LAKEPORT— At this week's meeting, the Board of Supervisors moved to direct staff to return no later than January 23 to amend county code resulting in an increase in compensation for the position of supervisor. They also voted to add a Fire Chief's Association seat to the Cannabis Task Force.
According to County Counsel Anita Grant, it has been seven years since the board of supervisors received an increase in their salary as she stated, "The last time the board received an increase was in 2015 when the entire county got a three percent cola." Currently the position pays an annual salary of $63,714 where it was frozen in 2019 for a study. Lake County Human Resources Department Director Pamela Samick presented the amendment to Section 2-3A. 1 of Article 1, Chapter 2 of the Lake County Code. Samick shared the study behind the need for a salary increase based on the salary increase for the Superior Court Judge stating, "The superior court judge salary is at $229,125, if we align your salaries at 38 percent the annual board salary would be $88,483 and 5 percent add pay to the chair would be $4472."
District 5 Supervisor Jessica Pyska said, "We have noticed over the past year we have had difficulty, I have mentioned this before but nobody ran against either of you and it was sort of difficult to fill the District 4 seat and I think the salary is one reason for that and if we want to attract the people that this county really needs to be running this board in the future this is the step we need to take for that, for the health of our county and the health of the board." District 4 Supervisor Michael Green agreed saying, "I do think there is a disincentive to people who would be interested in filling these seats unless there is a substantial adjustment." There was further discussion of where additional funds would come from every year.
Assistant County Office Administrator Steven Carter explained how funds are generated from increased property taxes. After careful discussion, the board decided to direct staff to continue working on the amendment and to return it to the board no later than January 20 with the amendment to include broader position descriptions and (factoring in) property tax payments.
The board also approved the addition of a Fire Chief's Association seat to the Cannabis Task Force which has seven seats currently. District 2 Supervisor Bruno Sabatier explained the need for fire personnel to be involved in these conversations "In the future creation of new development norms, I Think that I would like to see a Fire District Seat always available to be part of the conversation." Community Development Director and head of the Cannabis Task Force Mireya Turner said, "The goal of this advisory committee is to gain consensus… The Fire District's personnel and representatives have attended the last couple of meetings and their input is very valuable to the group."
Northshore Fire Chief Mike Ciancio shared, "We want to get in front of it and become part of the task force so it (their feedback) can be considered when we're developing the ordinance instead of going down the line and trying to back track how we do things." Task Force Member Jennifer Smith expressed her concern saying "Their input is invaluable, and we need that, we should definitely be in front of this rather than behind it."
Smith added that she worried about having an even number of seats and suggested if an eight seat was being considered, she would like to add a ninth representing licenses other than cultivation. "I think the fire code is going to be especially important in processing, manufacturing, dispensaries as we see more come on line," she said, adding that for a cannabis task force, the cannabis representation was becoming smaller. Ultimately the board approved the motion and will discuss a ninth seat if necessary at a later date.
The board of supervisors meets every week at 9 a.m. in the County Courthouse and online via zoom. More information including minutes, agendas and videos, can be found on the county website at lakecountyca.gov
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