not have supported the 8%. Jim Johnston from the public was ok with 2% and appreciated the hard work of the department managers and Board. Don Russell stated after covering so many board meetings, from his perspective the department managers ate a lot of raises. He also approved of the 2%. The resolution passed unanimously with Supervisor Terry LeBlanc abstaining from the vote based on only being a supervisor for less than two hours.
