Santa Cruz County, CA

THIS MEASURE K HOUSING RELATED FUNDING WOULD NORMALLY BE USED ON COUNTY UNINCORPORATED AREA GENERAL- OR COUNTY UNINCORPORATED AREA HOUSING USES.

UM, WE WOULD INSTEAD BY THIS REALLOCATION, TAKE THAT MEASURE K HOUSING FUNDING, USE IT ON GENERAL PURPOSES IN THE UNINCORPORATED AREA, THAT'S FREEING UP GENERAL FUND CONTRIBUTION FOR THESE OTHER SERVICES.

SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF A MOVING MONEY AROUND.

UM, THEN IN TERMS OF OTHER FUNDING, MHCAN AND THE RESTORATION OF THAT CONTRACT WOULD BE SUPPORTED BY THE GENERAL FUND CONTRIBUTION

[00:45:03]

AS WELL AS THAT CITY OF SANTA CRUZ FUNDING I MENTIONED OF $100,000 AND THE MA FUNDING.

FINALLY, MEDI-CAL REIMBURSEMENT REVENUE WOULD COVER THE ENTIRE COST OF THOSE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES AT THE FREEDOM CAMPUS HEALTH SERVICE, AND THAT'S ALMOST $500,000.

IN TOTAL, THAT COMES TO ALMOST 1.4 MILLION COVERING THE ENTIRE RESTORATION.

THERE ARE A VARIETY OF SERVICES THAT WE'RE NOT RECOMMENDING FOR RESTORATION.

THE FIRST IS THE RADIOLOGY SERVICES ARE RECOMMENDED TO FULLY TRANSITION.

THE HSA IS WORKING ON PROVIDING THAT STREAMLINED REFERRAL PROCESS TO PROVIDERS IN THE COMMUNITY.

AND WE WOULD RECOMMEND CLOSING NOW ON JUNE 30TH OF 2025.

WE ALSO DO NOT RECOMMEND RESTORING THE SUICIDE PREVENTION COORDINATOR.

THIS POSITION IS FUNDED BY A CDPH GRANT THAT ENDS ON AUGUST 31ST OF 2025.

THE SUICIDE PREVENTION PLAN WE WILL KNOW IS GOING TO REMAIN IN PLACE AND ASPECTS OF THE PLAN ARE GOING TO BE WORKED ON BOTH BY BEHAVIORAL HEALTH AND PUBLIC HEALTH.

AND THEN LASTLY, THE DOWNTOWN OUTREACH WORKER PROGRAM, WHICH YOU ASKED US TO TAKE A LOOK AT.

WE ARE NOT RECOMMENDING THE COUNTY RESTORE THIS CONTRACT.

CALAIM DOES NOT REIMBURSE FOR THESE OUTREACH ACTIVITIES AND THE CITY OF SANTA CRUZ HAS TOLD US THAT THEY WILL FUND AND MANAGE THE CONTRACT ON THEIR OWN.

AND SO THE CONTRACT WOULD CONTINUE WITHIN THE CITY OF SANTA CRUZ.

SO WITH THAT, UM, OUR RECOMMENDED ACTIONS ARE TO APPROVE THE HSA PROPOSED BUDGET, ALSO TO APPROVE THE CEO'S BUDGET RESTORATION RECOMMENDATIONS AND OUR FUNDING SOURCE RECOMMENDATIONS.

AND THEN OF COURSE, UH, ALONG WITH THESE RECOMMENDATIONS, EVERYTHING WE'RE RECOMMENDING, AS WELL AS ANY OTHER DIRECTION WE RECEIVED TODAY WILL BE INCORPORATED IN THE FISCAL YEAR 2025-26 BUDGET.

WE'RE HAPPY TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS.

WE'LL OPEN IT UP TO THE PUBLIC FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.

SEE IF THERE'S ANYONE THAT WISHES TO ADDRESS US ON THIS ITEM.

YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES.

- HI, BOARD, I DIDN'T GET MY ONE MINUTE, BUT I WILL MAKE CONTACT TO YOUR STAFF.

I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU.

I AM ON THE BOARD OF- THANKS TO YOU, WE'RE NOT CLOSING DOWN MHCAN.

BUT WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO IS EMPOWER THOSE THAT ARE HOMELESS TO BE PART OF CHANGING THAT ONE NEIGHBORHOOD.

AND PARTICULARLY, YOU KNOW, PHILIPPE, VETERANS DON'T LIVE IN THE SKY.

WE'D LIKE YOUR HELP, AS YOU HAVE GIVEN US.

AND SO THIS IS ONE COUNTY WHERE YOU KNOW, I'M NOT GOING TO GO AWAY.

AND RIGHT NOW, THAT'S GOOD NEWS.

AND I THINK WE CAN TAKE PEOPLE WHO ARE SERVED THERE, GET THEM INVOLVED TO BE YOUR PARTNERS AS SUPERVISORS, NOT JUST THERE, BUT ALL THE WAY TO WATSONVILLE.

YOU WHO KNOW ME.

NO, I'M NEVER, NEVER GOING TO GIVE UP.

PLEASE DON'T HAVE ME BE CALLED BY ST. PETER.

IF SO, IF I'VE DONE RIGHT, VETS PER VETS, WHAT A BRAND.

SEE WHAT YOU CAN DO TO MOVE THAT FORWARD AND WE'LL BRING IT TO WATSONVILLE.

OVER AND OUT.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

- GOOD AFTERNOON, BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.

MY NAME IS SERGE CAGNO, PRESENT MEMBER OF THE- PRESENT MEMBER OF THE HUMAN SERVICES ADVISORY WORK GROUP AND PAST MEMBER OF THE MENTAL HEALTH ADVISORY BOARD.

I'M THE DIRECTOR OF STEPPING UP SANTA CRUZ.

WE DO CALAIM CASE MANAGEMENT FOR- FOR THOSE ON MEDI-CAL EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS AND THOSE WITH SIGNIFICANT MENTAL HEALTH CHALLENGES.

I COME BEFORE YOU TO, UH, IN SUPPORT OF FUNDING MHCAN FOR THE STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION.

AS YOU KNOW, MHCAN PROVIDES SERVICES TO MANY CLIENTS WHO ARE MINIMALLY CONNECTED TO ANY OTHER SERVICE PROVIDER IN THE COMMUNITY.

MHCAN IS A PLACE OF SAFETY, SUPPORT, ADVOCACY, CLASSES, COMPUTERS, SHOWERS, CLOTHES, AND FOOD.

STEPPING UP SANTA CRUZ AND MHCAN ARE CREATING A PARTNERSHIP TO PROVIDE CASE MANAGEMENT FOR THE MEDICAL NEEDS AND HOUSING NEEDS OF MHCAN MEMBERS.

IN THE SHORT TERM, I ASK YOU TO CONTINUE TO FUND MHCAN.

I ALSO ASK YOU TO REQUEST THE CITY OF SANTA CRUZ TO MODIFY THEIR SPECIAL USE PERMIT, FOR THEIR REQUIREMENT OF PRIVATE SECURITY, WHICH IS PART OF WHAT THE COST IS, UNNECESSARY COST ON THEIR CONTRACT, UM, TO EITHER, UM, REMOVE THE PRIVATE SECURITY REQUIREMENT BECAUSE THEY HAVEN'T HAD ANY INCIDENTS IN THE LAST FEW YEARS, OR TO ALLOW MHCAN STAFF OR VOLUNTEER TO SUPPORT THAT ROLE.

UM, THE OTHER PERMIT LIMITATIONS, I WOULD ALSO ASK THE CITY OF SANTA CRU... FOR YOU TO REQUEST

[00:50:03]

THE CITY OF SANTA CRUZ LOOK AT MODIFYING THE DAILY LIMIT ON MEMBERS AND THE LIMIT ON SERVING FOOD TO MEMBERS.

IN THE LONG TERM, I WOULD ASK YOU TO SUPPORT MHCAN AND OTHER SMALL NONPROFITS TO GET WHO MAY HAVE COUNTY FUNDED CUT OR LIMITED AND THE STATE FUNDING AND THE FEDERAL FUNDING THAT'S BEING CUT AND LIMITED TO HAVE COUNTY STAFF ASSIST NONPROFITS IN FINDING OTHER SOURCES OF FUNDING.

THERE ARE A LOT OF NONPROFITS THAT ARE VERY SMALL AND VERY INEXPERIENCED ON FINDING GRANTS.

AND IF THERE'S STAFF THAT FIND DIFFERENT KINDS OF GRANTS TO LETTING THEM KNOW WE'RE GOING TO BE CUTTING YOUR CONTRACT, WE CAN HELP YOU, WE CAN WRITE A LETTER OF SUPPORT, WE CAN SIGN OFF ON YOUR GRANT APPLICATION.

THAT WOULD REALLY BE A LARGE ASSISTANCE TO THE NONPROFITS.

AGAIN, I ASK FOR YOUR SUPPORT FOR MHCAN.

THANKS FOR YOUR TIME.

- GOOD AFTERNOON, BOARD CHAIR HERNANDEZ AND BOARD MEMBERS.

MY NAME IS BETSY CLARK AND I LIVE IN THE CITY OF SANTA CRUZ.

AND I CAME HERE TODAY TO EXPRESS MY SHOCK AND MY DEEP CONCERN FOR THE CLOSING OF THE TELOS CRISIS RESIDENTIAL PROGRAM.

ALSO, I CAME HERE READY TO SAY THE SAME ABOUT PACIFIC, BUT I UNDERSTAND THAT THAT HAS BEEN RESTORED AND I'M VERY GRATEFUL FOR THAT, VERY GRATEFUL.

AS- AS YOU MAY KNOW, THIS WILL BE A LOSS OF 10 BEDS OR STEP DOWN FROM LOCKED CARE OR FOR AVOIDANCE OF LOCKED- OF- OF LOCKED CARE.

UM, THIS WILL CREATE CHAOS AND, UM, WORSE, FOR FAMILIES DEALING WITH PEOPLE IN THE HOSPITAL OR TRYING TO AVOID THE HOSPITAL OR, UM, THE LOCKED CARE.

AND I THINK, UM, THAT THIS IS AN INCREDIBLY INEFFECTIVE WAY TO SAVE MONEY BECAUSE OF THE EFFECT ON THE ENTIRE SYSTEM.

I THINK EVERYONE WILL AGREE THAT WE ALREADY HAVE A SHORTAGE OF BEDS, OF CRISIS BEDS AND TRANSITIONAL BEDS.

UM, AND SO IN THIS SYSTEM, UH, THIS WILL BACK UP THE SYSTEM AND EXACERBATE THE FINANCIAL SITUATION GREATLY BECAUSE PEOPLE WILL STAY LONGER IN LOCKED CARE OR GO OUT OF TOWN AT ADDITIONAL COSTS.

ALSO, THERE'RE CRIMINAL JUSTICE INITIATIVES THAT UTILIZE THESE BEDS AND APPARENTLY FAIRLY WELL, UM, TO REDUCE THEIR TIME IN INCARCERATION OR AVOID IT.

I HAVE WORKED CLOSELY WITH COUNTY BEHAVIORAL HEALTH OVER 30 YEARS AND NOW AS A BOARD MEMBER OF NAMI AND A HELPLINE VOLUNTEER FOR NAMI.

I STAY CONNECTED AS AN ADVOCATE AND SUPPORTER OF THE PEOPLE SERVED BY BEHAVIORAL HEALTH.

I JUST HAVE TO SAY, I AM SURPRISED AND DISMAYED AT THE SUDDENNESS OF THESE DECISIONS OR THIS DECISION, I GUESS I WAS ADDING, CASAPI.

AND THE NARRATIVE THAT'S BEING SPREAD THAT THE COUNTY ABRUPTLY DEFUNDED THESE SERVICES AS PART OF THESE BUDGET CUTS.

IF YOU NOTICE, THEY'RE NOT IN THE BUDGET CUTS.

- HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? - YEAH, GOOD AFTERNOON.

MY NAME IS JAMES EWING WHITMAN.

YOU KNOW, I'M HONESTLY NOT SURE WHAT THE OVERALL BUDGET WITH THE COUNTY IS.

I KNOW A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, IT WAS 1.3 MILLION FROM WHAT I SAW THE TWO SCREENSHOTS.

YOU GUYS WERE LOOKING AT RESTORING ABOUT $4 MILLION TO SERVICES THAT WERE CUT.

MY UNDERSTANDING IS THE REVENUE IS 289 MILLION AND YOU GUYS ARE EXPECTING TO SPEND 330.

THAT'S AT LEAST 25% OF THIS BUDGET.

WHAT I FIND INTERESTING IS WHEN YOU GO OUTSIDE AND YOU LOOK AT THE BINDERS, THERE'S THREE.

TWO OF THE BINDERS HAVE ALMOST 2,900 PAGES, BUT THIS ITEM, WHICH IS AT A MINIMUM OF ONE QUARTER OF THE BUDGET IS LESS THAN 30 PAGES.

I THINK THAT'S KIND OF ODD.

OH, GOOD. THAT WAS THE NICE PART.

SO WHAT'S HAPPENED HERE OVER THE PAST SIX YEARS WITH THE HEALTH, YOU KNOW, WHERE'S THE ACCOUNTABILITY? WHAT IS GOING ON? YOU KNOW, HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE BEEN HARMED BY THESE CLOSURES THAT WERE SUPPOSEDLY PUT FORTH BY SOME KIND OF LOGICAL MEDICAL STANDARDS AND REALLY WHAT'S NEXT? WHERE IS THE ACCOUNTABILITY? AND I'LL GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE OF ACCOUNTABILITY.

I LEFT HERE THIS MORNING, I WENT TO THE CITY.

ONCE AGAIN, FOR WHATEVER REASON, THE PERSON IN CHARGE, MR. KEELEY, FORGOT ABOUT PEOPLE BEING ABLE TO MAKE PUBLIC COMMENTS ON THE CONSENT AGENDA ITEM AND I MADE THE MISTAKE OF GOING.

THAT WASN'T THE IDEAL THING TO DO.

SO IT LED TO SOME FUNNY DIALOGUE.

HE TOOK ME ASIDE DURING A BREAK AND WE HAD A GOOD CONVERSATION.

HEY, CALL A POINT OF ORDER.

THEN HE SPENT THREE OR FOUR MINUTES TALKING ABOUT THAT ACTUAL PRACTICE.

AND I LEFT THAT TO COME HERE ON TIME TO FIND OUT SOMETHING WAS GOING ON.

AND I CALLED A POINT OF ORDER BECAUSE I WAS CONFUSED AT THE PAPERWORK.

AND I DON'T THINK ANYBODY WOULD REALLY BE HAPPY

[00:55:01]

WITH HEAD ATTORNEY, MR. JASON HEATH, THE WAY HE HANDLED THAT.

AT LEAST THERE'S A PAPER TRAIL AND A, AND A TRAIL OF THAT.

SO WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.

AND I'M ONLY HERE BECAUSE I ACTUALLY CARE.

I DON'T WANT TO BE ALWAYS CRITICAL, BUT WE CAN ALL DO BETTER.

I'LL START WITH MYSELF.

- GOOD AFTERNOON, MY NAME IS DR. NEAL RICHMOND, I'M AN ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON.

I'VE BEEN WORKING FOR SANTA CRUZ COUNTY HSA SINCE 2011.

I WANT TO TELL YOU THREE THINGS IN LESS THAN TWO MINUTES.

NUMBER ONE, ELIMINATING RADIOLOGY SERVICES AT THE TWO HEALTH CENTERS WILL HAVE A NEGATIVE EFFECT ON PATIENT CARE AND PATIENT OUTCOMES.

NUMBER TWO, IT WILL LIKELY RESULT IN AN OVERALL INCREASED COST TO COUNTY THROUGH INCREASED UTILIZATION OF OTHER SERVICES.

NUMBER THREE, I HAVE A PROPOSAL TO MAINTAIN CRITICAL X-RAY SERVICES AND REDUCE COSTS AT THE SAME TIME.

NUMBER ONE, PATIENT CARE AND OUTCOMES.

THE TWO HSA HEALTH CENTERS RECEIVE DIRECT AND INDIRECT REFERRALS FROM THE TWO SANTA CRUZ COUNTY HOSPITAL EMERGENCY ROOMS ON A REGULAR BASIS FOR PATIENTS WITH ACUTE MUSCULOSKELETAL INJURIES SUCH AS FRACTURES AND DISLOCATIONS.

ANY COMPARISON TO OTHER FQHCS WHICH EITHER DO NOT HAVE ORTHOPEDIC SURGERY SERVICES OR DO NOT RECEIVE THESE SAME TYPE OF ACUTE INJURY REFERRALS IS COMPARING APPLES WITH ORANGES.

THESE TYPE OF INJURIES ARE TIME SENSITIVE.

THEY REQUIRE TIMELY ASSESSMENT AND TREATMENT IN ORDER TO HAVE THE BEST CHANCE FOR GOOD OUTCOMES.

A DELAY IN ASSESSMENT AND TREATMENT CAN RESULT IN A REQUIREMENT FOR MORE COMPLEX TREATMENTS WITH MORE RISK, BOTH WHICH REDUCE THE CHANCE FOR GOOD OUTCOME THAT WOULD HAVE OTHERWISE OCCURRED WITH TIMELY TREATMENT.

ELIMINATING AND OUTSOURCING THE X-RAY SERVICES INTRODUCES DELAY.

AND I JUST TOLD YOU HOW THAT CAN COMPROMISE OUTCOMES.

NUMBER TWO, DELAY IN TREATMENT CAN ALSO INCREASE COSTS DOWNSTREAM.

COMPLEX TREATMENTS ARE MORE EXPENSIVE, ARE ASSOCIATED PROLONGED RECOVERY, INCREASED UTILIZATION OF REHABILITATION SERVICES AND MEDICAL DEVICES, ALONG WITH INCREASED UTILIZATION OF IN-HOME CARE AND TRANSPORTATION SERVICES, ET CETERA.

NUMBER THREE, COMPROMISED SOLUTION.

MY PROPOSAL IS TO REDUCE X-RAY SERVICES TO TWO DAYS A WEEK TO COINCIDE WITH ORTHOPEDIC CLINIC SCHEDULE.

OTHER CLINIC PROVIDERS CAN ORDER X-RAYS TO BE PERFORMED ON THESE DAYS.

THIS NEW SCHEDULE CAN HELP MAKE X-RAY UTILIZATION MORE EFFICIENT MOVING TOWARDS A MORE REVENUE NEUTRAL OPERATION.

IT REPRESENTS A 60% REDUCTION INSTEAD OF 100% ELIMINATION.

- HI, BOARD, UM, LIAM MCLAUGHLIN WITH SGU 521.

FIRST, I JUST WANNA THANK YOU GUYS FOR YOUR QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS AT THE HEARING EARLIER TODAY.

I THINK THEY WERE REALLY INSTRUCTIVE.

UM, YOU KNOW, I'M ASKING YOU TO NOT SHUT DOWN THE LAB AND, UM, RADIOLOGY SERVICES.

I THINK YOU GUYS HAD PUT A DIRECTIVE TO PERSONNEL TO COME UP WITH ALTERNATIVES.

AND, UH, FROM THE HEARING THIS MORNING, IT SOUNDS LIKE THEY FAILED TO DO THAT.

UM, AND I THINK THIS IS, YOU KNOW, IT'S- IT'S BEEN A 50-YEAR-OLD, 50-YEAR-OLD, HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM THAT SANTA CRUZ HAS THAT SHOULD BE PROUD OF AND SHOULD STAND BEHIND.

AND, UH, LET'S NOT- LET' NOT VOTE THAT AWAY WITHOUT HAVING REALLY DONE ALL OF OUR DUE DILIGENCE, UM, THAT YOU GUYS ASKED THE PERSONNEL TO DO.

SO, THANK YOU.

- HELLO, MY NAME IS NICK BODSKY.

I'VE WORKED AND LIVED IN SANTA CRUZ COUNTY SINCE 2012.

I'M HERE TO JUST VOICE MY STRONG SUPPORT OF MHCAN.

UM, MY JOURNEY WITH MHCAN BEGAN AFTER I WAS DISCHARGED FROM A PSYCHIATRIC HOLD AND WAS PLACED IN TELOS, UM, WHERE I WAS TO REMAIN THERE FOR TWO WEEKS AND RECOVER BEFORE RETURNING HOME.

UM, DURING MY STAY THERE, MHCAN CAME AND STOPPED BY AND DID A FEW GROUPS WITH ME.

UM, THE FOLKS THAT JOINED US WERE CALLED SHADOW SPEAKERS AND THEY WERE REALLY, UM, UH, PEOPLE WHO DID PEER SUPPORT.

UM, THEY DIDN'T JUST TALK, THEY SHARED THEIR STORIES, WHICH I FOUND TO BE VERY IMPACTFUL IN MY RECOVERY.

UM, THEY TALKED ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH STRUGGLES, ADDICTION, RECOVERY, LOSS AND HOPE.

THEY TOLD US THAT WE ARE WELCOME TO COME TO MHCAN AT ANY TIME.

IF YOU WANT TO HAVE GROUPS, IF YOU WANT HAVE COFFEE, FOOD, OR JUST SOMEONE TO TALK TO.

I WAS IN AWE AFTER THAT VISIT.

THEIR STORIES DIDN'T JUST INSPIRE ME, IT GAVE ME HOPE.

FOR THE FIRST TIME, I REALIZED I WASN'T ALONE.

I SAW A FUTURE WHERE I COULD GIVE BACK TO THE COMMUNITY TOO.

MAYBE EVEN SHARE MY OWN STORY ONE DAY TO HELP OTHERS.

UM, BEFORE THAT DAY, I'VE NEVER HEARD OF THE TERM PEER SUPPORT

[01:00:01]

BUT IN THAT MOMENT, I FELT IT AND IT CHANGED MY LIFE.

MHCAN HAS BEEN A PROFOUNDLY POSITIVE FORCE IN MY LIFE.

I TRULY BELIEVE I WOULDN'T BE WHERE I AM TODAY WITHOUT THAT FIRST INTRODUCTION AT TELOS.

UM, AND THIS IS JUST ONE STORY, RIGHT? I OFTEN WONDER HOW- HOW MANY OTHERS IN THE COMMUNITY HAVE HAD A SIMILAR EXPERIENCE AND HOW MANY LIVES HAVE CHANGED BECAUSE MHCAN WAS THERE AT THE RIGHT MOMENT.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.

- HELLO, I'M ALICE MORRISON.

I'VE BEEN A LONG-TIME RESIDENT OF SANTA CRUZ COUNTY.

UM, I'M ALSO HERE TO SPEAK IN SUPPORT OF MHCAN.

UM, AND I'D LIKE TO JUST POINT OUT THAT FOR EVERY PROFESSIONAL DOLLAR THAT IS SPENT ON MHCAN, UNTOLD AMOUNTS OF COMMUNITY EFFORT AND MUTUAL AID AND MUTUAL SUPPORT ARE LEVERAGED AS WELL.

THERE'S NO WAY TO MEASURE THE AMOUNT OF ADDITIONAL SUPPORT AND ADDITIONAL AID THAT PEOPLE ARE WILLING AND ABLE TO BRING WHEN THEY HAVE A PLACE TO BRING IT AND A FRAMEWORK WITH WHICH TO UTILIZE IT.

SO, FOR EVERY DOLLAR THAT'S SPENT THERE, WE HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH MORE THE COMMUNITY IS BRINGING FORTH TO HELP ONE ANOTHER.

UM, IT'S A- IT'S A FORMAT THAT'S BEING EMULATED ALL OVER THE COUNTRY RIGHT NOW BY PEOPLE WHO ARE EXCITED TO REDUCE BUDGETS WHILE INCREASING MUTUAL AID.

UM, AND IT WOULD BE A SHAME TO WASTE IT NOW BY DEFUNDING IT.

SO I UNDERSTAND THERE'S FURTHER BUDGET CUTS IN THE MAKING, UM, BUT KEEP IN MIND, THERE'S NO BETTER GROUP TO LEVERAGE ONE DOLLAR OF OFFICIAL FUNDING THAN HUNDREDS OF VOLUNTEERS WHO ARE PROVIDING MUTUAL AID.

- HI, MY NAME IS TAMARA, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT YOU MANAGED TO GET FUNDING FOR A LOT OF THESE SERVICES.

EVERY BIT OF SERVICE THAT YOU SAVE REALLY MATTERS.

UM, I GUESS I'D ALSO LIKE TO SAY THAT I KNOW THAT THERE'S MANY PEOPLE IN THE COUNTY JAIL EXPERIENCING MENTAL HEALTH CRISES AND THAT WE SPEND 10 TO $15,000 PER PERSON PER MONTH ON INCARCERATION.

AND IT WOULD BE GREAT IF DOWN THE ROAD WE COULD CAPTURE SOME OF THAT FUNDING FOR MENTAL HEALTH FACILITIES THAT MIGHT, UM, TREAT THOSE PEOPLE BETTER.

- BERNIE GOMEZ, YEAH, KIND OF JUST ECHOING WHAT THE PREVIOUS SPEAKER SAID.

I WAS JUST THINKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THIS COUNTY SPENDS $49 MILLION TO OPERATE ITS JAILS, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S FTES AND ALL THAT STUFF, RIGHT? MEDICAL, FOOD, ALL THAT STUFF. SO.

AND, BUT THE FIRST THING TO GO ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK, RIGHT? IT'S ALWAYS THE- THE HEALTH SERVICES, YOU KNOW, THOSE THINGS THAT ARE, UH, YEAH, THAT, YOU KNOW, ADDRESS, UH, THE VULNERABLE COMMUNITY, YOU KNOW, UH, THE FOLKS THAT ARE STRUGGLING.

SO, I'M JUST THINKING ABOUT CUTS AND LIKE ALL THOSE THINGS THAT ARE COMING FORWARD, YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE THERE HAS TO BE A STRONG WILL TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT AND GOING TO, TO PROVIDE THE SERVICE, A COMMENT, BELT TIGHTENING, YOU KNOW, LIKE THERE IS THERE HAS TO BE SOME LIKE GENUINE HEART OF CONVERSATIONS, YOU KNOW, ABOUT WHO'S IN OUR JAILS AND HOW CAN- A LOT OF THE FOLKS IN THE JAILS, ARE WAITING FOR BEDS, YOU KNOW, TO GO TO, TO GET, UH, UM, REHABILITATION SERVICES, YOU KNOW, AND THAT'S DIRECTLY FROM THE SHERIFF, YOU KNOW, UM, AND FOR SOME OF THE RESEARCH THAT WE'VE DONE TOO.

A LOT OF THE PEOPLE THAT ARE THERE ALSO ARE STRUGGLING WITH HOMELESSNESS AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE, RIGHT? AND IT'S MORE COSTLY TO JUST LEAVE PEOPLE IN JAIL, RIGHT? UM, AND IT'S MORE COST EFFECTIVE TO BUILD THAT HEALTH INFRASTRUCTURE, RIGHT? WHERE WE DON'T END UP IN THE SITUATION THAT WE ARE IN TODAY WHERE, UH, GRACIAS TO THE, TO THE STAFF, RIGHT? FOR DOING THEIR DILIGENCE AND FINDING, YOU KNOW, WAYS TO SUPPORT MHCAN AND, YOU KNOW, AND OTHERS, RIGHT? BUT I THINK IF WE JUST KIND OF RESTRUCTURE A LITTLE BIT, RIGHT? AND, YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE HARD CONVERSATIONS THAT NEED TO HAPPEN BUT THEY NEED TO HAPPEN.

AND THAT'S JUST THE REALITY OF IT, RIGHT? BECAUSE THE NEEDS IN OUR COMMUNITY ARE NOT CRIMINAL ANYMORE.

NOW THEY'RE HEALTH RELATED.

SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, THANK YOU.

- UM, YEAH, THANK YOU AGAIN FOR FUNDING, UM, FOR BEING ABLE TO FIND THIS FUNDING, BUT I THINK YOU'RE, UM, PUTTING A LOT OF PRESSURE ON, UM, HSA AND HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES TO DO THAT WORK OF FINDING THE MONEY.

AND I JUST WANNA RAISE AGAIN, THIS EXAMPLE AT, UM, AND WITH THE DOLLAR NUMBERS.

[01:05:01]

SO, AND THIS IS STATE, BUT IT'S AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT WE CAN DO LOCALLY.

THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA HAS SAVED $620 MILLION, AND THAT'S ANNUAL SAVINGS, IT'S NOT A ONE TIME.

UM, SINCE 2021 BY CLOSING PRISON FACILITIES.

[INTRODUCTORY ITEMS]

UM, SO THE PRISON, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO THAT AT THE STATE LEVEL BECAUSE OF DECLINING POPULATION, AND THERE'S BEEN NO IMPACT TO PUBLIC SAFETY.

HERE IN OUR COUNTY, WE'VE ALSO BEEN SEEING DECLINING NUMBERS IN BOTH YOUTH AND ADULT JAILS, AND YET RELATED BUDGETS CONTINUE TO ACTUALLY INCREASE, UM, EVEN ADDING NEW CORRECTIONAL STAFF.

SO I THINK IT'S JUST HIGHLIGHTING THAT AND THE FACT THAT IT COSTS MORE, IT COSTS MORE TO INCARCERATE.

AND WHAT WE'RE DOING IS WE'RE CRIMINALIZING MENTAL HEALTH WE'RE CRIMINALIZING POVERTY, UM, CRIMINALIZING HOMELESSNESS.

WE KNOW THE NUMBERS ARE OUTRAGEOUS, UM, PEOPLE WHO ARE HOMELESS AND WITH MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES IN OUR JAILS.

SO, UM, WE NEED TO SUPPORT MHCAN, THANK YOU.

WE NEED TO SUPPORT THE, THESE PREVENTATIVE SERVICES, AND WE NEED TO, TAKE PEOPLE OUT OF JAILS AND PUT THAT MONEY INTO, INTO THESE SERVICES.

- THANK YOU. ANYONE ONLINE? - YES, CHAIR.

JASON, YOUR MICROPHONE'S NOW AVAILABLE.

- HELLO? YES, THIS IS JASON JOHNSTON.

I'M A PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT WITH THE HOMELESS PERSON'S HEALTH PROJECT AND SCIU 521 MEMBER.

SO I JUST WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT AT TWO PRIOR HEARINGS, BOARD MEMBERS INSTRUCTED HSA ADMINISTRATION TO PRODUCE ALTERNATIVES, THE CLOSURE OF RADIOLOGY AND TO THE CLOSURE OF LABORATORY SERVICES.

AND HSA ADMINISTRATION DID NOT GIVE YOU ALTERNATIVES.

SO I WOULD PROPOSE THAT THE BOARD, UH, SHELVES THESE, THESE CLOSURES UNTIL WE'RE GIVEN ALTERNATIVES AND THE BOARD CAN MAKE AN INFORMED DECISION.

A GOOD EXAMPLE OF AN ALTERNATIVE.

WE CURRENTLY HAVE REVENUE GENERATING POSITIONS WHERE HIRING HAS BEEN FROZEN BY INTERSTATE ADMINISTRATION.

REVENUE GENERATING POSITIONS LIKE THE NURSE PRACTITIONER FOR HBHB, WHO IS CURRENTLY NOT BEING ALLOWED TO HIRE.

EVEN THOUGH IN PAST BOARD COMMUNICATIONS, THE ADMIN SAYS THEY MAKE UP TO $2 MILLION PER YEAR IN MEDI-CAL REVENUE FOR A CLINICIAN IN THE COUNTY CLINIC SYSTEM.

UM, WE HAVE, UH, SEVERELY IMPACT CLINIC IN SOUTH COUNTY WITH NEW PATIENT SLOTS, FOUR TO FIVE MONTHS OUT, WITH THE ONLY FQHC IN SOUTH COUNTY, TAKING NEW ADULT PATIENTS FOR MORE THAN A YEAR.

IF WE WERE TO ADD A SINGLE PROVIDER, WE WOULD FUND LAB AND RADIOLOGY SERVICES FOR THE COUNTY OF SANTA CRUZ BY ADDING THAT PHYSICIAN.

UH, FOR SOME REASON, THESE PROPOSALS DON'T LOOK AT HOW TO INCREASE REVENUE.

THEN WE LOOK AT HOW TO PRIVATIZE THE COST.

AND AS THE LAST POINT, I WOULD SAY WE ARE NOT JUST ANOTHER FQHC WE'RE THE COUNTY CLINIC SYSTEM.

WE ARE THE SAFETY NET TO THE SAFETY NET.

WE'RE THE PRIMARY MEDICAL HOME FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE HOMELESS IN THE COUNTY OF SANTA CRUZ, NORTH AND SOUTH COUNTY.

WE'RE THE PRIMARY MEDICAL HOME PEOPLE WITH SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS.

WE'RE THE PRIMARY, UH, PARTNER.

WE'RE COMMUNICABLE DISEASE FOR HIV, TUBERCULOSIS FOR SYPHILIS FOR, UH, COUNTLESS OTHER, UH, HEALTH PROBLEMS. YOU'RE CUTTING THE SERVICES MOST CRITICAL TO THE MOST HIGHEST NEED POPULATION IN THIS COUNTY.

PLEASE CONSIDER THIS WITH MORE INFORMATION AT YOUR NEXT HEARING.

- AMBER, YOUR MICROPHONE'S NOW AVAILABLE.

- GOOD AFTERNOON, BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEMBERS, UM, AND OTHERS IN THE ROOM.

JUST WANTED TO EMPATHIZE WITH HOW DIFFICULT IT'S TO, UH...

- AMBER, CAN YOU PLEASE, UH...

- HI.

- RESUME YOUR COMMENTS. THANK YOU. - CAN YOU HEAR ME? - YES, WE CAN.

JUST EMPATHIZING THAT IT'S EXTREMELY CHALLENGING TO GET CREATIVE ABOUT FUNDING AND LOOK AT PROGRAMS AND WHAT THE COMMUNITY NEEDS.

AND, UM, JUST THAT SANTA CRUZ COUNTY IS EXTREMELY INNOVATIVE AS IT'S RELATED TO OTHER COUNTIES IN THE STATE.

SO THANK YOU FOR THAT.

AND CONTINUING TO BE CREATIVE.

JANUS, UM, LOOKS FORWARD TO SUPPORTING NEW LIFE WITH TRANSITIONING GEMMA AND MAINTAINING THE ORIGINAL INTENTION OF GEMMA AS THE FOUNDERS INTENDED IT FOR, AND SUPPORTING WOMEN BACK INTO REENTRY INTO OUR COMMUNITY.

WE HOPE TO, UH, ONCE WE HAVE A CONTRACT, UM, DO A RIBBON CUTTING MAYBE IN RECOVERY MONTH IN SEPTEMBER, AND LOOK FORWARD TO PARTNERING WITH THE CEO'S OFFICE AND THE COMMUNITY AND HSA UH, AND DELIVERING OUTCOME-BASED METRICS AND, UM, TRANSPARENCY TO THE COMMUNITY ON HOW WE'RE DOING.

SO, JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT, AND IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE FEEL FREE.

[01:10:08]

- HEATHER, YOUR MICROPHONE'S NOW AVAILABLE.

- HI, MY NAME IS HEATHER LOVE.

I'M A PSYCHIATRIC NURSE PRACTITIONER WITH THE COUNTY OF SANTA CRUZ FOR THE PAST, UH, FOUR AND A HALF YEARS.

UH, I WANT TO ECHO EVERYTHING, UH, SAID BY JASON JOHNSTON.

UM, THE ELIMINATION OF VITAL PROGRAMS AND SERVICES, UH, COMING SO QUICKLY WITHOUT ANY, UM, ENGAGEMENT FROM THE FRONTLINE STAFF THAT, UH, PROVIDES THESE SERVICES.

UM, A LOT OF HOW THIS IS DONE IS- COMES ACROSS AS VERY DISINGENUOUS, UM, IS WE SEE THAT THEY ABOUT, UH, PROVIDER POSITIONS CAN FUND THEMSELVES AND MORE, WHY ARE THE POSITIONS BEING FROZEN? WHY IS THE PSYCHIATRIC MENTAL HEALTH NURSE PRACTITIONER POSITION NOT OPEN FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS, WELL BEFORE ANYONE WAS ELECTED TO THE CURRENT PRESIDENCY? UH, I HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS OF WHY IT IS SO DIFFICULT FOR ANYONE TO EVEN, UH, WELL, IMPOSSIBLE FOR SOMEONE TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION TO THIS POSITION WHILE WE CURRENTLY RELY ON LOCUM TENANTS WHO ARE MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE TO PROVIDE THE SAME SERVICES.

AND I FEEL THAT IT'S BEING JUST ACCEPTED.

I HEAR IT'S BEING SAID THAT THESE POSITIONS ARE HARD TO FILL.

I HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS.

WHO IS RECRUITING FOR THESE POSITIONS? WHO'S GONNA, WHO IS MAKING IT SO THAT EVEN AN INTERESTED PERSON CAN'T EVEN SUBMIT AN APPLICATION BY NOT EVEN POSTING THE POSITION FOR TWO YEARS? WHY IS IT THAT REVENUE GENERATING POSITIONS ARE NOT BEING RECRUITED FOR, POSTED OPEN AND THE LISTS AREN'T BEING RELEASED? I, I DON'T SEE ANY REASON FOR THAT TO BE THE CASE AS A TAXPAYER, AS A RESIDENT, AS A COMMUNITY MEMBER, AS A PROVIDER.

UM, I'M VERY, VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE ISSUE THERE.

- WE HAVE NO FURTHER SPEAKERS.

UM, I'LL TURN IT BACK TO THE BOARD AND THEN TURN IT BACK OVER TO THE CHAIR.

- YES, WE'LL BRING IT BACK- BRING IT BACK TO THE BOARD, SEE IF ANYBODY HAS ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS.

WE'LL START TO MY RIGHT.

LET'S TO THAT.

SUPERVISOR DE SERPA.

UM, AND THANKS TO, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR STAFF AND OUR LEADERSHIP HERE FOR DIGGING DEEP AND FINDING, UM, ALTERNATIVES TO CUTTING, UM, SOME OF THESE NEEDED SERVICES.

I DO WANNA DEEPLY THANK YOU ON BEHALF OF MYSELF, THE COMMUNITY, UM, MANY PEOPLE OUT THERE.

I DO HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.

UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A BRAND NEW, UM, BEHAVIORAL HEALTH DIRECTOR, DR. SANDOVAL, AND I SEE HER SITTING OUT THERE, SO WE'RE GRATEFUL TO HAVE HER HERE WITH US.

BUT I THINK, YOU KNOW, WHAT HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED IN THE PAST AND, UH, UH, RECENTLY IS THAT THERE ARE, THERE'S NOT REALLY A CONTINUUM OF CARE FOR OUR BEHAVIORAL HEALTH UM, PEOPLE STRUGGLING WITH BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ISSUES IN OUR COMMUNITY.

SO, CAN, CAN I JUST HEAR OUT LOUD, LIKE, I UNDERSTAND THAT, THAT WE PROPOSED A RATE CUT, UM, TO SOME OF THESE COMMUNITY GROUPS, ENCOMPASS, FOR TELOS AND PACIFIC CASA PACIFICA.

CAN YOU JUST TALK ABOUT TELOS? I MEAN, IT SEEMS LIKE THEY ALL OF A SUDDEN IT JUST LIKE CLOSED WITH NO WARNING.

COULD YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT LIKE WHAT HAPPENED? I'M GUESSING WE HAD A CONTRACT WITH THEM FOR A LONG TIME.

WAS IT NOT BEING MONITORED? DID WE HAVE ANY INDICATION THAT IT WAS AT RISK OF CLOSING? - UH, YES. I'LL, I'LL START, UM, WITH SOME COMMENTS AND THEN I'LL, I'LL INVITE, UH, DR. SANDOVAL TO COME UP, UH, WITH ANY ADDITIONAL COMMENTS.

SO, UM, IN, UH, KNOWING THAT WE WERE IN A BUDGET DEFICIT FOR BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, UM, IN, UH, BEHAVIORAL HEALTH HAD BEEN WORKING WITH ALL OF THEIR FACILITIES WHO THEY CONTRACT WITH FOR ROOM AND BOARD, INCLUDING ENCOMPASS.

UM, THEY'VE HAD MANY DISCUSSIONS.

ON FEBRUARY 18TH, WE DID PROVIDE WRITTEN NOTICE TO ALL OF OUR FACILITIES, INCLUDING ENCOMPASS ABOUT, UM, THE CHANGE IN RATES AND THE RATIONALE BEHIND THAT.

WE OFFERED SOME LISTENING SESSIONS FOLLOWING THAT ANNOUNCEMENT.

UM, AND THEN FOLLOWING THAT, UM, ENCOMPASS, UH, SHARED WITH US THAT THEY WOULD BE CLOSING TELOS IN MAY.

UM, BUT I'LL INVITE DR. SANDOVAL IF THERE'S ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION TO SHARE.

[01:15:05]

- HI, GOOD AFTERNOON.

UH, SO SPEAKING TO THE ISSUE OF THE TELOS CLOSURE, SO AS, AS YOU MENTIONED, SUPERVISOR DE SERPA, I'M ABOUT A MONTH IN TO THE POSITION HERE.

WHAT I CAN SHARE WITH YOU IS THAT WITHIN THE FIRST, UH, WITHIN THE SECOND WEEK THAT I STARTED IN THE POSITION, WE RECEIVED NOTICE.

SO THAT WAS EARLY MAY.

UM, WE RECEIVED NOTICE FROM ENCOMPASS THAT THEY WOULD BE CLOSING THE FACILITY, AND IT WAS PRETTY RAPID AND WE DID NOT HAVE ANY OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH THEM AROUND ANY ALTERNATE SOLUTIONS TO THE FACILITY.

I THINK THAT THEY WERE IN A DIRE FINANCIAL SITUATION AND JUST HAD TO MAKE SOME VERY RAPID DECISIONS.

SO WE HAD NO OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS ANYTHING.

WHAT I, WHAT I CAN TELL YOU IS THAT WHEN A SIMILAR CIRCUMSTANCE STARTED TO ROLL OUT WITH CASA PACIFIC, WE JUMPED VERY QUICKLY AND I COORDINATED WITH, UH, OUR TEAM AND WITH THE CEO AT ENCOMPASS, SAID, LET'S TRY TO FIGURE THIS OUT.

WE NEED THESE BEDS, WE NEED OUR COMMUNITY TO BE SERVED.

AND WE WERE ABLE YESTERDAY TO COME TO AN AGREEMENT TO ENSURE THAT THE FACILITY WILL REMAIN OPEN AND OPERATIONAL FOR THIS COMING FISCAL YEAR.

AND WE WILL USE THIS FISCAL YEAR TO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THEM AS AN ORGANIZATION TO ENSURE THAT OUR COMMUNITY HAS BEDS.

AND AS A DEPARTMENT, WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW DO WE GROW THIS CONTINUUM OF CARE.

THERE'S A REAL DISCREPANT AMOUNT OF BEDS IN OUR COMMUNITY BETWEEN THE SUBSTANCE USE BEDS AND OUR MENTAL HEALTH BEDS, 26 BEDS WE HAVE NOW, NOW THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO KEEP CASA PACIFIC OPEN.

- ON THE MENTAL HEALTH SIDE? - ON THE MENTAL HEALTH SIDE.

AND SO I ALSO THINK THAT IT'D BE HELPFUL TO SHARE WITH YOU THAT THERE IS, UH, AN IMPORTANT DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE RATE REIMBURSEMENT.

SO WHAT THE, WHAT THE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT WORKED VERY HARD TO EVALUATE WAS THE, UH, RESIDENTIAL ROOM AND BOARD RATE, AND DID SOME COMPARISONS AROUND, UM, OTHER NORTHERN CALIFORNIA COUNTY ROOM AND BOARD RATE REIMBURSEMENTS, AND FOUND THAT ON THE LOW END IN NEIGHBORING COUNTIES, THERE WAS A $45 DAY RATE AND ON THE HIGH END, ALMOST 75.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, STAFF HERE DECIDED, WELL, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ABLE TO BE COMPARABLE, UM, AND SET A $75 DAY RATE THAT'S FOR THE ROOM AND BOARD RATE ONLY.

THAT'S IN ADDITION TO THE DAILY REIMBURSEMENT RATE FOR THE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, WHICH IS AROUND $400 A DAY.

SO, SO THEY ARE GETTING BOTH OPTIONS TO BRING IN REVENUE TO THE FACILITIES FOR THE SERVICES AS WELL AS THE ROOM AND BOARD SO DEFINITELY WORK TO DO TO GROW THE CONTINUUM OF CARE.

ABSOLUTELY.

- ARE THERE ANY BENCHMARKS FOR A COUNTY OF OUR SIZE, UM, POPULATION OF PEOPLE'S, UM, SUFFERING FROM MENTAL HEALTH THAT WE'RE SERVING AND HOW MANY CONTINUUM OF CARE BEDS THERE SHOULD BE IN, IN A COMMUNITY? - SO THAT IS A REALLY IMPORTANT QUESTION.

PART OF WHAT I'VE BEEN STARTING TO DIG INTO WITH THE TEAM IS HOW DO WE DO A MUCH MORE ROBUST ASSESSMENT OF COMPARABLES AND REALLY DETERMINE THOSE THINGS.

WHAT DOES OUR COMMUNITY ACTUALLY NEED TO HAVE A COMPARABLE CONTINUUM? SO I DON'T HAVE THE ANSWERS TO THOSE QUESTIONS, BUT I WILL BE WORKING WITH THE TEAM IN TRYING TO DECIPHER THAT AND HAVE A REALLY ROBUST ASSESSMENT THAT IN THE COMING MONTHS, WE'LL BE ABLE TO SHARE WITH YOU.

- THANK YOU. AND I KNOW THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, I HAVE- I PERSONALLY HAVE PLACED PEOPLE IN AN ASSISTED LIVING WHICH THEN MENTAL HEALTH PROVIDED A PATCH.

SO I KNOW SOME OF THE, UM, RECIPIENTS OF CLIENTS WHO HAVE MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS THAT ARE OLDER AND HAVE WELL, UM, CONTROLLED SYMPTOMS CAN OFTEN BE PLACED IN A, IN AN ASSISTED.

SO I'M WONDERING IF WE COULDN'T GROW THAT IDEA TO EXPAND SOME OF THE BEDS, UM, IN THE OTHER FACILITIES, FOR EXAMPLE.

- YEAH, THERE'S- THERE'S I THINK A WHOLE CONTINUUM OF- OF RESIDENTIAL CARE NEEDS.

OF COURSE, THERE'S OUR CRISIS RESIDENTIAL FACILITIES, THERE'S OUR SOCIAL REHABILITATION FACILITIES, AND THEN I THINK YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT FACILITIES THAT ARE REALLY ABOUT MORE, ONCE SOMEONE'S STABILIZED HOW DO WE REALLY, UM, HELP THEM SUSTAIN THAT STABILIZATION? - EXACTLY.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS.

AND THEN, UM, THERE HAVE BEEN, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN GETTING AS A BOARD, GETTING EMAIL ABOUT, UM, MANAGEMENT POSITIONS, LOTS OF MANAGEMENT POSITIONS, AND ARE- THIS MANAGEMENT BEING ASKED TO DOWNSIZE OR TO CUT, UM, ANY POSITIONS.

AND I'LL LET MAYBE HEALTH SERVICES SPEAK TO THAT.

THANKS.

- YEAH. SO, UH, FOR THIS BUDGET PROPOSAL, WE DID HAVE CUTS ACROSS THE BOARD, ALL STAFFING LEVELS, WHICH INCLUDES EVEN OUR EXECUTIVE STAFF.

WE CUT, UH, WE RELEASED ONE OF OUR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR POSITIONS.

UM, AND, UH, YEAH, SO, SO WE SAW, WE SAW THAT HAPPEN, UH, PROPORTIONALLY OF COURSE, WE HAVE THE LARGEST REPRESENTATION FROM OUR SCIU STAFF.

SO PROPORTIONALLY THEY, UM, JUST BY THE NUMBERS, THEY HAD THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF STAFFING, UM, THAT WERE PROPOSED TO BE REDUCED IN OUR BUDGET.

I'LL TURN IT OVER TO OUR DIRECTOR OF ADMIN, JESSICA RANDOLPH, UM, FOR ANYTHING FURTHER.

- I THINK YOU COVERED IT ALL UNLESS YOU HAVE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS.

[01:20:02]

- DO WE HAVE A PERCENTAGE OF LIKE THE CUTS? - WE DO HAVE THE PERCENTAGES, SO I CAN GO AHEAD AND READ THEM.

- I JUST DIDN'T KNOW IF YOU WANT THAT DETAIL.

SO ONE WAS FROM THE EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT, SO THAT'S ABOUT 8%. 65.60 FTES, WERE FROM SCIU, WHICH EQUATES TO ABOUT 11%, FIVE WERE FROM MID MANAGERS, WHICH IS ABOUT A LITTLE OVER 5.45%.

AND THEN, UH, 1.80 FT, WHEREAS FROM THE UAPD PHYSICIANS GROUP, WHICH IS ABOUT 9.5%.

- THANK YOU. - YOU'RE WELCOME.

- UM, AND I THINK THE LAST THING, UH, I WOULD SAY IS THAT, UM, LIKE THE ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON, UH, TALKED ABOUT WHEN HE CAME UP, I DO THINK THAT, UM, CUTTING THE TWO RADIOLOGY POSITIONS IS, IS LIKELY A MISTAKE.

UM, AND SO IF THERE WAS ANYTHING THAT WE COULD DO TO SAVE THOSE POSITIONS TODAY, I WOULD, I WOULD VOTE FOR THAT.

UM, DELAYING THE CARE OF PEOPLE WITH SEVERE OR PSYCHIAT- OR, UM, ORTHOPEDIC INJURIES, UM, BY HAVING TO SEND THEM SOMEWHERE AND WAIT, AND THEN WHO'S READING IT AND THEN WE'VE GOTTA WAIT TILL IT COMES UP ON THE SYSTEM.

I MEAN, THAT COULD TAKE MORE THAN A DAY TO GET, OR MORE- SEVERAL DAYS TO GET PEOPLE SERVED IN THE RIGHT WAY.

AND SO, I THINK BEING ABLE TO HAVE QUICK READS OF, UM, IMAGING IN THE CLINICS IS, IS REALLY IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE'S CARE.

- THANK YOU. SUPERVISOR CUMMINGS.

- I JUST WANNA START BY, UH, THANK YOU ALL FOR THE PRESENTATION, AND I THINK, UM, WELL, AND ALSO I JUST WANNA THANK THE PUBLIC FOR THEIR ADVOCACY AND FOR COMING OUT.

UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PROGRAMS FOR ME TO SAVE WAS MHCAN.

AND I'M JUST GLAD THAT WE WERE ABLE TO KEEP THAT MOVING BECAUSE IT HAS A, A LOT OF IMPORTANCE FOR, UM, WELL, ALL THE FOLKS IN OUR COUNTY, BUT IN PARTICULAR, A LOT OF FOLKS IN THE THIRD DISTRICT, UM, WHO, FOR MANY ARE, THIS IS LIKE THE ONLY DAY SERVICES THAT WE HAVE FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES.

AND YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT JUST FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE UNHOUSED, IT'S FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE HOUSED AS WELL.

AND IT PROVIDES A GREAT SERVICE, UM, TO A LOT OF FOLKS IN, IN SANTA CRUZ.

AND SO, I TRULY WANNA, UM, THANK STAFF FOR WORKING WITH THE CITY AND THEN I ALSO WANNA THANK THE CITY.

I RECEIVED AN EMAIL, UM, LAST NIGHT FROM THE MAYOR SAYING THAT THE CITY WAS GONNA CONTRIBUTE A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS TO HELP SUPPORT MHCAN.

SO THAT INVESTMENT ALONE FROM THE CITY JUST REALLY SIGNIFIES HOW IMPORTANT THIS PROGRAM IS, AND THAT THEY'RE WILLING TO INVEST ALONG WITH THE COUNTY.

SO, IT'S NOT JUST THE COUNTY INVESTING IN THESE TYPES OF SERVICES.

I STILL STRUGGLE AND I DO WANT TO, UM, EXPRESS MY APPRECIATION FOR THE, AT LEAST THE EXTENSION FOR THE LAB SERVICES.

UM, I DO HAVE A CONCERN THAT WE DON'T HAVE A SIMILAR EXTENSION FOR RADIOLOGY.

UM, IT SEEMS LIKE, AS WE'VE BEEN HEARING OVER THE PAST FEW MEETINGS, YOU KNOW, THERE IS SOME INTEREST IN THE STAFF IN THE, YOU KNOW, LINE LEVEL STAFF BEING ABLE TO COME BACK WITH SOME PROPOSALS AND WORKING WITH SEIU.

UM, AND YEAH, I THINK, YOU KNOW, TO SUPERVISOR DE SERPA'S POINT WITH THE RADIOLOGY JUST KIND OF ENDING AT THE END OF THE MONTH, EVEN IF WE HAD A LITTLE BIT CARRY OVER TO FIGURE OUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT- WHAT THAT TRANSITION IN TERMS OF SERVICE PROVIDERS WILL BE BUT ALSO HAVING AN OPPORTUNITY FOR SOME OF THE WORKERS TO COME BACK AND PRESENT THIS WITH THEIR IDEAS, I THINK, UH, WOULD GIVE US A LITTLE BIT OF WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY TO- TO HEAR ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE AND POTENTIAL ALTERNATIVES TO WHAT'S BEING PROPOSED.

UM, I KNOW THAT THERE ARE GONNA BE SOME CUTS HAPPENING, UM, WITH SOME OF THE OTHER- THE OTHER- THE OTHER POSITIONS AND OTHER SERVICES.

UM, BUT YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT THIS IS KIND OF THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG WHEN WE START THINKING ABOUT THIS BECAUSE AS WE MOVE INTO THE FALL, I MEAN, IT'S, THE MESSAGE THAT WE'VE BEEN RECEIVING FROM THE FEDS IS PRETTY CLEAR THAT THEY'RE GONNA JAM THIS, THESE AWFUL BUDGET PROPOSALS THROUGH, AND IF THEY, THEY MAKE IT THROUGH, THEN YOU KNOW, THE FALL'S GONNA BE A MUCH BLEAKER, UH, POSITION.

BUT I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, IF WE CAN MAINTAIN IT AT LEAST A LITTLE BIT MORE OF RADIOLOGY AND WHAT THAT MIGHT- AND SO MAYBE THAT'S A QUESTION OF LIKE, IF WE WERE TO MAINTAIN RADIOLOGY THROUGH THE SAME TIME PERIOD, LIKE HOW MUCH MORE WOULD THAT COST? - UH, SO TO- FOR THE SAME TIME PERIOD, I'LL JUST NEED A MOMENT TO LOOK THAT UP FOR THE YEAR.

IT'S, IT'S ABOUT 500,000, SO.

- RIGHT.

- JENNIFER, I HAVE THAT NUMBER IF YOU...

- OKAY, THAT'D BE GREAT.

- UM, BASED ON THE ESTIMATES THAT HSA PUT TOGETHER, A THREE MONTH EXTENSION OF RADIOLOGY WOULD BE $129,896.

- I THINK, YOU KNOW, IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS, I KNOW IT'S, IT'S NOT PERFECT, BUT, YOU KNOW, I DO THINK THAT BASED ON WHAT WE'VE HEARD, I MEAN WE'RE TRYING TO REACH SOME KIND OF COMPROMISE HERE AND PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT OF EXTENSION AND I GUESS WHEN WOULD WE KNOW WHO THE NEXT PROVIDER'S GONNA BE AND WHERE THOSE SERVICES WILL BE LOCATED? - WE HAVE THOSE AGREEMENTS IN PLACE ALREADY, AND I DO WANNA, UH, REITERATE WHAT WAS, UH, WHAT WE STATED EARLIER DURING THE HEARING THAT AROUND 63% OF OUR RADIOLOGY SERVICES ARE OUT, ARE, ARE SENT OUT AND WE ONLY DO ABOUT 37% OF RADIOLOGY SERVICES AND IT'S ONLY X-RAYS.

UM, SO WE DO HAVE A WEEKLY AVERAGE OF COMBINED,

[01:25:02]

IT'S JUST OVER AT THE EMELINE AND WATSONVILLE HEALTH CENTERS ONLY.

THE COMBINED TOTAL IS ABOUT 44 WEEKLY AVERAGE.

UM, SO THAT'S ABOUT 20 AT EACH SITE.

IF YOU LOOK AT THE DAILY AVERAGE, WE ARE LOOKING AROUND FOUR PER DAY.

SO IF WE ARE, UM, GOING TO HAVE AN EXTENSION OF RADIOLOGY BY THREE MONTHS, WHAT WE WOULD BE LOOKING AT IS, UM, SIMILAR TO WHAT WAS DISCUSSED EARLIER, IS, YOU KNOW, IT DOES GIVE US MORE TIME TO REALLY THINK ABOUT THEIR PATIENT EXPERIENCE AND SEE AND ENGAGE WITH STAFF ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE SOME OTHER OPTIONS WE CAN LOOK AT.

BUT CERTAINLY BECAUSE OF THE WAY WE'RE FINANCED AS A FEDERALLY QUALIFIED HEALTH CENTER WITH OUR PPS RATE, WE DON'T, AGAIN, WE CAN'T, UH, WHEN PATIENTS COME INTO OUR DOOR AND THEY SEE THEIR PRIMARY CARE PROVIDER, THEY GET AN X-RAY, WHICH IS THE BEST SORT OF INTERVENTION, RIGHT? TO DO IT JUST ALL IN ONE, ONE GO.

WE ONLY GET ONE PAYMENT FOR THE BUNDLE OF SERVICES THAT THE PATIENT PROVIDES.

WE CAN'T BILL SEPARATELY FOR THAT X-RAY SERVICE OR THAT IMAGING SERVICE.

SO IF WE ARE GOING TO, UM, LOOK AT AN EXTENSION OF RADIOLOGY FOR THREE MONTHS, AGAIN, WE WOULD CERTAINLY LOOK AT HOW DO WE JUST, UH, HOW DO WE SUPPORT OUR PATIENTS IN A TRANSITION? WE'D BE WORKING OUT A TRANSITION PLAN, BUT LONG TERM IT, IT DOESN'T, IT, IT'S NOT, IT DOESN'T FIT OUR BUSINESS MODEL AS AN FQHC TO MAINTAIN THE SERVICE.

WE'D HAVE TO BE CREATING A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SERVICE IN ORDER TO BE FINANCIALLY FEASIBLE WITH, UH, MAINTAINING RADIOLOGY.

- AND, AND JUST A QUESTION FOR, UH, MS. COBURN ABOUT WHERE WE WOULD COME UP WITH THE MONEY.

IF WE WERE GONNA EXTEND THE 129, WHERE WOULD YOU RECOMMEND? - YEAH. I WOULD RECOMMEND, BECAUSE WE GOT THE ADDITIONAL MONEY FROM THE CITY OF SANTA CRUZ AND THE MA REVENUE THAT ESSENTIALLY DROPPED THE MEASURE K REALLOCATION BY $128,000.

SO THIS THREE-MONTH EXTENSION IS BASICALLY ALMOST EQUAL TO THAT AT A HUNDRED AND, ALMOST $130,000.

SO WE WOULD PROBABLY JUST RE-RAISE THAT REALLOCATION OF TAKING FROM THE MEASURE K HOU- MEASURE K HOUSING FUNDING, AND DOING THAT REDIRECT WITH GENERAL FUND.

UM, I MEAN, I THINK IN TERMS OF PATIENT CARE AND REALLY TRYING TO MAKE SURE THERE'S A SMOOTH TRANSITION, I THINK THAT WOULD BE A GOOD INVESTMENT FOR THE BOARD TO CONSIDER.

UM, IT'S NOT PERFECT.

I REALLY WANT TO SEE US NOT LOSE, UM, THESE POSITIONS, BUT JUST SEEING WHERE WE'RE AT AND THE DIFFICULT DECISIONS WE'RE, THE POSITION WE'RE IN, YOU KNOW, IT DOES PROVIDE THE WORKERS WITH A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME IF THEY WANNA BRING FORWARD A PROPOSAL.

IT PROVIDES US A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME WITH TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S CONTINUAL PATIENT CARE AND MAKING SURE THAT AS PATIENTS MAY BE TRANSITIONING TO OTHER SERVICES THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE SOME TIME.

BECAUSE NOT EVERYBODY MAY BE GOING INTO THE, YOU KNOW, TO SEE THE PROVIDER IN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS.

AND SO I THINK THIS WOULD BE A GOOD PROPOSAL FOR A TRANSITION.

AND IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE'S FUNDING FOR IT, SO I WOULD, UH, LIKE TO SEE THAT INCLUDED.

UH, BUT, BUT I DO ALSO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT AS, UM, I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT YOU KNOW, REGARDLESS OF THE DECISION THAT'S MADE TODAY, THAT THE, THE PEOPLE WHO ARE IN THESE POSITIONS, THAT THERE'S A MEANINGFUL ATTEMPT AT MAKING SURE THAT THEY CAN, WHETHER IF THERE'S OTHER POSITIONS THAT ARE AVAILABLE, THAT THEY CAN MOVE ON TO THOSE POSITIONS AT THE SAME RATE OF PAY.

LIKE, WE DON'T WANNA SEE PEOPLE LIKE LOSING, UM, YOU KNOW, GOING DOWN IN, IN TERMS OF THEIR SALARIES.

UM, SO TO THE EXTENT THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT WORKER'S GONNA BE OFFERED ANOTHER POSITION, I THINK THAT THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TOO, BECAUSE, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS I'M HEARING IS, YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T COVER THE COST.

AND SO IT SEEMS LIKE THERE NEEDS TO BE AN, AN EFFORT AT REDESIGNING THAT MODEL AND, YOU KNOW, THE COST RECOVERY, IF THERE'S SOME FLAWS WITH IT, LET'S WORK THAT OUT.

BUT WE SHOULD BE TRYING TO RETAIN OUR WORKERS TO THE GREATEST EXTENT POSSIBLE.

- THANK YOU, SUPERVISOR CUMMINGS.

UM, I'D BE SUPPORTIVE OF, OF SOMETHING LIKE THAT, TOO.

UH, WE'LL MOVE ON TO SUPERVISOR MARTINEZ.

- THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION AND THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR HARD WORK TO TRY TO RESTORE SOME OF THE, UM, SERVICES.

I AGREE WITH MY COLLEAGUES THAT, UM, SEEING MHCAN RESTORED WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO ME AS WELL.

UM, I JUST RECOGNIZE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN I TALK ABOUT OR THINK ABOUT THAT SAFETY NET THAT AVOIDS FOLKS, YOU KNOW, FALL, COMPLETELY FALLING THROUGH THE CRACKS, I SEE MHCAN AS ONE OF THOSE.

SO I'M REALLY GLAD TO SEE THAT WE WERE ABLE TO RESTORE THAT.

UM, I ALSO APPRECIATE KIND OF TAKING THAT CHANCE AND RESTORING THE TWO BEHAVIORAL HEALTH POSITIONS.

UM, I KNOW THAT THAT'S, UH, RECRUITMENT IS A CHALLENGE AND THE INTENT IS THAT THEY'LL BILL MEDI-CAL TO REIMBURSE FOR THEIR COSTS.

UM, AND I HOPE THAT THAT WORKS.

I HOPE THAT IF WE SEE THAT BE SUCCESSFUL, THAT IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN LOOK AT FOR, FOR FURTHER

[01:30:02]

UM, RESTORATION OF POSITIONS.

UM, I KNOW IT'S OFTEN A BALANCE OF, YOU KNOW, BRINGING SOMEBODY ON AND THEN HOPING THAT THEY COVER THEIR COSTS BUT IT'S A WORTHWHILE EFFORT IF WE'RE ABLE TO PROVE THAT IT WORKS.

UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN IT GETS TO SOME OF THE HARDER CONVERSATIONS, UM, THE HARDER DISCUSSIONS AROUND THE LAB AND THE RADIOLOGY, THE IMPACT ON OUR WORKFORCE, UM, THE IMPACT ON OUR PATIENTS AND OUR COMMUNITY, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S REALLY IN A DIFFICULT SPOT.

UM, FOR YEARS, OUR CLINICS HAS- HAVE BEEN BLEEDING OUT, RIGHT? WE'VE BEEN OPERATING AT A DEFICIT AND PLUGGING THE HOLES THROUGH GENERAL FUND OR THROUGH OTHER SOURCES.

AND THERE NEVER IS A GOOD TIME TO, YOU KNOW, YOU GOTTA STOP THIS AND WE HAVE TO RIGHT SIZE.

BUT IF THERE WAS A TIME, IN MY OPINION, IT'S, IT'S NOW BECAUSE WHAT'S AHEAD IS INCREDIBLY THREATENING TO OUR ABILITY TO PROVIDE ANY OF THESE SERVICES IN THE FUTURE.

AND FOR THE FOLKS WHO CAME UP AND TALKED ABOUT THE VALUE OF OUR CLINICS, THE HARDEST TO SERVE, THOSE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS, THOSE WITH THE MOST ACUTE MENTAL HEALTH CHALLENGES, THE MOST ACUTE PHYSICAL HEALTH CONDITIONS, THAT'S WHO COMES TO OUR CLINIC.

AND THAT CLINIC NEEDS TO BE THERE EVEN WHEN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT REDUCES MEDICAID ELIGIBILITY OR THE STATE GOVERNMENT, OR REDUCES, YOU KNOW, OUR ABILITY TO BILL FOR THE FOLKS WHO NEED OUR, OUR CLINICS.

AND SO, WHILE THE TRADEOFF IS HARD, BECAUSE LAB AND RADIOLOGY IS SO IMPORTANT TO CARE, I THINK RIGHT NOW WHEN I'M WEIGHING THE SCALE, I'M LOOKING AT LIKE THE MOST CRITICAL ESSENTIAL SERVICES THAT WILL KEEP OUR COMMUNITY HEALTHY AND I, AND A CLINIC THERE FOR THE NEXT TWO TO FOUR YEARS, GIVEN WHAT'S AHEAD.

AND SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHERE I'M AT AND THAT'S WHAT'S, UH, PUTTING ME IN A POSITION OF LIKE RELUCTANTLY APPROVING THESE, UM, REDUCTIONS.

BECAUSE IN MY VIEW, IT'S AN ATTEMPT TO PRESERVE THE CLINIC, AND THE SAFETY NET FOR OUR MOST VULNERABLE FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS.

I WOULD ALSO SUPPORT ANY EFFORT TO DO A SMOOTH TRANSITION, UM, SO IF THAT MOTION COMES FORWARD, I'D BE SUPPORTIVE OF, OF THAT.

UM, AND IN THAT, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE GREATER ENGAGEMENT AND COLLABORATION WITH THE WORKFORCE AND THOSE WHO KNOW OUR PATIENTS WELL IS TO KNOW LIKE, WHAT'S GONNA WORK FOR THEM IF THEY- IF THERE'S A REDUCTION IN HOURS OF LAB OR LOCATION OF RADIOLOGY, LIKE HOW ARE WE GONNA CREATE A SEAMLESS TRANSITION, UM, I THINK THAT OUR, OUR WORKFORCES ARE THE BEST PEOPLE TO EDUCATE US ABOUT THAT.

SO I HOPE THAT THEY CAN BE ENGAGED.

UM, BUT YOU KNOW, IT'S OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE TOUGH CHOICES TO PRESERVE WHAT WE HAVE.

AND THAT'S THE POSITION I FEEL LIKE I'M IN TODAY.

SO THOSE ARE MY COMMENTS.

- THANK YOU. SUPERVISOR KOENIG.

- THANK YOU, CHAIR.

I DO WANNA CONTINUE THIS DISCUSSION A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UM, POTENTIAL OPTIONS FOR RADIOLOGY.

UM, WE HEARD FROM, UH, ONE OF OUR EMPLOYEES WHO WORKS, UM, CLOSELY ON THIS ISSUE THAT, WITH THE SUGGESTION OF, OF OFFERING RADIOLOGY TWO DAYS A WEEK.

UM, COULD YOU COMPARE THAT OPTION TO THIS SORT OF IDEA OF A THREE-MONTH RAMP? AND I MEAN, I UNDERSTAND IT'S AN- WOULD BE AN ONGOING COST, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, UM, I MEAN, WE KNOW RADIOLOGY COSTS ABOUT 500,000 BUT GENERATES 80,000.

WE KNOW THAT, UH, IF WE SCHEDULE SOMEONE TO COME BACK ON ANOTHER DAY, THEN THAT WHEN, WHEN THEY'RE THERE FOR THEIR INITIAL APPOINTMENT MAYBE SOME OF THOSE COSTS ARE BILLABLE.

UM, OR, YOU KNOW, MAYBE IN SOME INSTANCES, UH, AN APPOINTMENT WHERE WE, WE THINK THERE'S AN ISSUE COULD BE SCHEDULED ON A DAY WHEN WE KNOW RADIOLOGY'S OPEN.

UM, COULD YOU JUST WALK THROUGH THAT OPTION A LITTLE BIT? - UH, YES.

UM, SO CURRENTLY OUR RADIOLOGY HAS TWO STAFF IN IT, OR THREE STAFF, TWO FTE TOTAL.

THERE'S NOT MUCH MORE WE CAN GO TO REDUCE THAT.

SO RADIOLOGY TECHNICIANS NEED TO HAVE A CHIEF OF RADIOLOGISTS TO PROVIDE THE SUPERVISION.

THAT'S JUST PER CERTIFICATIONS AND LICENSURE.

SO THAT CO- AND THE, THE GREATEST COST TO A RADIOLOGY PROGRAM SIMILAR ACROSS THE BOARD IS SALARIES AND STAFFING.

AND SO, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS, I THINK IT'S APPROXIMATELY ABOUT 400,000 FOR STAFFING, BUT NOW WITH REDUCED HOURS, UH, NOW WITH REDUCED SERVICES.

[01:35:02]

SO, UM, WE WOULD HAVE TO EXPLORE THAT WITH HOW THE MATH ACTUALLY WORKS IN TERMS OF HOW, UM, HOW, UH, MANY VISITS, UH, YOU KNOW, JUST HOW, HOW, HOW IT WOULD WORK.

BUT IT GOES BACK TO- I GO BACK TO MY OTHER POINT OF THE WAY THAT WE WERE FINANCED WITH THE PROSPECTIVE PAYMENT SERVICE.

WE JUST GET THE BUNDLED RATE.

SO EVEN IF WE HAVE PATIENTS COMING IN, AND PRIMARILY THE DRIVER OF PEOPLE COMING IN IS BECAUSE THEY WANNA SEE A CLINICIAN, YOU KNOW, THEY- AND SO WE GET THAT BUNDLED RATE, WE DON'T GET AN ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR, YOU KNOW, THE X-RAY SERVICE.

- YEP, I GET IT.

I MEAN, YEAH, TOTALLY.

AND, UM, OF COURSE, THE DIFFERENCE THOUGH IS THAT RADIOLOGY, THOSE SAME PATIENTS, THEY MIGHT BE COMFORTABLE COMING TO EMELINE OR THE FREEDOM CAMPUS, BUT NOW WE'RE GONNA BE SENDING THEM SOMEWHERE ELSE, DIFFERENT PART OF TOWN, UM, YOU KNOW, HAVE- SO IT'S- THE SITUATION'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT ON RADIOLOGY AS FAR AS I CAN TELL IN TERMS OF THE POTENTIAL IMPACT TO, UH, YOU KNOW, FOLLOW UP CARE.

AND SO, UM, YEAH, THAT'S WHY I'M CURIOUS.

I MEAN, COULD WE REDUCE IT TO ONE FULL-TIME PERSON MAYBE THAT, THAT, THAT IS IN WATSONVILLE ONE DAY AND EMELINE ANOTHER.

- SO IT, IT DESCRIBING HAVING A PERSON WORK BOTH LOCATIONS BUT STILL WORK 40 HOURS OR YOU'RE HAVING THEM REDUCE THEIR HOURS? - THE, I MEAN YES, A FULL-TIME, 40-HOUR.

- SO, ONE FULL-TIME PERSON BACK AND FORTH? - YEAH. AND JUST REDUCE THE NUMBER OF DAYS THAT WE ACTUALLY PROVIDE THOSE SERVICES.

- RIGHT. WELL, WE COULD DEFINITELY RUN THE NUMBERS, ESPECIALLY IF YOU DO THE EXTENSION FOR THREE MONTHS.

THAT'S SOMETHING WE COULD RUN THOSE SCENARIOS AND SEE AND WORK WITH STAFF, LIKE YOU GUYS SAID, TO ENGAGE WITH THEM AND, UH, EVALUATE THAT POTENTIAL OR THAT POSSIBILITY.

- OKAY. I'D APPRECIATE THAT.

UM, UH, ONE OTHER QUESTION THAT'S COME UP IS, IT WAS MENTIONED BY A MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC WAS THE FACT THAT WE HAVEN'T ACTUALLY ADVERTISED OUR PSYCHIATRIC NURSE PRACTITIONER POSITIONS.

AND SO I'M GLAD TO SEE THE RESTORATION OF THE MONEY FOR THE LOCAL INTERNS, PSYCHIATRIST, UH, AND THE OTHER MENTAL HEALTH POSITION.

UM, BUT ONE QUESTION THAT COMES UP IN MY MIND IS, WELL, ARE WE AT THE SAME TIME ELIMINATING A PSYCHIATRIC NURSE PRACTITIONER POSITION THAT WE NEVER ADVERTISED AND THAT NOW WE'RE GONNA KIND OF LOCKED INTO FINDING A MORE EXPENSIVE LOCUM TENANT PSYCHIATRIST RATHER THAN, YOU KNOW, A NURSE PRACTITIONER WHO CAN DO, YOU KNOW, MUCH OF THE SAME WORK FOR LESS MONEY? - I JUST WANT CLARIFICATION BECAUSE I- YOU'RE SAYING PSYCHIATRIC NURSE PRACTITIONER.

I THOUGHT WE- WASN'T A SENIOR MENTAL HEALTH CLIENT SPECIALIST, WHAT WE ADDED BACK IN, SO THERE MIGHT BE CONFUSION.

- RIGHT. I, EXACTLY.

I DON'T THINK THAT THEY ARE BEING ADDED BACK IN.

- OH. SO YOU WERE THINKING SOMETHING ELSE WAS BEING ADDED AGAIN.

- I'M, I'M JUST CURIOUS.

WELL, FIRST OF ALL, DID WE EVER ADVERTISE FOR THAT POSITION? AND SECOND OF ALL, BY COMMITTING TO LOCUM TENANTS, BUT THEN ELIMINATING FOR A LOCUM TENANT PSYCHIATRIST, BUT ELIMINATING OTHER POSITIONS, INCLUDING A PSYCHIATRIC NURSE PRACTITIONER POSITION, ARE WE SORT OF LOCKING OURSELVES INTO PAYING MORE FOR THESE SERVICES THAN WE COULD IF WE MAINTAINED A PSYCHIATRIC NURSE PRACTITIONER POSITION, ACTUALLY POSTED THAT ALTERNATIVE POSITION.

- I WANT TO SAY WE LOCKED IN.

I THINK WE COULD DO BOTH SIMULTANEOUSLY.

I MEAN, WE ARE TRYING TO REDUCE JUST THE, KIND OF, THE RISK OF THE AMOUNT OF FTES THAT WE HAVE ON THE BOOKS DUE TO OUR STRUCTURAL DEFICIT.

SO WE CAN CONTINUE TO UTILIZE THE LOCUMS AND WE CAN- WE COULD POTENTIALLY ADD A POSITION BACK IN OR, BUT WE HAD A LOT OF UNFUNDED POSITIONS AS WELL.

BUT HISTORICALLY WE HAVE NOT BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN THE RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION. - MM-HMM. - IN THOSE POSITIONS.

I DON'T HAVE THE STATS SINCE UNFORTUNATELY OF WHEN WE LAST FILLED THEM.

WE HAVE A WHOLE SPREADSHEET.

I CAN GET IT FOR YOU, BUT I DON'T HAVE IT OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD.

- YEAH. I MEAN, THE QUESTION IS, THIS IS NOT JUST WHEN WE LAST FILLED 'EM, BUT WHEN DID WE ACTUALLY ADVERTISE FOR THIS, RIGHT? I MEAN, 'CAUSE WE'RE HEARING FROM SOMEONE WHO'S DOING THE WORK, WONDERING WHEN THE POSITION'S GONNA BE OPEN.

YOU KNOW, THEY'RE LOOKING AT IT, NOT SEEING IT ACTUALLY EVER ADVERTISED AND NOW SEEING IT GO AWAY.

- RIGHT. WE WORK CLOSELY WITH PERSONNEL HUMAN RESOURCES ON RECRUITMENT EFFORTS FOR POSITIONS, UM, AND ESPECIALLY FOR OUR HARD TO RECRUIT POSITION SUCH AS, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, NURSE PRACTITIONERS AND CLINICIANS.

UH, AND I, UH, I DO WANNA CLARIFY THAT WE DON'T HAVE A HIRING FREEZE.

UM, SO WHILE WE, WE'VE BEEN HIRING, UH, WE'VE BEEN JUDICIOUS WITH OUR HIRING GIVEN OUR BUDGET SITUATION AND WHAT IN THE PROPOSAL THAT WE'RE, UH, BRINGING FORWARD.

BUT WE HAVE NOT HAD A HIRING FREEZE IN HSA.

UM, YOU KNOW, FINALLY I WANT TO TOUCH ON, UM, YOU KNOW THE FUNDING FOR MHCAN, WHICH I, I AM, I AGREE THIS IS AN ESSENTIAL SERVICE.

UH, AND THE, I THINK THE MONEY THAT WE PUT INTO THE SERVICE COMES BACK IN SPADES.

UH, WHAT I AM, HOWEVER, UM, CAUTIOUS ABOUT IS WHERE WE'RE LOOKING TO GET THE FUNDING, WHICH IS TO BASICALLY REMOVE IT FROM THE ZONE, UH, FROM, FROM THE CAPITOLA ROAD CULVERT PROJECT, WHICH AT FIRST SOUNDED, OKAY, FINE TO ME. GREAT.

ZONE FIVE, OH, BACKFILL.

UM, THE PROBLEM IS, WHEN I LOOKED AT IT A LITTLE BIT MORE, ZONE FIVE ACTUALLY, FIRST OF ALL, IT'S A FLOOD CONTROL DISTRICT,

[01:40:03]

AND THIS IS ACTUALLY IN MANY WAYS, A BRIDGE PROJECT.

I MEAN, IT'S A VERY LARGE CULVERT, BUT, UM, IF THAT CULVERT WASHES OUT, WHICH, YOU KNOW, IS UNDER A ROAD THAT MOVES 15,000 PEOPLE A DAY, THE EFFECT WILL NOT BE FLOODING AND PROPERTY DAMAGE, WHICH IS THE PURVIEW OF ZONE FIVE.

IT WILL BE THE LOSS OF A MAJOR ARTERIAL IN OUR ROAD NETWORK.

AND SO, THIS REALLY IS A ROAD PROJECT AND NOT A ZONE FIVE PROJECT.

AND MOREOVER, ZONE FIVE HAS, I MEAN, I THINK $60 MILLION IN HIGH PRIORITY OR, OR $60 MILLION IN TOTAL PROJECTS IDENTIFIED ABOUT 22 TO 40 MILLION OF WHICH ARE HIGH PRIORITY.

AND SO, THAT EXTRA MONEY THAT'S IN THE ZONE FIVE BUDGET IS NOT LIKE, OH, YEAH, SURE. WE'RE NOT, NO, NO.

IT'S EVEN MARKED FOR SOME VERY IMPORTANT PROJECTS.

AND IF WE TAKE THIS MONEY AWAY FROM THE CULVERT PROJECT, IT'S JUST NOT GONNA HAPPEN.

THE OTHER THING IS, EVEN IF THE ZONE FIVE MONEY WAS THERE, I WOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT JUST CONTINUING TO DEFER MAINTENANCE AT, YOU KNOW, AND CUT FUNDING AWAY FROM, UM, YEAH, FROM INFRASTRUCTURE.

AND SO EVEN IF THAT HALF A MILLION WAS AVAILABLE, I'D SAY, "GREAT, LET'S SPEND IT ON THE NEXT HIGHEST PRIORITY CULVERT OR CULVERTS IN THE COUNTY." MAYBE THERE'S SOMETHING UNDER MOUNT HERMON ROAD OR FREEDOM BOULEVARD.

I MEAN, THESE ARE COMPARABLE ROADS, RIGHT? I MEAN, 15,000 PEOPLE A DAY.

WE NEED TO ADDRESS THESE VITAL INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS BECAUSE OTHERWISE, THE FLOOR FALLS OUT FROM UNDER US.

I MEAN, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT LIKE POTENTIALLY A FIVE, $10 MILLION FIX AND THEN WHERE'S THAT MONEY GONNA COME FROM, RIGHT? IF IT, IF THE WORST HAPPENS.

SO, I MEAN I, YOU KNOW, WE, I THINK WE'VE, WE'VE, YOU KNOW, I GUESS I'D POSE THE QUESTION.

- YEAH. YEAH, OBVIOUSLY.

- IF THERE'S OTHER PLACES YOU LOOKED AT GETTING THE FUNDING BUT ARE NOT RECOMMENDING.

- YEAH, WELL, I FIRST WANNA NOTE THAT IN REGARDS TO ZONE FIVE, UM, IT HAS A STABLE REVENUE BASE AND WE'RE ACTUALLY IN DISCUSSIONS WITH DIRECTOR MACHADO ABOUT POTENTIALLY ISSUING BONDS SO THAT WE CAN GET MORE PROJECTS DONE.

THIS IS A STABLE REVENUE SOURCE.

WE COULD BOND AGAINST THIS REVENUE STREAM AND ACTUALLY GET MORE, YOU KNOW, ACCELERATE PROJECTS.

SO THAT'S ONE IDEA WE HAVE, PARTICULARLY WITH THE REVENUE INCREASE THAT WE WANT TO GO OUT TO VOTERS FOR IN WINTER AND SPRING OF 2026.

THIS COULD BRING EVEN MORE REVENUE IN AND A HIGHER LEVEL OF BONDING.

UM, SO THAT'S ONE THING.

AND THE OTHER THING IS FOR ALL OF THE HIGH PRIORITY PROJECTS THAT ZONE FIVE IS WORKING ON, THEY WILL ALL PROBABLY BE IN DESIGN AND ENVIRONMENTAL, INCLUDING CAPITOLA ROAD IN THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR.

AND SO, UM, DIRECTOR MACHADO COULD SPEAK TO IF- WHICH ONES WOULD GO TO CONSTRUCTION, BUT ALL, A LOT, A LOT OF THEM, IF NOT ALL OF THEM, WOULD PROBABLY EXTEND INTO THE 26-27 FISCAL YEAR IN TERMS OF CONSTRUCTION.

SO, TO HAVE IT COMPLETE IN NEXT FISCAL YEAR IS PROBABLY NOT REALISTIC ANYWAY.

AND SO, UM, WE'RE JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WAYS TO MAXIMIZE THE FUNDING WE HAVE.

BUT IN TERMS OF OTHER PLACES TO GO WITHIN THE COUNTY, WE ARE ALREADY THINKING THROUGH, YOU KNOW, REDUCING TRAVEL, LOOKING AT PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, UM, LOOKING AT EXTRA HELP.

THERE ARE WAYS WE CAN GO TO REDUCE THE COUNTY BUDGET, BUT WE ARE GONNA NEED A LOT OF THOSE MECHANISMS FOR, IN OCTOBER WHEN WE COME BACK TO YOU.

AND SO WE PROBABLY WILL END UP GOING AND LOOKING AT ALL OF THESE OTHER PLACES TO REDUCE THE COUNTY BUDGET IN MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS.

UM, BUT AT THIS TIME, WE'RE RECOMMENDING TAKING THE 500,000 FOR THE CAPITOLA ROAD.

- UM, ALL RIGHT.

I MEAN, I SEE DIRECTOR MACHADO IN THE AUDIENCE.

COULD YOU COMMENT ON THE TIMING OF PROJECTS? - GOOD AFTERNOON.

YEAH, I CAN, UM, SHARE A LITTLE INSIGHT THERE.

UM, SO FOR THAT CULVERT, UM, NICOLE'S CORRECT, WE'RE IN DESIGN, WE'RE GOING THROUGH ENVIRONMENTAL PROCESS.

IT DOES TAKE TIME.

UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, THE BEST TIME OF YEAR TO BID THESE PROJECTS OUT IS WINTER TIME.

SO I MEAN, CLEAR THAT'S THE TARGET, BUT THAT'S NOT A FOR SURE.

SO I MEAN, THERE COULD BE SOME SITUATIONS WHERE IT WOULDN'T BE READY FOR NEXT SPRING CONSTRUCTION, SO IT COULD SLIP INTO THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR.

I THINK THAT'S A REAL POSSIBILITY.

UM, BUT IN GENERAL, YOU KNOW, WE TRY TO DO DESIGN PROJECTS IN THE SUMMER, FALL SO THAT WE CAN BID THEM IN THE WINTER SO THAT WE CAN START THE NEXT SPRING OR SUMMER, BUT THAT GETS REAL CLOSE TO THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR.

SO I THINK THAT'S A, THAT'S A FAIR STATEMENT AND I THINK IT'S A, A FAIR PLAN GOING FORWARD TO, UH, TO LOOK AT CAPITOLA ROAD CULVERT FOR FUTURE BUDGET CYCLE FOR CONSTRUCTION.

SO I, I DO THINK THAT'S A, A REASONABLE APPROACH TODAY FOR SURE.

- OKAY. THANK YOU.

[01:45:04]

- WELL, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.

UM, YOU KNOW, I, I ALSO APPRECIATE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WERE RESTORED, UH, LIKE THE MENTAL HEALTH, UH, SPECIALISTS, THE LOCUM TENENS PSYCHIATRIST.

UH, HOPEFULLY, WE CAN FIND THOSE POSITIONS AS WELL.

UM, AND JUST LIKE MY, UH, COLLEAGUE, UH, SUPERVISOR CUMMINGS, I THINK LABS AND RADIOLOGY ARE STILL THE, THE CONCERN.

ALTHOUGH, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'M CONCERNED ABOUT IS THE RADIOLOGY AND KIND OF THE SERVICE, UH, THAT THEY'LL BE ABLE TO GET SOMEWHERE ELSE, LIKE AT, I DON'T KNOW, LOTS OF COMMUNITY HOSPITAL.

UM, BUT ASSURING THAT THEY HAVE, UH, UH, THE PATIENTS HAVE THE SAME LEVEL OF CARE AND TIMELINESS, I GUESS, 'CAUSE THE, YOU KNOW, TWO-DAY A WEEK KIND OF THING.

ALSO, YOU KNOW, IT'S CONCERNING 'CAUSE IT'S, YOU KNOW, WE FALL BACK INTO THE SAME ISSUE AS LIKE, WELL, THEY'RE NOT THERE ONE DAY.

WHAT IF THE PATIENTS ARE THERE BUT THERE'S NO X-RAYS OR, YOU KNOW, THAT THEY CAN DO THAT DAY AND THEY FALL BACK INTO THE WHEN ARE THEY GONNA COME BACK ISSUE, YOU KNOW.

IF THEY- THAT PATIENT RETURNS.

UH, BUT YOU KNOW, THERE'S NO BEST ANSWER.

I DON'T THINK, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S THE TWO-DAY OR THE EXTENSION.

UH, THE EXTENSION DOES GIVE US TIME TO LOOK INTO THESE THINGS.

UM, BUT AGAIN, I THINK THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS THAT SMOOTH TRANSITION AND MAKING SURE THAT WHATEVER, UM, WHATEVER HAPPENS AFTER SEPTEMBER, NOVEMBER, THAT WE HAVE, UH, A GOOD TRANSITION IN TERMS OF THE LEVEL OF CARE, THESE- THAT- THAT WE HAVE LANGUAGE IN THESE M- MOUS THAT WE HAVE WITH THE- EITHER THE HOSPITAL OR IN, OR, UH, WITH WATSONVILLE COMMUNITY HOSPITAL OR WHOEVER MIGHT BE DOING THE X-RAYS.

I THINK ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS I'D LIKE TO SEE IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A FOLLOW UP AT OUR NEXT, UH, MEETING WITH SORT OF AN UPDATE WITH THE 11 EMPLOYEES, 10.6 EMPLOYEES.

THAT WE HAVE AN UPDATE WITH WHAT'S GOING ON, UH, WHAT HAVE WE DONE TO, YOU KNOW, HELP THEM, UH, IN THIS PROCESS.

BUT OTHER THAN THAT, I'LL BRING IT UP TO THE BOARD.

- SO I'M GONNA MOVE THE RECOMMENDED ACTIONS WITH THE ADDITION THAT WE EXTEND RADIOLOGY SERVICES BY THREE MONTHS IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $129,000 IN RETURN WITH ALTERNATIVE RECOMMENDATIONS PRIOR TO THE SECOND MEETING IN SEPTEMBER.

- I'LL SECOND IT.

CAN WE GET AN UPDATE WITH THE 11 EMPLOYEES? - YES. - OKAY.

- AND THAT THE INTENTION THERE IS THAT THERE'S BEEN SOME, UM, EXPRESSION FROM THE BOARD, UM, TO HAVE STAFF KIND OF WORK WITH OR HAVE, HAVE THE DIRECTORS AND KIND OF UPPER STAFF WORK WITH SOME OF THE LINE STAFF TO SEE IF THERE'S SOME OPTIONS THAT MAYBE WE CAN CONSIDER, UM, PRIOR TO THAT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE SEPTEMBER 30TH UM, CLOSURE DATE.

AND IF THERE ARE, IF WE CAN HAVE A DISCUSSION PRIOR TO THEN, I THINK IT'D BE REALLY HELPFUL.

IF WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE IT MAY BE THAT WE CAN'T FIND SOMETHING WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE ON THE PATH THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY ON, BUT I THINK JUST BEING ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY SINCE THE WORKERS HAVE COME OUT AND SAID WE'D LIKE TO HAVE A CONVERSATION, WE'D LIKE TO MAKE SOME PROPOSALS, PROVIDING THAT OPPORTUNITY, I THINK IS JUST HELPFUL IN RESPECT TO THEM AS WE'RE MOVING THROUGH THIS PROCESS SO THAT WE HAVE TAKEN EVERYTHING INTO CONSIDERATION AS POSSIBLE.

- WE GOT A... - SECOND. - MOTION AND A SECOND.

SO, WE HAVE, YEAH, WE HAVE A MOTION, UH, FROM SUPERVISOR CUMMINGS.

SECOND FROM HERNANDEZ.

WE CAN TAKE A ROLL CALL VOTE.

- SUPERVISOR KOENIG. - AYE.

- MARTINEZ. - AYE.

- CUMMINGS. - AYE.

- DE SERPA. - AYE.

- AND HERNANDEZ. - AYE.

MOTION PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.

NEXT WE HAVE ITEM NUMBER EIGHT.

[8. Consider report with additional information on Measure K road operations spending by district and 2017/2023 storm disasters spending, approve the Proposed 2025-26 Budget for Community Development and Infrastructure, including any supplemental materials, and take related actions, as outlined in the referenced budget documents, and as recommended by the County Executive Officer]

CONSIDER A REPORT WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON MEASURE K ROAD OPERATION SPENDING BY DISTRICT IN 2017 TO 2023 STORM DISASTER SPENDING.

APPROVE THE PROPOSED 2025-2026 BUDGET FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND INFRASTRUCTURE, INCLUDING ANY SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS.

I TURN IT OVER TO MATT MACHADO, DIRECTOR OF CDI.

- ALL RIGHT. GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR HERNANDEZ, FELLOW SUPERVISORS.

UM, LET ME JUST GET MY STUFF TOGETHER HERE.

ONE SECOND, PLEASE.

OKAY. SO AS YOU INTRODUCED THE ITEM, UH, LAST WEEK, I DID PRESENT OUR, OUR, UH, CDI PROPOSED AND SUPPLEMENTAL BUDGET.

AND, UH, YOUR BOARD PROVIDED SOME ADDITIONAL DIRECTION THAT YOU WANTED TO SEE, UH, MORE INFORMATION

[01:50:02]

ON THE MEASURE K, UH, SPENDING AND ROAD OPERATIONS, UM, YOUR DIRECTION ASKED TO SEE THE PROPOSED EQUITY OF HOW THIS MONEY WAS PLANNED TO BE SPENT.

AND SO, TODAY, I'LL PROVIDE THAT ANALYSIS.

ADDITIONALLY, YOUR BOARD ASKED FOR A DISASTER ACTION PLAN THAT WOULD RESULT IN A, A MORE RESILIENT ROADWAY NETWORK FROM MAJOR STORM DISASTERS.

AND SO, TODAY, I'LL PROVIDE THIS INFORMATION AS WELL.

I ALSO WANT TO QUICKLY GO OVER OUR BUDGET AGAIN, UH, JUST CONSIDERING THAT I'M ASKING YOU TO APPROVE OUR ENTIRE BUDGET TODAY.

SO, RECOVER A LITTLE- I'LL, UH, READ- UM, PRESENT SOME OF THE SAME INFORMATION I DID LAST WEEK.

SO, AS YOU KNOW, UM, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT INFRASTRUCTURE IS THE COMBINATION OF PLANNING AND PUBLIC WORKS.

OUR PRIMARY FUNCTION IS, IS TO REALLY DEVELOP LAND USE POLICY SO THAT WE COULD, UH, BUILD A- BUILT ENVIRONMENT TO SERVE OUR COMMUNITY, UH, BOTH FROM BUILDING PERMIT SERVICES, SANITATION, SOLID WASTE, AND TRANSPORTATION.

OUR, UH, DEPARTMENT MISSION IS FOCUSED ON ATTAINABLE HOUSING, RELIABLE TRANSPORTATION, AND A SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT.

AND SO JUST QUICKLY, JUST SO WE CAN RECAP, UH, WHERE WE LEFT OFF LAST WEEK.

UH, SO OUR COMBINED, UH, DEPARTMENT BUDGET IS HERE, AND I JUST WANNA MAKE A COUPLE OF POINTS.

UH, THE OVERALL BUDGET IS DOWN A BIT, UH, DUE TO A FEW FACTORS.

AND, UH, ONE OF THOSE IS THAT WE'VE COMPLETED A LOT OF LARGE PROJECTS.

WE'RE ALSO SEEING SOME REDUCED STATE AND FEDERAL HOUSING FUNDS, AND, UH, WE'RE PROJECTING A MORE UNCERTAIN ECONOMY.

SO WE'RE PROJECTING SOME LOWER NUMBERS TO RESULT IN AN OVERALL LOWER BUDGET.

UH, ADDITIONALLY ON THIS SLIDE YOU CAN SEE THAT, PART OF THIS PROPOSED BUDGET IS 4.1 MILLION OF MEASURE K.

AND THIS IS TO PROVIDE SERVICES IN THE UNINCORPORATED AREA FOR BOTH PLANNING AND PUBLIC WORKS.

UH, HALF OF THAT IS IN THE PLANNING SIDE AND THE OTHER HALF IS IN THE PUBLIC WORKS SIDE, WHICH WE'LL TALK IN GREAT DETAIL TODAY ON.

AND THEN LASTLY, UH, THERE'S A SUMMARY OF OUR PROPOSED STAFFING CHANGES, UH, WITH TWO ADDITIONAL STAFF PROPOSED AND PLANNING AS BUILDING TECHS AND SIX ADDITIONAL STAFF IN PUBLIC WORKS SOLID WASTE DIVISION, UH, SO THAT WE CAN TRANSITION OUR RECYCLING PROGRAM INTO IN-HOUSE SERVICES.

SO, HERE'S, UH, DELVING INTO JUST THE PUBLIC WORKS SIDE OF, OF OUR BUDGET.

AND SO, UM, SO YOU CAN SEE THAT, UH, THE LOWER BUDGET IS REALLY DRIVEN BY THE COMPLETION OF SOME VERY LARGE PROJECTS AND NEARLY ALL DIVISIONS IN SANITATION AND IN TRANSPORTATION.

AND THEN A PART OF THIS PROPOSED BUDGET INCLUDES A GENERAL FUND CONTRIBUTION OF 1.98 MILLION, AND THEN OF COURSE, THE DISTRICT SALES TAX CONTRIBUTION FROM MEASURE K OF 2.1 MILLION.

UM, MOST OF THE GENERAL FUND INVESTMENT, ABOUT 3.9, IS FOR ROAD AND DRAINAGE INFRASTRUCTURE AND THAT'S WHAT WE'LL- WE'LL GO INTO NEXT.

AND, UM, AND THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A SIGNIFICANT INVESTMENT AND SO WE'LL, WE'LL SPEND SOME TIME ON IT.

AND THEN, OF COURSE, I ALREADY MENTIONED THE CHANGE IN STAFFING.

OKAY.

GETTING BACK TO WHERE WE PRETTY MUCH LEFT OFF LAST WEEK, AND SO I WOULD LIKE TO PUT YOUR ATTENTION TOWARD THE 2 MILLION, THE PROPOSED $2 MILLION SPEND OF MEASURE K INTO THAT FIRST LINE ITEM, THE ROAD OPERATIONS INCREASE IN SERVICES.

YOU KNOW, I'LL JUST START BY SAYING THAT ROADS, UH, SERVE EVERYONE REALLY EQUALLY.

UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S OUR GOAL TO USE LIMITED RESOURCES TO, TO KEEP THE ENTIRE SYSTEM OPEN AND OPERATIONAL TO SERVE OUR ENTIRE POPULATION.

AND SO, TODAY I'LL, I'LL JUST REALLY, UH, DELVE INTO HOW THAT $2 MILLION IS BEING PROPOSED TO BEING SPENT.

I'M GONNA START BY DOING A BREAKDOWN OF THAT WORK TYPE IN THAT ROAD OPERATIONS, WHICH IS SOMETHING I DESCRIBED VERBALLY LAST WEEK AND I HAVE SHARED SOME OF THIS INFORMATION WITH SOME OF YOU, UH, IN THE PAST.

AND REALLY WHAT IT IS, IS IT'S A BREAKDOWN BY PERCENTAGE FOR EACH WORK AREA, AND SO I DO WANNA, UH, DIRECT YOUR ATTENTION TO, UH, WE'VE BROKEN DOWN THE FOUR AREAS OF ROAD OPERATIONS PROPOSED, WHICH INCLUDE DITCHING, STRIPING, PAVING, AND CULVERT REPAIR AND REPLACEMENT.

AND WE HAD ORIGINALLY BROKE THIS DOWN BY PERCENTAGE OF THE TOTAL WORK PROPOSED ACROSS THE COUNTY, SO BY DISTRICT.

AND I DO WANT TO POINT OUT, IF YOU LOOK AT UNDER DITCHING, UM, AND THEN YOU LINE UP WITH DISTRICT 4, 1% IN- OF DITCHING IN DISTRICT 4, AND YOU MIGHT ASK WHY.

WELL, THERE'S GOOD REASONS FOR ALL THIS.

UM, THE REASON FOR THE LESS DITCHING IN DISTRICT 4 IS THEY HAVE LESS DITCHES TO MAINTAIN.

MUCH OF THE ROWS IN DISTRICT 4 ARE FRONTED BY AG OPERATIONS AND THOSE AG OPERATIONS, IN GENERAL, MAINTAIN THOSE DITCHES FLOORS, SO, SO THERE'S LESS DITCHING DUE.

UH, BUT MY MAIN POINT HERE IS THAT, UH, WE BELIEVE THAT THIS PROPOSAL, UH, DOES PROVIDE GOOD GEOGRAPHIC EQUITY ACROSS THE COUNTY, AND SO YOU CAN SEE IN THE FAR RIGHT COLUMN HOW WE'RE DIVIDING UP THE WORK,

[01:55:02]

UH, BY PERCENTAGES OF THE TOTAL WORK BY DISTRICT.

AND SO, YOU CAN SEE IT'S, UH, THERE'S PRETTY GOOD GEOGRAPHIC ENTRY BUT THAT DOESN'T TELL THE WHOLE STORY.

AND SO THE NEXT SLIDE, WE'LL GET INTO THE COST OF THESE SERVICES BECAUSE I KNOW THE BOARD WAS INTERESTED IN HOW WE SPEND THE MONEY, NOT JUST WHERE WE DO THE WORK.

AND SO ON THIS SLIDE, WE'VE TAKEN THOSE SAME, THAT SAME WORK, DITCHING, STRIPING, PAVING, CULVERT REPAIR AND REPLACEMENT, AND WE'VE ASSIGNED THE COST TO EACH OF THOSE SERVICES.

AND THEN WE BROKE THAT DOWN BY DISTRICTS AGAIN.

AND THEN, SO IF YOU GO TO THE, UM, UH, IF YOU COMPARE THE THIRD COLUMN, THE POPULATION PERCENTAGE BY DISTRICT WITH THE FAR RIGHT COLUMN WHERE WE, UM, PLAN TO SPEND THE MONEY FOR EACH OF THESE AREAS OF WORK, YOU CAN SEE THAT, UM, AGAIN, WE HAVE GOOD GEOGRAPHIC EQUITY WHEN YOU COMPARE WHERE PEOPLE LIVE COMPARED TO WHERE WE'RE PLANNING TO SPEND THE MONEY.

AND SO JUST A DIRECT COMPARISON- COMPARISON A POPULATION BASED PER DISTRICT TO, TO PROPOSED SPEND FOR EACH DISTRICT, YOU CAN SEE THE COMPARISON, UM, YOU CAN SEE IT THAT WAY.

AND SO NEXT, UM, I DO WANT TO, AND BY THE WAY, THIS IS STILL OUR PROPOSED, UM, WORK PLAN FOR THIS GIVEN YEAR.

OUR NEXT SLIDE, I AM GOING TO, UH, TAKE THE SAME AMOUNT OF WORK BUT BREAK IT DOWN INTO, UM, BREAK IT DOWN INTO, UH, A LITTLE MORE DETAIL PER PERSON.

AND SO, SO THIS IS THE, UH, CORE MAINTENANCE TASKS, UH, BY DISTRICT, AGAIN THE COST OF EACH SERVICE, UH, BROKE DOWN INTO THAT PER PERSON CATEGORY.

AND THIS REALLY GETS TO A POINT WHERE I THINK WE ALL CAN UNDERSTAND HOW WE, UH, PLAN TO SPEND, UM, SPEND THAT MEASURE K FUNDING, UH, PER DISTRICT, PER PERSON.

AND SO IF YOU LOOK AT THE, UH, THE, THE FAR RIGHT COLUMN, UM, THE COST, UH, PER PERSON IS THERE LISTED AND I THINK, UH, IT SHOWS A GOOD SPEND IN EACH DISTRICT, UM, HIGHEST IN THREE AND FOUR.

UH, BUT THAT'S, UM, THAT'S JUST HOW THE NUMBERS WORKED OUT WITH THE, UH, THE POPULATION BASED UPON THE WORK DEMAND FOR THOSE AREAS.

AND SO, AGAIN, THIS IS OUR PROPOSED RECOMMENDATION FOR THE PROPOSED BUDGET.

UH, BUT YOUR BOARD ASKED FOR A CHANGE TO THIS, AT LEAST AN ALTERNATIVE TO CONSIDER.

AND SO THAT CONS- THAT ALTERNATIVE WAS TO LOOK AT THE $2 MILLION BROKE DOWN EQUALLY, UH, IN DOLLARS BY DISTRICT.

AND SO THAT WOULD BE, UM, THAT WOULD BE $400,000 PER DISTRICT.

AND SO IF YOU LOOK AT THIS NEXT SLIDE, UM, JUST ASSIGNING THE DOLLARS PER DISTRICT EQUALLY, IT WOULD RESULT IN A, UM, A PRETTY DRAMATIC UPTICK IN DOLLARS SPENT PER PERSON IN DISTRICTS THREE AND FOUR.

YOU CAN SEE THOSE NUMBERS ON THE FAR RIGHT.

AND SO WE ARE NOT RECOMMENDING THIS ALTERNATIVE, BUT WE DID WANNA BRING IT TO YOUR BOARD FOR DISCUSSION AND CONSIDERATION BECAUSE IT IS DIRECTLY WHAT, WHAT YOU ASKED, UM, AND SO NOW, NEXT.

UH, THE NEXT SLIDE, I'M GONNA SHIFT GEARS A LITTLE BIT ON YOU.

UH, THE NEXT SLIDE IS REALLY AN ANALYSIS THAT'S RESPONSIVE TO BOTH OF YOUR DIRECTIVES FROM LAST WEEK, SHOWING WHERE RESOURCES WERE SPENT FOR THE 2017 AND THE 2023 STORM DISASTERS, AND ALSO LEADING INTO A PLAN AND DISCUSSION OF HOW TO BE MORE RESILIENT FOR FUTURE STORM DISASTER.

SO THAT WAS THE SECOND PART OF YOUR ASK LAST WEEK.

AND SO HERE WE GO LOOKING AT SOME OF THESE NUMBERS.

I KNOW THIS SLIDE'S A LITTLE BIT BUSY, SO I REALLY WANT TO JUST, UM, DIRECT YOUR ATTENTION TO, UM, A COUPLE AREAS.

SO THE, THE TOP BOX IS THE 2023, UH, DISASTER.

AND YOU CAN SEE WHAT WE'VE ACTUALLY SPENT, UH, WHAT'S REMAINING TO BE SPENT, THE TOTAL, THE TOTAL EVENT COST, UH, ONCE WE HAVE IT COMPLETELY BUILT, AND THEN WE BROKE IT DOWN AGAIN, UH, DOLLARS PER PERSON, PER DISTRICT, JUST TO GET A SENSE OF WHERE THE DOLLARS WERE SPENT COMPARED TO WHERE THE PEOPLE LIVE.

AND YOU CAN SEE THAT, UH, THOSE, YOU KNOW, ONE THROUGH FIVE DISTRICTS, UH, PRETTY GOOD GEOGRAPHIC EQUITY WITH DISTRICT 5 BEING A STANDOUT FOR 2023, WHICH IS UNDERSTANDABLE.

YOU KNOW, THESE DISASTERS AREN'T PLANNED.

UM, WE DON'T KNOW WHERE THE DISASTERS ARE GONNA HAPPEN.

THEY JUST HAPPEN.

AND SO I THINK WE ALL UNDERSTAND THAT, UM, WE ARE JUST HERE TO RESPOND TO MOTHER NATURE.

AND IN 2023, MOTHER NATURE HIT THE SAN LORENZO VALLEY THE HARDEST, AND THAT'S REFLECTED IN, IN THE DOLLAR SPENT AND THE DOLLARS TO BE SPENT IN THAT DOLLAR PER PERSON, UH, STORM DAMAGE COST.

AND THEN, 2017, JUST A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT.

YOU CAN SEE THERE WAS A, A, A LITTLE DIFFERENT SPLIT, BUT AGAIN, 2017, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T KNOW WHERE THOSE DISASTERS HIT.

THEY JUST HIT WHERE THEY DO.

AND SO WE BROKE THAT ONE DOWN TO WHAT WE'VE SPENT, WHAT WE NEED TO SPEND, AND THEN PER PERSON, UM, PER DISTRICT.

UH, SO THE NUMBERS ARE THERE BROKEN DOWN.

[02:00:01]

AND I, I DO WANNA PUT, UH, FOCUS YOUR ATTENTION ON THAT, THE COLUMN OF ESTIMATED COSTS REMAINING TO BE SPENT.

AND THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE YOUR BOARD ASKS FOR, UH, A DISASTER RESPONSE PLAN.

AND SO WE STILL HAVE ABOUT, UM, 76, ALMOST $77 MILLION TO GO TO FINISH UP- TO FINISH UP THE 2017 AND 2023 DISASTERS.

UM, AS WELL AS, UH, AS THIS CONVERSATION LAST WEEK, UH, THERE WAS A QUITE A BIT OF CONVERSATION ABOUT HOW WE SPEND OUR SB1 FUNDS.

WHICH IS- WHICH IS A, A NEWER GAS TAX THAT WAS, UH, PASSED BY THE STATE IN 2017.

AND THE, THE DISCUSSION WAS WHERE DO WE SPEND IT? WELL, MOST OF IT GOES INTO STORM DAMAGE RESPONSE, BUT ALSO IT GOES INTO, UM, MAJOR CAPITAL PROJECTS THAT EVEN GOES INTO ROAD OPERATIONS TO SOME DEGREE.

AND SO WE PUT AN ANALYSIS TOGETHER TO SHOW YOU WHERE WE'VE SPENT THOSE SB1 DOLLARS OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS.

AND WE TRIED TO BREAK IT DOWN BY DISTRICT AGAIN, THE ROAD OPERATIONS WASN'T EASILY BROKEN DOWN BY DISTRICT AND SO YOU'LL SEE ON THIS NEXT SLIDE THAT, UH, WE'RE ABLE TO BREAK DOWN MOST OF THE COSTS BY DISTRICT BACK INTO, UH, PERCENTAGES BASED UPON, YOU KNOW, THE SPEND KIND OF, PER PERSON.

AGAIN, WITH THE VARIABLE BEING THE ROAD OPS, WHICH IS COUNTYWIDE ABOUT 11% OF OUR SB1 DOLLARS OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS.

THAT 11% IS LIKE ON THE, ON KIND OF, ON THE RIGHT DOWN AT THE BOTTOM, UH, THAT WE BELIEVE WAS SPENT PRETTY EQUALLY ACROSS THE COUNTY.

AND SO IF YOU WERE TRYING TO ASSIGN A PERCENTAGE, YOU'D PROBABLY TAKE A COUPLE OF PERCENT AND APPLY TO EACH OF THE DISTRICTS.

AND SO AGAIN, EVEN THE SB1 SPEND OVER, SAY, THE PAST THREE YEARS, UH, IT SHOWS PRETTY GOOD GEOGRAPHIC EQUITY AS COMPARED TO WHERE PEOPLE LIVE, THE POPULATION BASE.

AND YOU CAN SEE THOSE PERCENTAGES ON THE, UH, THIRD FROM THE, FROM THE RIGHT, UM, TOTALS.

AND SO, WHERE THAT'S GONNA LEAD US IS, UM, IS NEXT I'LL FOCUS OUR, UM, THE NEXT PART OF THE ANSWER TO THAT DISASTER RESPONSE INTO OUR EMERGING ISSUES.

AND THIS WAS A PART OF OUR PROPOSED BUDGET, THESE NARRATIVES.

BUT I DO WANT TO HIGHLIGHT A FEW THINGS AND PROBABLY JUST READ THEM OUT SO THAT WE UNDERSTAND WHAT A RESILIENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM LOOKS LIKE, FEELS LIKE, UH, BASED UPON THESE EMERGING ISSUES SO, STORM DAMAGE REPAIR, UM, WE'VE TALKED A BIT ABOUT THAT ALREADY TODAY, BUT, UM, IT'S REALLY THE HIGHEST PRIORITY TO BE READY FOR THE NEXT STORM, MEANING COMPLETE THOSE PROJECTS.

UH, THE NEXT HIGHEST PRIORITY WOULD BE OUR CULVERT REPAIR AND REPLACEMENT, AND THEN OUR THIRD HIGHEST PRIORITY WOULD BE TO, UM, CONTINUE TO INVEST IN OUR DETERIORATING PAVEMENT CONDITION.

BECAUSE THOSE THREE ITEMS, IF WE CAN CONTINUE TO INVEST IN THOSE IT WILL MAKE US MORE RESILIENT TO FUTURE STORMS. IT'S CLEARLY PROVEN TO BE THE BEST MITIGATION TO HAVING A RESILIENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM.

UM, AND SO I WILL DESCRIBE EACH ONE OF THOSE, UM, INDIVIDUALLY SO THAT YOU CAN GET A SENSE OF THE MAGNITUDE OF THE CHALLENGE, UH, FOR EACH OF THESE AREAS.

SO, STORM DAMAGE, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT.

WE HAVE MORE THAN $75 MILLION OF REPAIR TO COMPLETE FOR JUST THE 2017 AND 2023 DISASTERS AND CLEARLY UNREPAIRED SITES ARE MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO NEW STORM DAMAGE.

UM, THE NEXT HIGHEST PRIORITY IS OUR CULVERTS, UH, REHAB AND REPLACEMENT PROGRAM.

AND THIS IS RIGHT OUT OF OUR BUDGET NARRATIVE, BUT WE DID COMPLETE OUR FIRST COMPREHENSIVE INVENTORY OF ROADWAY CULVERTS.

AND, UH, WE DO HAVE HUNDREDS OF CULVERTS IN POOR CONDITION THAT ARE IN NEED OF REPLACEMENT TODAY.

CURRENTLY, UH, WE INVEST ABOUT $250,000 A YEAR, UH, ANNUALLY INTO THESE CULVERTS, WHICH MOSTLY ARE SMALL CULVERTS THAT OUR ROAD CREWS UH, CAN MAKE REPAIRS ON.

AND WHAT'S LACKING IS A, IS A LARGER INVESTMENT.

UM, IN OUR, IN OUR BUDGET NARRATIVE, WE DO MAKE THE COMMENT THAT, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, A REASONABLE INVESTMENT IN CULVERT, IN A CULVERT REHAB PROGRAM WOULD BE ABOUT A MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR.

UM, YOU KNOW, AND I THINK WE ACTUALLY TALKED ABOUT THIS ALREADY TODAY, BUT UM, I WAS GONNA USE THE EXAMPLE OF MAIN STREET.

YOU KNOW, IF WE WAIT FOR THINGS TO FAIL, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS CULVERT BECOMES QUITE A FEW MILLION DOLLARS.

AND SO THERE IS VALUE IN, IN STARTING A REAL CULVERT MANAGEMENT, UH, PROGRAM, AND OUR ESTIMATE WAS TO GET US GOING, IT'D BE ABOUT A MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR.

THE EXISTING DEFERRED MAINTENANCE ON OUR CULVERT, UM, SYSTEM IS ABOUT $400 MILLION.

AND THEN THE THIRD ITEM, AND THIS IS WHERE I'LL LEAVE YOU WITH TODAY, IS DETER- DETERIORATING PAVEMENT CONDITION.

AND 2018 WAS OUR LAST, UM, PAVEMENT CONDITION ASSESSMENT.

UH, IT RESULTED IN A PCI PAVEMENT CONDITION INDEX OF 48.

THAT'S OUT OF A SCORE OF A HUNDRED.

AND, UH, AT THAT TIME IN 2018, UH, WE, WE REPORTED TO THE BOARD THAT WE WOULD NEED $24 MILLION ANNUALLY, UM, TO MAINTAIN THAT EXISTING

[02:05:04]

PAVEMENT CONDITION INDEX AND THAT WE WOULD NEED UPWARDS OF $49 MILLION, UH, OVER 10 YEARS TO BRING THE ENTIRE ROAD SYSTEM UP TO A GOOD STANDARD.

CURRENTLY, UM, WE'VE BEEN AVERAGING ABOUT A LITTLE OVER 5 MILLION A YEAR, 5 MILLION A YEAR IN RESURFACING AND IMPROVING OUR SERVICE CONDITION.

UH, MOST OF THAT MONEY IS COMING FROM MEASURE D, UH, FROM GRANTS AND ALSO FROM LOCAL SOURCES.

UH, WE ARE EXPECTING A NEW PAYMENT CONDITION THIS SUMMER, AND WE WILL BRING THAT REPORT TO YOUR BOARD, UM, LATER, LATER THIS SUMMER.

AND THEN WE, UH, BELIEVE THAT OUR DEFERRED MAINTENANCE AND PAYMENT CONDITION IS ABOUT 300 MILLION.

AND SO, UM, THAT IS, UH, THAT'S OUR EMERGENT ISSUES.

UM, THE, UH, RECOMMENDED ACTION TODAY IS TO ACCEPT AND FILE THIS NEW INFORMATION, UM, FROM- ON THE MEASURE K, UH, SPEND BY DISTRICT.

AND THE 2017/2023 STORM DISASTER SPENDING, AND ALSO TO APPROVE THE PROPOSED BUDGET FOR CDI, UH, WITH ALL THE, UH, SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS ATTACHED AND THE NUMBERS AS SHOWN ON THE SCREEN TODAY.

SO I'LL STOP THERE AND, UH, ASK IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU. FIRST, I WANNA SEE IF THERE'S ANYONE IN THE PUBLIC WHO'D LIKE TO ADDRESS THIS ON, ON THIS ITEM.

ANYONE ONLINE? - I SEE NO SPEAKERS ONLINE, CHAIR.

- I'LL BRING IT BACK TO THE BOARD.

SUPERVISOR KOENIG.

- UH, THANK YOU, CHAIR.

THANK YOU, DIRECTOR MACHADO, FOR THE PRESENTATION.

UM, JUST TO BE CLEAR, DID, I MEAN, DIDN'T WE JUST REMOVE EFFECTIVELY $500,000 FROM THE 4 MILLION IN GENERAL FUND CONTRIBUTIONS? - YEAH, WE DID, WE DID.

THAT WOULD BE, UH, FROM THE GENERAL FUND CONTRIBUTION.

THAT'S CORRECT.

- RIGHT. OKAY.

UM, AND YOU, YOU MENTIONED MAIN STREET AND JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT MY COLLEAGUES ARE ALL FAMILIAR WITH THAT EXAMPLE.

I MEAN, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE BATES CREEK WASHOUTS THERE.

I WAS TRYING TO, I MEAN, THAT WAS THE EXAMPLE THAT CAME TO MY MIND AS WELL.

IT WAS SORT OF LIKE, IF WE DON'T DO IT, WHAT WAS THE TOTAL COST OF THE MAIN STREET REPAIR OR SOMETHING? I MEAN...

- I THINK IT WAS RIGHT AROUND 5 OR 6 MILLION.

STEVE, DO YOU REMEMBER? - FIVE MILLION.

- 5 MILLION? 5 MILLION AND, YEAH.

NO, I, I WAS GONNA ADD THAT, YOU KNOW, WHEN THAT ONE COLLAPSED, UM, WE HAD ABOUT 300 FAMILIES TRAPPED UP THERE, AND SO WE HAD TO DO SOME EMERGENCY REPAIR ON THAT ONE.

THAT'S NOT ALWAYS THE CASE.

SOMETIMES WE CAN LEAVE ROADS CLOSED, BUT IN THAT CASE, WE DIDN'T HAVE A CHOICE.

THAT'S RIGHT.

I MEAN, THOSE ARE, THAT'S ALL MY QUESTIONS.

I MEAN, I BELIEVE THAT, LIKE I SAID, THIS IS THE OTHER LOOMING ISSUE.

UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HEARD THAT WE CAN DO SOME BELT TIGHTENING.

UM, I MEAN, I THINK THAT WE SHOULD ACTUALLY ACT ON CREATING A $1 MILLION CULVERT REPAIR FUND.

WE JUST REMOVED $500,000 FROM THE PUBLIC WORKS BUDGET.

I THINK WE SHOULD RESTORE THAT AND, AND ADD IN ANOTHER $500,000.

AND I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, THE- THE EASIEST WAY TO DO THAT WOULD BE A REDUCTION OF 1/2%...

1/2 OF 1%, UH, ACROSS ALL COUNTY DEPARTMENTS, NET COUNTY CONTRIBUTIONS FOR DEPARTMENTS IN ORDER TO THEN CREATE THAT FUND.

UM, SO THAT'S WHAT I INTEND TO MOVE, THANKS.

- SUPERVISOR MARTINEZ.

- UH, THANK YOU, CHAIR.

THANK YOU, DIRECTOR MACHADO, FOR, UM, THE PRESENTATION.

UM, I APPRECIATE YOU COMING BACK TO US WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.

UM, IT'S REALLY HELPFUL TO SEE HOW THE ROADS FUND IS DISTRIBUTED, UM, ACROSS THE VARIOUS DISTRICTS.

AND IT REALLY DOES FEEL LIKE IT'S PRETTY EQUITABLE.

YOU KNOW, IT- IT BALANCES OUT IN DIFFERENT WAYS, UM, BUT I LIKE THE DIFFERENT WAYS THAT YOU LOOKED AT IT.

AND I, I AM COMFORTABLE WITH THE DEPARTMENT'S PROPOSED ALLOCATION FORMULA FOR THE ADDITIONAL 2 MILLION IN MEASURE K FUNDING FOR ROAD MAINTENANCE THIS YEAR.

UM, AS WE THINK ABOUT INVESTMENTS FOR OUR ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE, I REALLY ENCOURAGE THE BOARD TO LOOK, UM, YOU KNOW, HOLISTICALLY AS FAR AS WHAT'S THE BEST INVESTMENT IN OUR ENTIRE COUNTY, UH SYSTEM AND NETWORK BECAUSE WE ALL WORK.

WE ALL TRAVEL ON THE SAME ROADS IN MANY REGARDS, AND WE ALL RELY ON THE SAME ROADS IN THE EVENT OF AN EMERGENCY AND FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

UM, AND I AGREE THAT WE DO HAVE A PRETTY BIG STRUCTURAL CHALLENGE IN OUR ROADS BUDGET AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, LIKE THE PREVIOUS CONVERSATION WE HAD IN HEALTH.

UM, WE HAVE DEFERRED MAINTENANCE OF- TO THE TUNE OF HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS, AND- AND I'M ALMOST, I'M BOTH LOOKING FORWARD TO AND DREADING THE PAVEMENT REPORT BECAUSE I KNOW IT'S GOING TO JUST TELL THE PICTURE THAT WE ALL SEE EVERY DAY.

UM, AND, AND WE WILL BE OBLIGATED TO ACT ON THAT AND, AND NEED TO BE PREPARED TO ACT ON THAT.

UM, I...

HEARD A POSSIBLE MOTION FROM MY COLLEAGUE, SUPERVISOR KOENIG, WOULD YOU REPEAT THE SECOND PART OF THAT, UM, ONCE AGAIN, WHERE YOU WOULD GET THE FUNDING FOR A MOTION LIKE THAT? - YEAH, SO TO REDUCE THE NET COUNTY CONTRIBUTIONS

[02:10:01]

FOR ALL DEPARTMENTS BY ONE HALF OF 1% IN ORDER TO GENERATE A SAVINGS NEEDED TO COVER OR CREATE ABOUT A MILLION-DOLLAR CULPRIT REPAIR FUND.

SO, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S NET COUNTY CONTRIBUTIONS FROM, UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT EVERYTHING EXCEPT FOR THIS,, APART FROM THE SALES TAX IS AROUND, I THINK, $230 MILLION.

SOME OF THOSE ARE LIKE, YOU KNOW, AMBAG OR THE ANIMAL SERVICES, UH, WHICH WE HAVE CONTRACTS WITH AND CAN'T ACTUALLY REDUCE.

UM, SO THIS IS KIND OF LOOKING AT EVERYTHING ELSE.

UM, AND I MEAN, THIS AGAIN, JUST- IT GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO GET THIS PROGRAM ROLLING TO START THINKING ABOUT IT SO THAT WE'RE ALREADY, UH, MOVING IF THINGS SHOULD GET WORSE.

- SO IF I COULD COME IN IF YOU- WHEN THE TIME'S APPROPRIATE, I COULD COMMENT ON THAT.

- YEAH.

YEAH, MAYBE I'LL JUST SHARE MY ORIGINAL, UM, REFLECTION.

UM, IS THAT, ONE, I APPRECIATE THE, UM, BOLD ACTION FROM- FROM SUPERVISOR KOENIG.

AGAIN, I, I LOVE YOUR WILLINGNESS TO MOVE SOMETHING FORWARD.

I DO, UM, I DON'T THINK I CAN SUPPORT THAT MOTION JUST BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW THE IMPACT OF HOW THAT WILL, UM, WHAT THAT WILL CHANGE AND ALL THE OTHER BUDGETS THAT WE APPROVE, UM, IN THE PREVIOUS HOUR, YOU KNOW, WE WERE SPENDING, WE SPENT AN HOUR ON, YOU KNOW, ANYWHERE FROM LIKE 300 TO $500,000 AND, UM, AND HOW THAT COULD CHANGE, YOU KNOW, CRITICAL SERVICES AND THE 1% IN SOME, OR HALF OF 1% IN SOME BUDGETS COULD, YOU KNOW, HAVE A REAL SIGNIFICANT IMPACT.

SO WITHOUT KNOWING THAT, I DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE VOTING UM, IN THAT DIRECTION, BUT I DO THINK IT WOULD BE REASONABLE TO ASK FOR A PLAN TO SUPPORT A CULVERT, UM, REPAIR PROGRAM.

WHAT WOULD IT LOOK LIKE? UM, ALLOW US TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION PERHAPS IN THE FALL WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THE GREATER PICTURE AND ALL THE POTENTIAL CUTS AND JUST SORT OF LAY IT ALL OUT AND BE ABLE TO HAVE SOME OF THOSE TOUGH DISCUSSIONS BECAUSE, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT RESISTANT TO INVESTING IN CULVERTS.

I THINK WE ALL RECOGNIZE THE IMPORTANCE.

UM, I JUST WANT TO HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION BEFORE I MAKE ANY DECISIONS.

- SUPERVISOR DE SERPA.

- UM, THANK YOU.

RECENTLY, I'M BARELY CERTAIN WE HAD SOME TYPE OF A DISCUSSION ABOUT A $50,000 ALLOCATION PER SUPERVISOR DISTRICT.

AND THEN I THINK, JUSTIN CUMMINGS, YOU WANTED TO DOUBLE THAT.

DID WE- WAS THAT SOMETHING THAT ACTUALLY WENT THROUGH? - THAT WAS MEASURE K.

- THAT WAS MEASURE...

- SORRY, Q. SORRY, Q, YES.

- THAT'S, THAT WAS FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA AND IT'S BACK ON THE AGENDA AS ITEM...

- 10.1.

- OKAY. - SO YOU'RE STILL GOING TO CONSIDER THAT.

- BUT THAT ISN'T MONEY WE COULD USE FOR CULVERT.

- THAT'S FOR PARKS.

- RIGHT. THAT'S FOR PARKS AND...

- WELL, RESILIENCY.

- FLOOD. ISN'T IT? FLOOD.

- YOU COULD- IT COULD BE PART OF... MY INTERPRETATION, YOU- WE SHOULD GET OTHER STAFF, BUT MY INTERPRETATION THAT IT WAS PART OF A BIGGER PROJECT THAT INVOLVED WETLAND RESTORATION AND CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION.

YES, THE CULVERT COULD BE, CULVERT REPAIR COULD BE PART OF THAT.

- OKAY, THANK YOU FOR THE CLARIFICATION.

UM, AND THANK YOU, THAT'S A LOT OF DATA YOU BROUGHT FORWARD.

I WAS ALARMED, UH, THE LAST DISCUSSION WE HAD ABOUT REALLOCATION OF THE ROADS PROGRAM, UH, D1 HAS 28% OF THE MILEAGE 34% OF THE POPULATION.

MY DISTRICT, DISTRICT 2, 30% OF THE MILEAGE AND 30% OF THE POPULATION.

D5, 24% OF THE MILEAGE, 25% OF THE POPULATION.

SO IN THOSE THREE DISTRICTS, WE HAVE 82% OF THE MILEAGE AND 89% OF THE POPULATION.

AND I KNOW, UM, ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL, WE ALL HEARD THE NUMBER ONE COMPLAINT WAS THAT PEOPLE WERE SO UPSET AND CONCERNED ABOUT THE CONDITION OF THEIR ROAD AND INFRASTRUCTURE.

SO I DO FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH THE ALLOCATIONS AS THEY'VE ALWAYS BEEN FOR THE LAST FOUR YEARS.

UM, SO ANYWAY, SO I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE, UM, THE ALLOCATIONS BROUGHT FORWARD AS THEY ALWAYS HAVE BEEN.

I DON'T KNOW IF I SAID THAT CLEARLY...

- SO THAT BE THE RECOMMENDED ACTIONS, UM...

IT WOULD BE THE RECOMMENDED ACTIONS NUMBER ONE AND TWO ON THE STAFF REPORT.

- YES, THANK YOU.

[02:15:02]

- OH, OKAY.

- I'LL SECOND IT FOR THE PURPOSES OF DISCUSSION.

- [WHISPERS] THANK YOU. UM...

YOU KNOW, I'LL BE, UH... WHAT'S THAT, DID YOU TALK? OH, SORRY.

SUPERVISOR CUMMINGS.

- UM, FIRST OF ALL, I WANNA THANK YOU FOR, UM, YOUR RESPONSIVENESS TO, UH, THE BOARD, AND THEIR, UM, INTEREST IN MORE INFORMATION AND KIND OF SHOWING THE DIFFERENCES IN TERMS OF HOW THE FUNDS ARE ALLOCATED.

AND I DO GET THE CONCERNS THAT SOME OF MY BOARD MEMBERS BRING UP.

AND THEN I ALSO, YOU KNOW, THINK ABOUT THE AMOUNT OF WORK THAT WENT INTO GETTING THESE FUNDS TO BE AVAILABLE IN TERMS OF MOVING MEASURE K FORWARD AND THE EFFORTS THAT MY OFFICE AND SUPERVISOR HERNANDEZ'S OFFICE PUT INTO THAT AND, UM, AND MANY MEMBERS OF COUNTY STAFF.

AND, UH, KNOWING THAT THERE WAS NOT EQUITABLE, THERE WAS NOT EQUAL, UM, EFFORTS IN GETTING THAT PASSED, I THINK THAT'S SOME OF THE CONCERN THAT COMES FROM OUR OFFICES BECAUSE THE AMOUNT OF WORK THAT WE PUT IN WAS FAR MORE THAN MANY OF THE OTHER, UM, OFFICES PUT IN, UM, AND THEN WHEN WE SEE PROPOSALS FOR ROADS TO GET FIXED AND WE SEE LESS REVENUE COMING TOWARDS OUR ROADS, THAT'S THE CONCERN THAT GETS BROUGHT UP FOR US IN TERMS OF MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE ABLE TO MEET THE ROAD DEMANDS IN OUR DISTRICTS.

AND I KNOW WE JUST HAD ONE DISASTER ON THERE TOO, BECAUSE WE DIDN'T SHOW, YOU KNOW, THE IMPACTS OF ROADS FROM THE CZU FIRES.

WE DIDN'T SEE THE IMPACTS OF THE ROADS FROM 2024 STORMS. SO THERE STILL COULD BE MORE, OBVIOUSLY, INFORMATION THAT COULD COME FORWARD THAT REALLY SHOWS HOW ROADS WERE IMPACTED ACROSS DIFFERENT DISTRICTS.

NOW, GIVEN THAT'S BEING SAID, CZU FIRE OBVIOUSLY FELL UNDER A FEDERAL DISASTER DECLARATION.

SO THERE'S POTENTIAL TO RECOUP THAT- THE FUNDING IF FEMA STILL EXISTS IN THE FUTURE.

UM, BUT THERE'S WAYS TO RECOUP THAT REVENUE THAT'S BEEN SPENT ON TRYING TO FIX SOME OF THOSE DISASTER RELATED ROAD ISSUES.

UM, I GUESS TODAY I'M COMFORTABLE WITH MOVING FORWARD WITH THE STAFF RECOMMENDATION THAT MIGHT NOT BE THE WAY I WANT TO PROCEED IN THE FUTURE.

UM, JUST KNOWING THAT THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, SOME ISSUES, THERE ARE SOME DAMAGES THAT HAVE OCCURRED IN OTHER PARTS OF THE COUNTY AND THERE ARE, YOU KNOW MORE ROADS.

I DO HESITATE WHEN WE JUST USE POPULATION AS A METRIC BECAUSE THERE ARE OTHER PEOPLE WHO ARE COMING AND VISITING THE DIFFERENT DISTRICTS.

I HAVE MORE PEOPLE COMING TO VISIT BEACHES THAN MAYBE SOME OF THE OTHER DISTRICTS.

UM, AND SO, THAT HAS IMPACTS ON OUR ROADS.

AND SO I JUST, YOU KNOW, USING POPULATION, I GUESS IT IS AN EASY METRIC TO USE.

BUT I ALSO DO HAVE SOME CONCERNS WITH THE FACT THAT THERE ARE MORE, THERE'S A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE WHO ARE MOVING AROUND OUR DISTRICTS FOR A LOT OF DIFFERENT REASONS.

UM... SO.

AND THEN, YOU KNOW, I THINK THE ONE BENEFIT FROM WHAT WE JUST TOOK ACTION ON WAS THAT, YOU KNOW, THE ZONE FIVE PROJECTS LIKE THAT, THAT'S A FUNDED DISTRICT THAT HAS REVENUE COMING IN THAT CAN BE USED FOR THESE PROJECTS.

AND SO WHEN WE'RE THINKING ABOUT MAJOR CUTS TO PROGRAMS THAT PROVIDE, YOU KNOW, SIGNIFICANT, UM, BENEFITS TO PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE PUT FORWARD, YOU KNOW, WANTING TO SUPPORT MENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH AS A- AS A VALUE THAT WE SHARE.

YOU KNOW, UM, I THINK THAT'S A BIG REASON WHY WE TOOK THAT GENERAL FUND CONTRIBUTION AND USE IT TO HELP SAVE SOME OF THESE PROGRAMS THAT ARE REALLY VITAL AND CRITICAL AT PROVIDING, UM, DAY SERVICES FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE EXPERIENCING MENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH.

SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT HAVING A CONVERSATION MOVING FORWARD ABOUT, YOU KNOW, FUNDING STREAMS FOR ROADS, WHETHER WE WANT TO TALK ABOUT A BALLOT MEASURE OR WHAT HAVE YOU, I THINK THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO HAVE FURTHER CONVERSATIONS ON HOW TO- HOW TO FUND ROADS.

UM, BUT I'M NOT COMFORTABLE WITH MOVING FORWARD TODAY AND TAKING MONEY FROM DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS WHEN WE JUST ACTUALLY PASSED THE BUDGET FOR THE MAJORITY OF DEPARTMENTS IN THE COUNTY.

SO, UM, I'LL SUPPORT, WELL, I'LL HEAR FROM MY OTHER COLLEAGUES, BUT I'LL SECOND THE- THE MOTION MADE BY, UH, UM, SUPERVISOR DE SERPA.

- THANK YOU, SUPERVISOR CUMMINGS.

SO, YOU KNOW, I JUST WANT TO BEGIN BY, UM, THANKING OUR DEDICATED STAFF FOR ALL THEIR HARD WORK GETTING US THIS- THIS ADDITIONAL DETAILED INFORMATION.

I KNOW YOU GUYS ARE PROBABLY UP ALL DAY DOING THAT STUFF, UM, BUT IT'S IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR OUR ROAD TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS.

UM, I THINK YOUR EFFORTS ARE CRITICAL IN ENSURING THAT WE HAVE A CLEAR AND ACCURATE UNDERSTANDING OF WHERE OUR RESOURCES ARE MOST NEEDED.

UM, AS WE MOVE FORWARD IN DISCUSSING ROAD AND TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS, INCLUDING THOSE FUNDED BY THE GENERAL FUND, SALES TAX MEASURES SUCH AS MEASURE K, STATE AND FEDERAL FUNDS, IT'S CRITICAL THAT WE DO SO WITH THE COMMITMENT TO FAIRNESS AND EQUITY, I THINK, MOVING FORWARD.

UM, EVERY COMMUNITY IN OUR COUNTY, WHETHER URBAN, RURAL UNINCORPORATED, DESERVES SAFE, RELIABLE INFRASTRUCTURE AND ROADS.

[02:20:03]

SO BY CONTINUING TO WORK COLLABORATIVELY, UH, AND USING THE BEST AGREED UPON DATA TO GUIDE OUR DECISIONS, WE CAN ENSURE THAT EVERY DOLLAR IS SPENT, BRINGS MEANINGFUL IMPROVEMENTS TO RESIDENTS ACROSS ENTIRE COUNTY.

UM, I DO WANNA NOTE THAT, LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WOULD MAKE ME FEEL ALSO BETTER IS THAT, UH, SORT OF AN OUTLOOK, RIGHT? TO LOOK AT THE EMERGENCY ROAD, UH, PRIORITIZATION TOOL, SORT OF AS A, LIKE, A BASIS, BASELINE TO BEGIN TO LOOK AT THE REST OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE NEEDS.

SO AGAIN, I WANNA THANK YOU, YOUR STAFF, MATT MACHADO, STEVE WIESNER, ALL THE WORK THAT YOU GUYS DO, AND I WILL BE SUPPORTING THE MOTION.

- UM, WELL, UM, I'LL OFFER A SUBSTITUTE MOTION AND THEN I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO GIVE OUR CEO AN OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT.

THE SUBSTITUTE MOTION IS TO MOVE THE RECOMMENDED ACTIONS WITH THE ADDITIONAL DIRECTION TO REDUCE NET COUNTY CONTRIBUTIONS FOR ALL DEPARTMENTS, EXCEPT THE HEALTH SERVICES AGENCY SINCE AS WAS POINTED OUT, WE DID JUST HAVE EXTENSIVE DISCUSSIONS AROUND TRYING TO SAVE A DOLLAR HERE AND THERE ON THAT BY ONE HALF OF 1% IN ORDER TO GENERATE THE SAVINGS NEEDED TO CREATE A $1 MILLION CULVERT REPAIR FUND.

AND I WOULD JUST BRIEFLY OFFER THE COMMENT, OF COURSE, IT'S DIFFICULT TO- TO SUGGEST CUTS TO ANY DEPARTMENT.

WE NEVER WANT TO DO THAT.

UM, THIS IS, I MEAN, HALF OF 1%, REALLY JUST A BELT TIGHTENING.

AND THE- THE SITUATION TO AVOID HERE IS HAVING TO GO BACK IN THE FACE OF DISASTER AND CUT BY 5%, 10%, BECAUSE, ALL OF A SUDDEN, OUR LIABILITIES HAVE QUADRUPLED BECAUSE OF THE LAWSUITS COMING IN, BECAUSE PEOPLE CAN'T ACCESS THEIR HOME, BECAUSE WE KNEW ABOUT THE DANGEROUS CONDITION OF ROADS FOR DECADES AND DIDN'T TAKE ACTION.

I MEAN, THIS IS A RISK AND THIS IS JUST ONE VERY SMALL WAY TO BEGIN TO ADDRESS IT.

SO WITHOUT, I MEAN, IT'S OF COURSE, WITH THE CHAIR'S DISCRETION BUT LOVE TO HEAR CEO PALACIOS'S COMMENTS, TOO.

- WELL, WE- WE NEED TO GET A SECOND.

- SURE. SURE.

- WE NEED FIRST TO GET A SECOND.

IF THERE IS ONE.

- WELL, I'LL OFFER SOME COMMENTS, I GUESS, IF THERE'S NO SECOND.

- UM, IF THERE'S NO SECOND, THE MOTION DIES. - RIGHT.

- AND WE GO BACK TO THE ORIGINAL MOTION.

- OKAY, WE GO BACK TO THE ORIGINAL MOTION AND I'LL OFFER THE COMMENTS REGARDLESS.

UM, SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT SUPERVISOR MARTINEZ HAD MENTIONED TO JUST KIND OF DO, UH, PREPARE SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE FOR OUR CULVERTS FOR US TO LOOK AT AND, YOU KNOW, BE PART OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS.

BUT ALSO I THINK THAT IF THERE IS ANY SORT OF RESTORATION OR HABITAT RESTORATION THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE ALONG ANY CULVERT, YOU KNOW, THAT COULD BE A DIFFERENT FUNDING SOURCE TO MEASURE Q AT SOME- IN THE FUTURE, AT SOME POINT.

AND I THINK THAT MIGHT OFFSET THAT HALF PERCENT AT SOME POINT AFTER SEVERAL YEARS, OF COURSE, OBVIOUSLY.

UM, BUT, YEAH.

- CAN I ASK A POINT OF ORDER? SO IS THE MOTION DEAD YET? CAUSE I DON'T WANT TO SECOND THE MOTION UNTIL I HEAR WHAT IDEA- - THE SUBSTITUTE MOTION IS DEAD. - IT IS.

- AND WE'RE BACK TO THE ORIGINAL MOTION, WHICH HAS BEEN SECONDED.

- OKAY. AND THEN...

- WHICH WAS YOUR MOTION, SECONDED BY SUPERVISOR CUMMINGS.

- OKAY, GREAT.

SO CAN WE HEAR FROM CEO PALACIOS? - IN REGARDS TO THE MOTION THAT DIED? - NO, I THINK HE HAD SOME COMMENTS ON THE PROPOSAL.

- YEAH, I WAS JUST, UH, I WANTED TO MAKE SURE AND ADD THAT AT THIS POINT, I KNOW, UM, AND PUBLIC WORKS DOES THEIR PRESENTATIONS, THEY TRADITIONALLY SHOW THIS UNMET NEED THAT'S IN THE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS.

AND, OF COURSE WE KNOW THERE'S NEED EVERY TIME YOU DRIVE AROUND.

BUT LET ME TELL YOU, I CONDUCT BUDGET HEARINGS WITH EVERY DEPARTMENT IN THIS COUNTY AND THEY CAN PROVIDE EQUALLY, UH, CONVINCING DATA ABOUT HOW UNDERFUNDED THEY ARE.

IF YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, WE TALKED ABOUT HOW MUCH WE'RE CUTTING AND WE'RE- BUT IF THEY TALK ABOUT THE UNMET NEED IN BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, THEY CAN PROVIDE AMAZING DATA ABOUT HOW MUCH WE'RE NOT DOING.

PUBLIC DEFENDER, YOU HAVE THE PUBLIC DEFENDER UP HERE AND SHOW YOU HOW MUCH NEED IS NOT BEING MET WITH THE BUDGET SHE HAS TODAY.

IT'S GONNA BE IN THE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.

THE SHERIFF, THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY, I MEAN, WE CAN GET EVERY DEPARTMENT AND THEY COULD- BUT MAYBE I'LL HAVE THEM DO, I'LL DO THAT.

CAUSE THESE GUYS LIKE TO DO THAT. AND I GET IT.

THEY SHOW THIS CHART.

OH MY GOD, WE HAVE A HUNDRED BILLION DOLLARS OF NEED.

AND I GET IT.

IT'S REAL, BUT WE HAVE NEEDS ACROSS THIS COUNTY AND THEY'RE VERY COMPELLING NEEDS.

AND I HEAR THEM AND I SAY NO TO THEM.

I TELL THE PUBLIC DEFENDER, NO, I TELL THE SHERIFF, NO.

[02:25:01]

AND THEY ALL- BECAUSE OF THE YEAR WE'RE IN, THEY ALL BASICALLY WITHDREW THEIR REQUESTS, BECAUSE WE'RE IN FOR A TOUGH YEAR.

AND SO, THIS WAS NOT THE YEAR TO ADD NEW SHERIFF DEPUTIES, NEW PUBLIC DEFENDERS, NEW DISTRICT ATTORNEY, NEW, YOU KNOW, THIS WAS NOT THE YEAR AND EVERYBODY WITHDREW.

SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE AS WE GET, YOU KNOW, AND WE'RE HAVING THIS DISCUSSION THAT WE KEEP IN MIND ALL THE OTHER NEEDS THAT WE'RE FUNDING AS A COUNTY AND ALL THE OTHER MANDATES WE HAVE TOO, BECAUSE REMEMBER WE'RE MANDATED TO PROVIDE PUBLIC DEFENDER SERVICES.

WE'RE MANDATED TO PROVIDE A DISTRICT ATTORNEY.

WE'RE MANDATED WITH THE SHERIFF.

AND THEY ALL HAVE NEEDS AND THEY'RE- THEY'RE STRUGGLING AS WELL.

SO I JUST WANTED TO MAKE THAT POINT THAT WE KEEP THE WHOLE PICTURE IN VIEW.

- I MEAN, THE QUESTION THEN BECOMES ARE WE MANDATED TO PROVIDE ROAD ACCESS TO SOMEONE'S PROPERTY IF THEY'RE PAYING US PROPERTY TAXES? - WELL, YOU GET- YEAH, I MEAN, THERE'S A NEED FOR THAT TOO.

THERE'S ABSOLUTELY A NEED FOR- FOR ROADS.

AND WE'VE SPENT, YOU KNOW, WE SPENT $350 MILLION IN THE LAST SEVEN YEARS ON ROADS AND WE INCURRED $91 MILLION NOT ON BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, ON ROADS THAT WE TOOK DEBT ON, YOU KNOW? AND SO ANYWAY, I JUST MAKE THAT POINT, BUT ABSOLUTELY, I AGREE.

IT'S A ROAD AND THAT'S WHY I PUT, YOU KNOW, THE $4 MILLION AND $2 MILLION IN THE, IN THE BUDGET THIS YEAR, FOR ROADS.

AND- AND I WAS TOLD THAT WE WERE NOT GONNA IMPACT THE PROJECTS BECAUSE PART OF THE PROJECTS WAS THIS CAPITOLA CULVERT AND THAT WE WERE GONNA COME UP- WE WEREN'T GONNA IMPACT IT.

IT'S STILL GONNA MOVE FORWARD AS IS.

- THANK YOU. SO, AS LONG AS I WAS TALKING ABOUT FUTURE OUTLOOK, YOU KNOW, I THINK AT SOME POINT WE COULD EVEN LOOK AT A FUTURE SALES TAX MEASURE LOOKING AT BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ROADS AND MAYBE A LITTLE BIT FROM THE PUBLIC DEFENDER'S OFFICE.

ALL RIGHT.

IF THERE'S NO FURTHER COMMENT, WE'LL TAKE A ROLL CALL VOTE.

MOTION PASSES WITH ONE DISSENTING VOTE FROM SUPERVISOR KOENIG.

[9. Hold a public hearing and adopt resolution amending the Unified Fee Schedule for Fiscal Year 2025-26]

NEXT, WE'LL MOVE TO ITEM NUMBER NINE ON THE AGENDA, HOLD THE PUBLIC HEARING AND ADOPT THE RESOLUTION AMENDING A UNITED FEE SCHEDULE FOR FISCAL YEAR 2025-2026.

I'LL TURN IT OVER TO MARCUS PIMENTEL, COUNTY BUDGET MANAGER AND GINA DE MARTINI-KUHNS, SENIOR ADMIN ANALYST FOR THE PRESENTATION.

GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR HERNANDEZ AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.

UH, MY NAME IS GINA DE MARTINI-KUHNS, I'M A SENIOR ADMINISTRATIVE ANALYST FROM THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE OFFICE AND JOINING ME TODAY IS MARCUS PIMENTEL, THE COUNTY BUDGET MANAGER.

TWICE EACH YEAR IN JUNE AND DECEMBER, THE BOARD ADOPTS AMENDMENTS TO THE UNIFIED FEE SCHEDULE.

ON FEBRUARY 25TH, 2025, THE BOARD SET A PUBLIC HEARING FOR TODAY FOR THE LATEST PROPOSED AMENDMENTS.

THERE ARE REVISIONS FROM THE FOLLOWING DEPARTMENTS.

THE AGRICULTURAL COMMISSIONER, UM, THE AGRICULTURAL COMMISSIONER, AUDITOR CONTROLLER, TREASURER, TAX COLLECTOR, CANNABIS LICENSING OFFICE, GENERAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT, ASSESSOR'S OFFICE, THE HEALTH SERVICES AGENCY, HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT, INFORMATION SERVICES, PARKS, UM, OPEN SPACE AND CULTURAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT, SANITATION DISTRICT COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, AND STORMWATER MANAGEMENT COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, BOTH OF WHICH ARE WITHIN THE COMMUNITY INFRASTRUCTURE DEPARTMENT PUBLIC WORKS DIVISION AND THE SHERIFF CORONER.

REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE DEPARTMENT ARE AVAILABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU, AND THIS INCLUDES OUR STAFF PRESENTATION.

- THANK YOU. I WILL NOW OPEN THIS PUBLIC HEARING AND SEE IF THERE'S ANYONE THAT WISHES TO SPEAK TO THIS ITEM.

- THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY.

MY NAME IS TOM BROSE, AND I JUST WANTED TO, UM, I'M REPRESENTING THE SANTA CRUZ, UH, FARMERS MARKET ASSOCIATION HERE TODAY.

AND WE ARE JUST IN THE SAME PROCESS OF LOOKING AT OUR BUDGET.

AND, UM, WE'RE SEEING THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF COSTS INCURRING RIGHT NOW WITH THE TRANSITION OF OUR DOWNTOWN FARMER'S MARKET.

AND WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT ONE PERMIT THAT I THINK IS DUPLICATE AND NEEDS TO BE- WE REQUEST THAT BE ELIMINATED, AND THAT'S THE EVENT ORGANIZER PERMIT.

RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE THE FARMER'S MARKET PERMIT THAT WE PAY FOR ANNUALLY AND AS WELL AS THE AGRICULTURAL PERMIT,

[02:30:01]

BUT THE EVENT ORGANIZER PERMIT THAT WAS ADDED IN 2019, UM, AND THIS BOARD ACTUALLY SUPPORTED THE FARMER'S MARKET, AND, UM, ALLOWED A 50% DISCOUNT ON THAT ONE.

BUT THE PRICE- THE FEE HAS GONE UP AND IT'S REALLY NOT ADDING ANY, UM, VALUE AS FAR AS INSPECTION'S OVERSIGHT.

AND WE REQUEST THAT, AT THIS POINT, IT'D BE MORE CONSISTENT WITH WHAT OTHER COUNTIES DO.

AND, UM, WE JUST LIKE TO SEE THAT THE EVENT PERMIT IS, UM, IS ELIMINATED FROM, UM, BEING APPLIED TO THE SANTA CRUZ FARMER'S MARKET OR ANY FARMER'S MARKET IN THIS COUNTY.

UM, WE'VE OPERATED FOR 35 YEARS, UM, FIVE FARMER'S MARKETS, AND REALLY AN INSTITUTION THAT PROVIDES FOOD FOR THE COMMUNITY AND EDUCATION, ET CETERA.

AND IT'S THE EVENT, UM, CONCEPT IS REALLY, REALLY NOT APPLICABLE UH, WE FEEL TO THE FARMER'S MARKET.

UM, SO WITH THAT, I FEEL IF WE COULD AMEND THIS, OR REQUEST THIS BODY TO, UM, ELIMINATE THE EVENT PERMIT, THAT'D BE GREAT. THANK YOU.

- ANYONE ONLINE? - I SEE NO SPEAKERS ONLINE, CHAIR.

- I'LL BRING IT BACK TO THE BOARD.

SUPERVISOR CUMMINGS? - YEAH, I'VE BEEN...

MY OFFICE HAS BEEN CONTACTED A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, AND THEN RECENTLY REGARDING THE, UM, FARMER'S MARKET.

AND, UM, THE ONE THING THAT, UM, I JUST WANNA TOUCH BASE ON IS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE- BACK IN 2019, THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, YOU KNOW, UM, TOOK ACTION TO HELP REDUCE THE FINANCIAL BURDEN ON FARMER'S MARKETS.

UH, SPECIFICALLY THE RESOLUTION THEY PASSED BACK THEN AMENDED THE COUNTY'S UNIFIED FEE SCHEDULE TO SET THE YEAR ROUND SPECIFIC SPECIAL EVENTS ORGANIZERS.

SO, THE TEMPORARY FOOD FACILITY FEE FOR CERTIFIED FARMER'S MARKETS AT $190.

UM, AND ALTHOUGH THE BOARD HASN'T TAKEN SUBSEQUENT ACTION TO RESCIND THAT DIRECTION, UM, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH HAS BEGUN TO APPLY BOTH THE CERTIFIED FARMER'S MARKET FEES AND THE SPECIAL EVENT TEMPORARY FOOD FACILITY FEES TO ALL FARMER'S MARKET LOCATIONS.

AND AS A RESULT, THESE FEES, UM, THEY'RE CHARGED TO THE SANTA CRUZ COMMUNITY FARMER'S MARKET ASSOCIATION HAVE INCREASED FROM AROUND 1,900 PER YEAR TO ALMOST 8,000 PER YEAR.

AND SO, UM, IN TRYING TO HELP SUPPORT THE FARMERS, UM, OR THE FARMER'S MARKET, UM, I'D LIKE TO RECOMMEND THAT WE ADOPT THE, UH, RECOMMENDED ACTIONS, BUT ALSO APPLY THE, UH, TEMPORARY FOOD FACILITIES ANNUAL FEE ONLY TO THE FARMER'S MARKET OPERATORS RATHER THAN CHARGING FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL MARKET LOCATION.

AND SO, THIS WOULD CHARGE THE ASSOCIATION TWICE, UM, AND FOR THE OPERATORS, BUT RATHER THAN CHARGING THEM FOR EVERY SINGLE INDIVIDUAL LOCATION WHERE THEY OPERATE AT.

AND THEN ALSO, I WOULD LIKE TO RECOMMEND THAT SHOULD THE BOARD WANT TO MOVE IN THAT DIRECTION, THAT ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH WORKS WITH THE FARMER'S MARKET ASSOCIATION TO COME UP WITH A REASONABLE FEE SCHEDULE.

WHEN WE LOOK AT SOME OF THE OTHER JURISDICTIONS, SANTA CRUZ IS WAY OUT OF MARKET IN TERMS OF HOW MUCH WE CHARGE.

WE CHARGE WAY MORE THAN MANY OTHER COMMUNITIES LIKE SAN LUIS OBISPO AND MONTEREY COUNTY.

AND I THINK HAVING THE STAFF WORK WITH THE FARMERS MARKET ASSOCIATION TO COME UP WITH A REASONABLE FEE SCHEDULE, UM, I THINK WILL MAKE A LOT OF SENSE.

AND SO, UM, I'D- I'D MOVE THAT WE ADOPT THE 25-26 UNIFIED FEE SCHEDULE, UM, WITH THE ADDITIONAL DIRECTION TO APPLY THE TEMPORARY FOOD FACILITIES ANNUAL FEE ONLY TO FARMER'S MARKET OPERATORS RATHER THAN CHARGING FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL MARKET LOCATION.

- SECOND.

UM, IF IT'S ALL RIGHT WITH THE CHAIR.

YEAH, I MEAN, I HAVE LOOKED INTO THIS ISSUE A FAIR AMOUNT AS WELL.

UM, AND SO LIKE THE, YOU KNOW, OUR ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH STAFF DO AN AUDIT BASICALLY, UH, THAT, UH, PRACTICES ARE BEING CORRECTLY FOLLOWED AT, UH, TEMPORARY FOOD FACILITIES.

AND, UM, WHAT STRUCK ME AS KIND OF NOT APPLICABLE OR IN THE FARMER'S MARKET TO BE DOING THAT TWICE A YEAR WITH EVERY LOCATION IS THAT IT'S THE SAME OPERATOR.

THEY'RE SETTING UP THE SAME WAY IN EACH LOCATION, FOLLOWING THE SAME PROCEDURES, HAVE MUCH OF THE SAME STAFF.

AND SO IT REALLY IS SORT OF A REDUNDANT FEE.

UM, AND I THINK THAT OUR STAFF COULD WORK OUT A LITTLE BIT MORE STREAMLINED INSPECTION SCHEDULE WHERE RATHER THAN LOOKING AT EVERY MARKET TWICE A YEAR, THEY COULD LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, TWO MARKETS, TWO OUT OF THE FIVE MARKETS EVERY YEAR.

AND, YOU KNOW, YOU NEVER KNOW WHICH ONE IT'S GONNA BE, BUT ULTIMATELY, YOU'RE STILL GETTING TO THE SAME, UH, CORE ISSUE WHICH IS HOW IS THIS OPERATOR, UM, OPERATING, YOU KNOW, A- A MARKET WHERE- WHEREVER IT MIGHT BE.

- SO, YOU KNOW, NOW THAT IT'S IN DISCUSSION, UM, I THINK MY ONLY, UH, KIND OF, I DON'T KNOW, IRK OR, ISSUE IS THAT IF YOU'RE RUNNING FIVE OR SIX, UH, FARMER'S MARKET

[02:35:08]

AND PAYING ONE FEE, IT'S KIND OF INEQUITABLE TO THE PERSON THAT'S ONLY RUNNING ONE FARMER'S MARKET AND IS PAYING THE SAME AMOUNT BUT NOT AS PROFITABLE BECAUSE IT'LL HAVE FIVE OPERATIONS.

UH, HOW WOULD YOU ADDRESS THAT? - CAN I HAVE STAFF COME UP AND ADRESS THAT? - YES.

- UH, HELLO. OKAY.

SO, UH, FOR THE RECORD, INTERIM HEALTH SERVICES AGENCY DIRECTOR, JEN HERRERA.

AND I WILL JUST ACTUALLY TURN IT DIRECTLY TO OUR ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH DIRECTOR, ANDY STRADER, FOR THESE QUESTIONS.

- UH, GOOD EVENING, BOARD, UH, ANDREW STRADER, DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH.

SO I- I DID WANT TO CLARIFY A FEW THINGS.

UH, FIRST OF ALL, THE MODEL THAT WE DO UTILIZE WITH THE, UH, PERMITTING FOR BOTH THE CERTIFIED FARMER'S MARKET AND THE EVENT ORGANIZER PERMIT, UH, ARE PRESCRIBED BY, UH, STATE LAW.

AND THAT IS THE NORMAL, OR THE MAJORITY WAY IT'S DONE IN VIRTUALLY EVERY COUNTY.

MONTEREY COUNTY DOES DO SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT, UH, SCENARIO, ALTHOUGH THEY DO, UH, STILL KIND OF OVERSEE BOTH, ALTHOUGH THEY, UH, ACTUALLY TECHNICALLY DO A LOT OF THEIR INSPECTIONS FOR THE CERTIFIED FARMER'S MARKET THROUGH THEIR AG COMMISSIONER AND NOT THROUGH THEIR ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH OFFICE.

UH, OUR- OUR REVIEWS WITH REGARDS TO OTHER COUNTIES ARE, UH, THAT OUR FEES ARE, UH, IN LINE WITH, GENERALLY SPEAKING, ALL THE COUNTIES IN THE LOCAL AREA.

UH, I'LL SPEAK BRIEFLY WITH MONTEREY, ABOUT MONTEREY COUNTY, 'CAUSE I KNOW THAT ONE'S A COMPARISON THAT'S BROUGHT UP WITH THIS ISSUE.

THE, UH, FEE FOR MONTEREY COUNTY FISCAL YEAR 25-26 IS, UH, THEY DO ONLY CHARGE ONE PERMIT FEE.

IT IS $1,433.

IF YOU ADD OUR TWO PERMIT FEES THAT ARE IN OUR PROPOSAL FOR 25-26, IT COMES TO 1,490.

THAT'S ONLY A $57 DIFFERENCE.

UH, SO, UH, EVEN A MODEL LIKE MONTEREY'S THAT ONLY HAS ONE PERMIT, IT'S PRETTY MUCH COMPARABLE, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU CONSIDER THAT THEIR STAFF EXPENSES ARE SLIGHTLY BELOW OURS.

UH, IT'S STATISTICALLY IRRELEVANT.

SO, UH, I DON'T FEEL THAT OUR FEES ARE OUT OF WHACK, BUT IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO REALIZE THAT THESE ARE TWO DIFFERENT DISTINCT PERMITS.

AND THE REASON WHY MOST COUNTIES DO IT THE WAY THAT WE DO IT, AS OPPOSED TO THE WAY MONTEREY COUNTY DOES IT, IS IF THERE'S A CONDITION OR A CIRCUMSTANCE WHERE WE NEED TO SUSPEND OR REVOKE A PERMIT, WE WOULD ONLY BE REVOKING IT- THAT PERMIT FOR THE PORTION OF THE, UH, EVENT THAT'S, UH, IN- IN QUESTION AND AS OPPOSED TO CLOSING THE ENTIRE THING DOWN.

UH, SO THAT'S A MORE EQUITABLE AND FAIR WAY OF DOING IT BECAUSE, OTHERWISE, YOU HAVE TO CLOSE THE ENTIRE EVENT DOWN BOTH THE CFM AND THE, UH, SPECIAL EVENT THAT'S ADJACENT TO IT.

AGAIN, THOSE ARE DISTINCT PERMITS UNDER STATE LAW.

WE WOULD STILL HAVE TO ISSUE PERMITS FOR BOTH, UH, IF WE'RE FOLLOWING THE LAW, UH, AND, AND DO THE INSPECTIONS.

NOW THE BOARD IS ALLOWED TO, UH, PROVIDE SUBSIDY FOR ANY, UH, TYPE OF FOOD BUSINESS.

UH, YOU KNOW, THE ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT FEELS THAT THIS, UH, PARTICULAR, UM, SITUATION DOESN'T- UM... IS NOT MAYBE THE BEST WAY TO- TO PROVIDE SUBSIDIES FOR THE COMMUNITY.

UH, THE, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, YES, THEY'RE A NONPROFIT, UH, UH, BUT THAT'S VERY SIMILAR TO OUR SAME BUSINESS MODEL.

WE ARE A NONPROFIT AS WELL, AND, UH, IT-IT SENDS A- IT DOESN'T SEND THE BEST MESSAGE IF WE'RE GOING TO, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, SUBSIDIZE OR REDUCE THE FEE FOR, UH, THESE ORGANIZATIONS IN COMPARISON TO A LOT OF THE OTHER TYPES OF FOOD BUSINESSES THAT WE DO HAVE.

FOOD BUSINESSES IS A TOUGH BUSINESS TO-TO, UH, TO RUN.

THERE'S A HIGH FAILURE RATE ACROSS ALL TYPES OF PERMITS.

AND, UH, UH, IF WE'RE TO ABSORB THAT COST, UH, BASICALLY, IT FALLS ON THE OTHER PERMIT HOLDERS TO, UH, TO COVER THAT.

SO, UH, IF THE BOARD WISHES TO PROVIDE A SUBSIDY, UH, YOU KNOW, I WOULD SUGGEST, UM, UH, SOMETHING TO COVER THOSE EXPENSES AS WE WOULD HAVE TO CONTINUE WITH THOSE EXPENSES UNDER THE STATE LAW REQUIREMENTS.

AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER, UH ASK ANY OTHER QUESTIONS IF YOU HAVE.

[02:40:02]

- JUST IF YOU COULD, UM, IF YOU COULD PROVIDE INFORMATION ON THE AMOUNT OF MONEY, JUST SO THE BOARD IS AWARE, IF- IF THE BOARD WERE TO SUBSIDIZE, LET'S SAY ALL FARMERS' MARKETS TO BE EQUAL ACROSS THE COUNTY, HOW MUCH WOULD IT BE? - IT, WELL, IT DEPENDS ON WHAT YOU SET THE-THE RATE AT, UH, IF WE HAVE NINE FARMERS' MARKETS, UH, FIVE ARE OWNED BY THE SAME ORGANIZATIONS, UH, SANTA CRUZ COMMUNITY FARMERS MARKETS, AND THE OTHER FOUR ARE INDEPENDENT.

UH, I WAS THINKING THAT A COUPLE OF THEM WERE HAD- ALSO HAD DUAL OWNERSHIP, BUT THEY JUST HAVE SIMILAR NAMES, AND THEY'RE NOT ACTUALLY OWNED BY THE SAME ORGANIZATION.

SO, FOR OUR INDIVIDUAL MARKETS, AND ONE IS OWNED BY, UH, ONE, FIVE OWNED BY- BY ONE.

SO IF, FOR EXAMPLE, WE SET THE FEE AT 50% LIKE WE DID WITH THE 2019 RESOLUTION, UH, FOR THE EVENT ORGANIZER PERMIT FEE, THE EVENT ORGANIZER PERMIT FEE IS PROPOSED AT 549.

SO THAT'S, YOU KNOW, ROUGHLY 225, UH, OR 275 IF I DO THE MATH RIGHT.

SO YOU WOULD HAVE A SAVINGS OF ABOUT 275 TIMES NINE, WHATEVER THAT COMES OUT TO BE.

SO, YEAH, WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT A LOT OF MONEY HERE.

UH, IT'S MORE OF AN OBJECTION BASED ON PRINCIPLE.

- SO THAT'D BE 27, IT'D BE LIKE $2,500 OR SOMETHING.

- JUST A QUICK QUESTION.

SO YOU'RE SAYING YOU CANNOT ACTUALLY ADJUST THE INSPECTION SCHEDULE IN LINE WITH THE FEE? - WELL, I MEAN, EACH MARKET IS INDIVIDUAL, UH, AND EACH LOCATION IS INDIVIDUAL.

SO THE ORGANIZER OR THE MANAGER MIGHT BE THE SAME, BUT THE CFM FOLKS ARE DIFFERENT EACH TIME.

AND THE CFM CERTIFIED FARMER'S MARKET, I SHOULD SAY, IS ONE UMBRELLA PERMIT OVER ALL OF THOSE CERTIFIED FARMERS.

SO, THOSE CERTIFIED FARMERS ALREADY IN THE STATE LAW RECEIVE A SUBSIDY, UH, FOR ONE PERMIT FEE FOR HOWEVER MANY, UNLIMITED AMOUNT OF FARMERS, CERTIFIED FARMERS THAT THEY CAN HAVE IN THEIR MARKET.

FOR EXAMPLE, DOWNTOWN SANTA CRUZ, I THINK LAST I COUNT, WE HAD ABOUT 40 CERTIFIED FARMERS- FARMERS PARTICIPATING THERE ON OUR LIST.

UH, IF WE WERE TO CHARGE THEM INDIVIDUAL, UH, PERMIT FEES FOR SELLING THEIR PRODUCE LIKE OTHER PRODUCE VENDORS, IT WOULD PROBABLY BE- AMOUNT TO SOMEWHERE IN AROUND- AROUND $20,000, GIVE OR TAKE.

UH, SO THAT'S ALREADY AN EX- A SUBSTANTIAL SUBSIDY.

- CHAIR, FOR THE...

- JUST A QUICK QUESTION.

DOES THE- DO THE FEES COVER THE COST AS IS TODAY? - I, I HOPE SO, BUT I DON'T HAVE THE EXACT NUMBERS FOR SURE.

SO WHAT HAPPENED WAS WHEN WE DID THE LAST FEE STUDY, OF COURSE, WE HAD THE PANDEMIC, WHICH DID DISRUPT THINGS.

SO WE DID THE FEE STUDY BASED ON THE YEARS PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC.

UH, AT THAT TIME, UH, AND THIS WAS THE PERIOD JUST BEFORE THE RESOLUTION IN 2019.

SO IT WAS 2017, '17, '18, AND '19.

UH, IT CAME OUT WITH A CERTAIN NUMBER, 202 MINUTES PER LOCATION.

UH, BUT THAT DATA WAS-WAS A LITTLE BIT OFF BECAUSE, UM, THE PERMITTING FOR AN EVENT ORGANIZER, WHICH IS NOT- DID NOT START IN 2019, IT STARTED PROBABLY 10 YEARS EARLIER THAN THAT.

AND THE SANTA CRUZ COMMUNITY FARMERS MARKET DID NOT HAVE A PERMIT FOR THAT TIME, SO WE DIDN'T HAVE THE ABILITY TO TRACK TIME AGAINST THAT.

SO IT WAS A LITTLE BIT SKEWED, BUT WHEN WE CAME UP WITH THOSE NUMBERS OR 202 NUMBERS, IT DID 202 MINUTES, IT CAME OUT TO- WITHOUT ANY EXTRA OVERHEAD FEE, BY THE WAY, IT CAME OUT TO SOME, UM, $750 ROUGHLY.

WE THOUGHT THAT THAT WAS TOO HIGH.

WHEN WE LOOK AT ALL THE PERMIT FEES THAT WE CHARGE ACROSS ALL THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF FOOD FACILITIES, IT DID- THAT SEEMED UNREASONABLE FOR THIS TYPE OF BUSINESS.

SO WE PRO- WE- WE LOWERED THAT BACK DOWN TO 508, AND THAT ALSO MATCHED WITH OTHER TYPES OF EVENT ORGANIZERS THAT CAME IN ACTUALLY HIGHER THAN THEM.

UH, WE ALSO, UH, LOWERED THAT DOWN TO 508.

SO WE DIDN'T EVEN CHARGE OR SET THE PERMIT FEE AT WHAT THE FEE STUDY, UH, INDICATED AT THAT TIME.

WE'LL PLAN ON DOING ANOTHER FEE STUDY IN A COUPLE OF YEARS.

WE'LL HOPEFULLY HAVE BETTER DATA BECAUSE NOW WE'RE BACK FULLY STAFFED, IT'S POST PANDEMIC, ET CETERA.

AND WE'LL BE HAPPY TO ADJUST THE FEES JUST LIKE IN 2022, SOME FEES WERE LOWERED BASED ON THE FEE STUDY IN CERTAIN CATEGORIES AND SOME WERE NOT.

AND THAT IS IN- IN PART, TO HELP BALANCE AND MEET OUR OBLIGATIONS UNDER PROP 26.

UH, SO THAT, UH, SO THAT BASICALLY PEOPLE DO RECEIVE, UM, SERVICES FOR THE FEES THAT THEY- THEY PAY.

- AND WHEN DO YOU EXPECT THAT FEE STUDY TO BE DONE? - WELL, OUR GOAL IS TO DO THEM APPROXIMATELY EVERY FIVE YEARS.

[02:45:03]

SO WE DID ONE IN ADVANCE OF THE 22-23 FISCAL YEAR.

UH, SO WHAT THAT 27-28 FISCAL YEAR, I GUESS, WOULD BE IN ADVANCE OF THAT.

- SO HOW- HOW WILL WE, YOU KNOW, ADDRESS THOSE FOUR INDEPENDENT FARMER'S MARKETS? UM, 'CAUSE YOU KNOW, IT'S FOUR PAYMENTS AND- AND IF...

'CAUSE WOULD- WOULD THEY BE ABLE TO GET ONE APPLICANT, AND ALL FOUR JUST RUN THE WAY THEY RUN AND GET ONE APPLICANT TO GET SUBSIDIZED IF WE WANTED TO DO THAT? - WELL, YEAH, FOR THOSE FOUR OR IF ANYONE NEW CAME ON BOARD, THE PROPOSAL OF- OF -OF CHARGING, OF NOT CHARGING FEES FOR EXTRA MEANS THAT A NEW- NEW MARKET OPERATOR WOULD HAVE TO OPEN TWO AND IT'S HARD ENOUGH TO OPEN ONE.

UH, BUT THOSE FOUR WOULDN'T GET ANY BENEFIT.

IF I WAS RECOMMENDING TO THE BOARD ON A- A, ON A, ON A SUBSIDY TYPE OF SI- SITUATION, I WOULD SAY, RETURN TO, UH, SOMETHING ALONG THE LINES OF WHAT WAS 2019, WHICH WAS JUST A LOWER RATE FOR ALL BECAUSE THEN IT APPLIES TO EVERYONE EQUALLY AND YOU DON'T HAVE A FAVORITISM, OR, UH, UNFAIR BUSINESS PRACTICE TYPE SITUATION CREATED.

- BUT IT'S STILL THERE JUST AT A LOWER RATE. RIGHT? - RIGHT. - OKAY. [CHUCKLES] SUPERVISOR CUMMINGS, YOU HAD A COMMENT, QUESTION? - YOU KNOW, I DID HAVE ONE-ONE THING THAT I LEARNED THROUGH THIS PROCESS WAS THAT THIS, UM, YOU KNOW, SPECIAL EVENT PERMIT FOR THE TEMPORARY FOOD FACILITIES, LIKE THESE ARE FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE SELLING PRE-MADE KIND OF FOOD OR-OR FOOD THAT THEY'RE MAKING ON SITE, AND THEY ALREADY HAVE TO GO AND GET A SEPARATE PERMIT FROM THE COUNTY, IN ADDITION TO PAYING TO BE ABLE TO OPERATE AT THE FARMER'S MARKET.

I THINK, TO YOUR POINT AROUND EQUITY, I MEAN, IF YOU WERE TO OPERATE THAT SAME BOOTH AT MULTIPLE, UM, FARMER'S MARKET SITES, EVEN IN THE SAME ASSOCIATION, YOU'D BE CHARGED THAT FEE AT EACH OF THOSE DIFFERENT SITES.

JUST THE IDEA HERE IS BEING THAT THEY'RE ALREADY PAYING ONE PERMIT FEE, THIS IS ANOTHER PERMIT FEE THAT- FROM THE FARMER'S MARKET, AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT THEY'VE REACHED OUT TO US ABOUT WOULD REALLY HELP THEM.

AND WHEN WE LOOK AT THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS, $2,700 IS NOT THAT BIG OF A- THAT'S NOT A WHOLE LOT OF MONEY IN TERMS OF THE IMPACT TO THE COUNTY.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, MY RECOMMENDATION HERE IS THIS IS SOMETHING IN RESPONSE TO THE COMMUNITY THAT WE'RE HEARING FROM THE FARMER'S MARKET FOLKS.

THE OTHER PART OF THIS IS TO HAVE STAFF WORKING WITH THEM TO COME UP WITH A BETTER FEE SCHEDULE.

AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK IN THE COURSE OF A YEAR WHEN THIS COMES BACK TO US AGAIN AT NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET, WE'LL BE ABLE TO LEARN MORE AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS THAT HOPEFULLY BENEFIT BOTH COUNTY STAFF AND THE FARMER'S MARKETS.

BUT THIS IS REALLY, YOU KNOW, IN RESPONSE TO THE-THE FARMER'S MARKET FOLKS WHO'VE- WHO'VE SEEN THE- WHO SEE THIS AS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO REALLY PROVIDE THEM WITH SUPPORT DURING A REALLY CHALLENGING TIME.

- I WOULD JUST SAY, I GUESS FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, I AM, I'M LEARNING ABOUT THIS FOR THE FIRST TIME, THIS IS NEW.

UM, AND I DIDN'T GET A LOT OF INFORMATION ABOUT THIS PRIOR TO TODAY.

UM, AND SO IT FEELS LIKE THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR A GREATER POLICY DISCUSSION, UM, AND A DECISION ABOUT HOW OUR COUNTY PROCEEDS WITH FEES IN A, IN AN EQUITABLE WAY, RATHER THAN KIND OF A BAND AID APPROACH TO FIXING A SINGLE ISSUE.

SO, I WOULD PERSONALLY PREFER TO DEFER THIS CONVERSATION TO A-A DIFFERENT PLACE FOR, YOU KNOW, A-A-A POLICY APPROACH TOWARDS EVENT FEES AND THESE, YOU KNOW, THESE OTHER LICENSING FEES AND WHATNOT.

SO, UM, THAT-THAT'S MY POSITION.

I, I APPRECIATE THE CONVERSATION BUT, UM, WITHOUT HAVING MORE INFORMATION, I, I DON'T FEEL LIKE I CAN SUPPORT A CHANGE THAT FEELS KIND OF SPECIALIZED WITHOUT A GREATER SOLUTION.

- JUST MOTION WE CAN...

- SO YOU HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND? - YES. YEP.

- AND JUST TO MAKE SURE WE GOT TO UNDERSTAND THE MOTION AGAIN.

IF YOU COULD REPEAT IT, WHICH A MOTION WAS, AND THEN THAT WAY WE CAN MAKE SURE ABOUT THE FISCAL ESTIMATE AS WELL.

- SURE. SO THE MOTION WOULD BE TO ADOPT THE 2025-26 UNIFIED FEE SCHEDULE WITH THE FOLLOWING ADDITIONAL DIRECTION, WHICH WOULD BE TO APPLY THE TEMPORARY FOOD FACILITY ANNUAL FEE ONLY TO FARMERS' MARKET OPERATORS, RATHER THAN CHARGING FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL MARKET LOCATION AND DIRECT STAFF TO WORK WITH THE FARMERS' MARKET ASSOCIATIONS TO COME UP WITH A FEE SCHEDULE THAT WOULD BE MUTUALLY AGREED UPON BETWEEN THE FARMER'S MARKET OPERATORS AND COUNTY STAFF.

- SO, IS THAT- I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE, IS THAT WORKABLE? CAN- CAN YOU... THAT DIRECTION? DO YOU UNDERSTAND IT AND CAN IT- - BUT YOU, YOU... - HOW MUCH WOULD IT COST? - AND ALSO, IF IT'S FAIR TO THE OTHER FOUR OR HOW CAN WE MAKE IT FAIR? - UH, IF-IF I UNDERSTAND CORRECTLY THE, THAT THE PROPOSAL IS, IF YOU OWN MORE THAN ONE, UH, UH, FARMER'S MARKET

[02:50:01]

OR OPERATE MORE THAN ONE FARMER'S MARKET OR, AND HAVE A SPECIAL EVENT ASSOCIATED WITH IT, THEN YOU'D ONLY PAY ONE FEE FOR THAT, UH, FOR THOSE EXTRA, FOR THOSE MULTIPLE SPECIAL EVENTS.

SO THOSE WOULD ONLY AFFECT SANTA CRUZ COMMUNITY FARMER'S MARKETS UH, AND THEIR FIVE LOCATIONS, THEY WOULD GET FOUR, UH, FOR FREE.

UH, AND THEN THE OTHER FOUR WOULD, UH, NOT RECEIVE ANY BENEFIT.

- I WOULD LIKE TO PROPOSE A SUBSTITUTE MOTION TO ADOPT THE RECOMMENDED ACTIONS.

- I, I WOULD SECOND.

WE, UH, DO HAVE THAT DISCUSSION SOMETIME ABOUT HOW TO, YOU KNOW, I THINK THIS IS A WHOLE SEPARATE AGENDA MEETING ALMOST, UH, TO MAKE IT FAIR AND, AND MORE POLICY-DRIVEN.

UH, BUT, YEAH.

- SUPERVISOR DE SERPA.

- IN THIS... I'M SORRY.

- I'M SORRY. IT SOUNDED LIKE YOU MADE A SECOND, BUT THEN YOU, YOU ADDED SOMETHING TO BRING BACK A POLICY DIRECTION.

I WAS GONNA ASK, IS THAT ACCEPTABLE TO THE MAKER OF THE SUBSTITUTE MOTION? - YES.

- OKAY. SO NOW WE HAVE A, A SUBSTITUTE MOTION A FIRST AND A SECOND, AND FURTHER DISCUSSION.

- UM, OKAY.

SO MY QUESTION IS, UM, WHEN ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH GOES OUT TO DO INSPECTIONS, LIKE HOW OFTEN ARE THEY FINDING PROBLEMS, NON-COMPLIANCE, HEALTH HAZARDS OR HEALTH CONCERNS? - UH, IN TERMS OF CERTIFIED FARMER'S MARKETS? - YEAH.

- IN GENERAL? UH, WELL, I DON'T HAVE ANY STATISTICS FOR YOU.

UH, GENERALLY SPEAKING, PROBABLY NOT A LOT OF VIOLATIONS.

- AND HOW OFTEN ARE THEY INSPECTING IN THESE LOCATIONS? - UH, GENERALLY ONCE OR TWICE A YEAR.

- I-IS THAT BY STATE MANDATE OR IS THAT SORT OF OUR OWN? - YEAH, THERE'S NO STATE MANDATE ON THE INSPECTION FREQUENCY PER SE.

- ALL RIGHT. WELL, THERE'S NO FURTHER QUESTIONS.

UM, MADAM CLERK WILL CALL VOTE.

- CHAIR, IF I MAY JUST HAVE THE MAKER OF THE SUBSTITUTE MOTION RESTATE THE MOTION AS I BELIEVE THERE WAS ADDITIONAL DIRECTION.

- GIVE HER THE SUBSTITUTE.

- OH.

TO COME BACK FOR THE, TO COME BACK WITH, UH, AND- AND FOR US TO WORK ON A MORE POLICY-DRIVEN, UH, KIND OF A FEE SCHEDULE FOR, FOR THIS.

- OKAY. THANK YOU.

- THAT'S CORRECT.

- YEAH.

- I'LL KEEP IT SIMPLE.

- JUST TO BE TOTALLY CLEAR, THE MOTION IS TO ADOPT STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION.

- CORRECT.

- WITH ADDITIONAL DIRECTION TO COME BACK TO HAVE A BROADER POLICY DISCUSSION REGARDING FEES, IN GENERAL.

- YES. FARMER'S MARKET FEES.

- FARMER'S MARKET FEES.

- YES.

- OKAY. THANK YOU.

- EQUITABLE FARMER'S MARKET FEES. ALL RIGHT.

- SUPERVISOR KOENIG.

- NO.

- SUPERVISOR MARTINEZ. - AYE.

- CUMMINGS? - NO.

- DE SERPA? - NO.

- SO, FOR THE RECORD- - I HAVEN'T VOTED.

- FOR THE RECORD, WE NEED TO HEAR FROM SUPERVISOR HERNANDEZ.

- I'M SO SORRY. - YOU FORGOT ABOUT ME.

- SUPERVISOR HERNANDEZ? - AYE.

- MOTION FAILS THREE... THREE TO TWO.

WITH, UH, SUPERVISORS MARTINEZ AND HERNANDEZ VOTING YES, AND THE REST, NO.

- SO WE REVERT TO THE ORIGINAL MOTION.

UH, THE REASON I VOTED NO ON THE SUBSTITUTE MOTION WAS I DO FEEL THAT THE, WHAT'S PROPOSED, HAVING LOOKED AT THIS ISSUE QUITE A BIT, AND ALSO HEARING THAT WE'RE NOT ACTUALLY REQUIRED TO GO TO EACH FARMER'S MARKET TWICE, UM, LOCATION TWICE A YEAR, UH, I THINK ACTUALLY IS THE BEST SOLUTION THAT, THAT I'VE HEARD.

AND SO AT LEAST FOR, UH, FOR THE NEXT YEAR TO BE ABLE TO LOOK AT THAT, I THINK IS, IS REASONABLE.

SO.

FOLLOW-UP QUESTION.

- WE NEED A SECOND, THOUGH.

- I DON'T HAVE ANY FURTHER, I'D SHARE THE SAME COMMENTS AS SUPERVISOR KOENIG.

SO, IF WE CAN...

- THIS IS, THIS IS, THE MOTION'S ALREADY ON THE FLOOR.

IT WAS MADE BY SUPERVISOR CUMMINGS, SECONDED BY ME BECAUSE THERE'S SUBSTITUTE MOTIONS.

- OKAY. - AND IT'S 5:30.

- OKAY. GOT IT.

- IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO HEAR THE ORIGINAL MOTION.

- THERE'S NO MOTION ON THE FLOOR RIGHT NOW.

SO SOMEBODY WOULD MAKE ANOTHER MOTION.

- IT'S THE FIRST MOTION WHICH WAS TO...

[02:55:01]

THIS WAS THE FIRST MOTION.

- SO YOU GOTTA MAKE IT AGAIN.

- SUPERVISOR CUMMINGS, SECOND BY KOENIG, REGARDING- BUT IT JUST APPLIES TO SANTA CRUZ FARMER'S MARKETS.

- OH, OKAY.

- THAT DOESN'T APPLY TO THE OTHER FOUR FARMER'S MARKETS.

THE WAY YOU STATED THE MOTION.

- NO, IT, I MEAN, TO ALL FARMER'S MARKET OPERATORS, IT SHOULD APPLY TO EVERYONE.

- NO, THEY ONLY HAVE, THE ONLY ONE WITH MULTIPLE OWNER IS SANTA CRUZ.

SO THAT'S WHY STAFF SUGGESTED, IF YOU WANT TO MAKE IT EQUITABLE, YOU SHOULD JUST REDUCE THE FEE AMOUNT FOR EVERYBODY AS OPPOSED TO JUST MULTIPLE LOCATIONS.

'CAUSE THAT ONLY APPLIES TO SANTA CRUZ.

THEY'RE THE ONLY ONE WITH THE MULTIPLE LOCATIONS.

ALL THE OTHER ONES ARE SINGLE-OWNED.

- AND I HEAR THAT.

I MEAN, THERE'S ECONOMIES OF SCALE IN EVERY BUSINESS.

AT THE END OF THE DAY, I THINK WE DO WANNA INSPECT EVERY OPERATOR.

AND SO THE, THE WHOLE POINT IS THERE'S AN ECONOMY OF SCALE HERE.

THE OPERATOR IS SETTING UP THE SAME WAY IN MULTIPLE LOCATIONS.

IT DOESN'T PRECLUDE OTHER OPERATORS FROM HAVING MULTIPLE LOCATIONS.

- SO THEY CAN, THOSE FOUR CAN HAVE ONE APPLICANT, BUT CONTINUE THEIR OPERATIONS? SO THEY CAN GET THAT SUBSIDY, I'M SAYING.

- SO I GUESS FOR JUSTIN, IS THIS THE, ARE YOU PROPOSING THAT WE JUST NOT CHARGE ANY FEES FOR EVENT ORGANIZERS AT CFMS, PERIOD? - NO, IT'S NOT THE...

AS I MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY, THE ADDITIONAL DIRECTIONS APPLY TO TEMPORARY FOOD FACILITIES ANNUAL FEE ONLY TO FARMERS' MARKET OPERATORS RATHER THAN CHARGE FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL MARKET LOCATION.

AND, UM, BASED ON SOME OF THE CONVERSATIONS I'VE HAD, THERE IS AN OPERATOR WHO HAS FIVE MARKETS.

THERE'S ANOTHER OPERATOR WHO HAS TWO MARKETS.

SOUNDS LIKE THERE'S TWO OTHER OPERATORS OUT THERE.

AND I MEAN, IF WE, I MEAN, THE EQUITY ISSUE FLIPS ON BOTH SIDES, RIGHT? BECAUSE IT'S LIKE, IF, IF THE OPERATOR GOES TO MULTIPLE SITES AND IS BEING CHARGED, YOU KNOW, MULTIPLE TIMES VERSUS SOMEONE WHO'S BEING CHARGED JUST ONCE, WHICH ULTIMATELY GOES ON TO THE, YOU KNOW, THE FACILITIES, THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE FACILITIES, YOU KNOW, THEN, YOU KNOW, THERE IS THE POTENTIAL ALSO FOR AN INDIVIDUAL WHO'S OPERATING A BOOTH TO GET CHARGED MULTIPLE TIMES IF THEY OCCUR AT MULTIPLE FARMER'S MARKETS UNDER THAT UMBRELLA.

I MEAN, IF THE CHARGE IS GONNA BE GIVEN TO, IF THERE'S A CHARGE FOR EACH SITE, THEN THAT MEANS THE OPERATOR IF THEY'RE GONNA BE PAYING THAT CHARGE AT EACH SITE, THEN THAT CHARGE IS GONNA GO DOWN TO THE PEOPLE WHO ARE- WHO HAVE THOSE BOOTH AT THOSE SITES.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, AND I JUST, I DO JUST WANNA HIGHLIGHT THAT BACK IN 2019, YOU KNOW, THE, THE BOARD SPECIFICALLY TOOK ACTION TO SET THE FEES AT 190.

AND THERE HASN'T BEEN ANY CHANGE IN THAT SINCE.

AND AT THE SAME TIME, THOSE FEES ARE NOW GOING UP.

AND SO WHAT WE'RE SAYING RIGHT NOW IS, LET'S JUST TAKE A PAUSE ON THE TEMPORARY FACILITY FOOD FEES FOR THIS ONE YEAR, AND MOVE FORWARD AND HAVE YOU ALL WORK WITH ALL THE OPERATORS TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WOULD BE AN EQUITABLE, UH, WAY OF CHARGING THESE FEES.

SO I MEAN THAT'S... AND I THINK THAT THIS IS JUST AN EFFORT FOR US TO BE RESPONSIVE TO THE PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY, AND TO PROVIDE DIRECTION TO STAFF TO START WORKING WITH THE FARMER'S MARKET OPERATORS SO THAT WE CAN COME TO A CONSENSUS.

AND IT'S JUST ONE YEAR.

AND, AND AGAIN, IT'S $2,745.

SO THAT'S A REALLY SMALL AMOUNT IN TERMS OF THE IMPACT TO THE COUNTY VERSUS THE POTENTIAL FOR THIS TO PROVIDE BENEFITS FOR THE FARMER'S MARKET OPERATORS.

AND I, I WILL SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HEARD FROM MULTIPLE OPERATORS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY, NOT JUST THE ONE OUT OF SANTA CRUZ.

AND SO THIS IS AN- THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR BOARD TO BE RESPONSIVE TO SOMETHING THAT'S COMING UP TO US FROM THE COMMUNITY.

- JUST TO CLARIFY, IS THE- IS THE MOTION NOT TO APPLY THE TEMPORARY FOOD FACILITY PERMIT TO ANY FARMER'S MARKET OR IS IT TO ONLY APPLY IT TO THE OPERATOR, NOT THE LOCATION.

WHAT I HEARD WAS OPERATOR. - OPERATOR. - YEAH.

- THE, THE OPERATOR, NOT THE LOCATION. YEAH.

- SO DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE MOTION? IF YOU DON'T, AND MAYBE YOU COULD JUST READ IT AGAIN AND SEE IF WE CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT IT SAYS.

- I THINK I DO. I THINK IT JUST, LIKE I SAID, I THINK IT'S GONNA MEAN THAT, THAT, THAT, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT MEANS THAT MARKETS THAT HAVE MULTIPLE LOCATIONS WILL ONLY HAVE ONE PERMIT FEE FOR THE EVENT ORGANIZER.

UH, WHICH WILL- WHICH WILL BENEFIT FROM MY UNDERSTANDING, ONE ORGANIZER.

- AND IT DOES LOOK LIKE THERE'S AN OPERATOR WHO MIGHT BE ABLE TO SPEAK TO THIS, IF YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO APPROACH THE, THE PERSON, MIKE.

SO IF WE CAN HAVE THEM COME TO THE MIKE.

BECAUSE I'D LIKE TO SEE US MOVE FORWARD, I THINK.

- IT IS VERY CONFUSING. I'M SORRY.

UM, WE'RE PAYING FOR EVERY LOCATION.

THERE'S A FARMER'S MARKET PERMIT FEE THAT IS APPLIED SINCE FOREVER.

I MEAN, WE ARE PAYING $900 FOR THE INSPECTIONS, FOR ADMINISTRATIVE OVERSIGHT, FOR EVERYTHING.

WE DO THAT UNDER, UM, ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND FOR, UH, THE AG PERMITS.

SO THAT'S HOW THE COUNTY THEN SENDS THEIR INSPECTORS TO EACH MARKET AND, AND INSPECTS OUR OPERATION.

EACH VENDOR HAS AN, A SPECIFIC PERMIT THAT THEY NEED TO PULL BY AG OR BY ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH ON THEIR OWN, EVEN TO BE ALLOWED TO, UH, BE AT THE FARMER'S MARKET.

SO THEY DO THAT INDIVIDUALLY, BUT THE FARMER'S- FARMER'S MARKET ASSOCIATION

[03:00:03]

PAYS A FEE FOR EACH SITE EVERY YEAR.

SO 900, $900 OR WHATEVER THE FEE IS.

SO IF WE'RE IN FELTON OR IF WE'RE DOWNTOWN, EACH MARKET PAYS ONE FEE.

SO WE ARE COVERING THE INSPECTIONS FOR THOSE MARKETS WITH THAT FEE, WE UNDERSTAND.

NOW THE EVENT ORGANIZER FEE IS A NEW FEE THAT IS NOT REALLY- HASN'T BEEN DEFINED.

IT DOESN'T REALLY COVER ANY OF THOSE INSPECTIONS, ADMINISTRATIVE OR ENFORCEMENT KIND OF FEES.

IT'S THE CERTIFIED FARMER'S MARKET PERMIT FEE THAT COVERS THAT.

AND SO WE ARE FEELING THERE'S A, THERE'S A DUPLICATION FOR THE EVENT ORGANIZER PERMIT, AND WE ARE JUST ASKING IF THE EVENT ORGANIZER PERMIT CAN BE REMOVED.

WE'RE STILL PAYING, YOU KNOW, EQUITABLY AND EVEN INCREASED THOSE FEES UNDER THE FARMER'S MARKET PERMIT.

AND AG IS SEPARATE AND WE, WE DO THAT AS WELL.

SO I, I, I JUST FEEL LIKE IT'S JUST A DUPLICATE PERMIT WHERE WE'RE BEING CHARGED TOO MUCH.

- UH, AND I, I DO WANNA CLARIFY THAT THE PERMIT IS REQUIRED BY STATE LAW.

AND SO, WHAT WE ARE DISCUSSING HERE RIGHT NOW IS WHETHER WE'RE SUBSIDIZING THE PERMITS FOR THE ADDITIONAL OPERATIONS UNDER A SINGLE ORGANIZER.

A WAY TO THINK ABOUT THIS IS FROM ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH STANDPOINT IS, UM, LIKE A RESTAURANT FRANCHISE.

YOU HAVE A RESTAURANT OWNER OR A PERSON- A BUSINESS OWNER, THEY HAVE AN UMBRELLA OF RESTAURANTS, DIFFERENT LOCATIONS.

EACH OF THOSE REQUIRE THEIR OWN PERMITTING.

EACH OF THOSE REQUIRE THEIR OWN REGULATIONS.

UH, SUPERVISOR DE SERPA, YOU ASKED HOW MANY VIOLATIONS DO WE SEE? UM, WE CERTAINLY CAN COME BACK TO THE BOARD WITH THAT INFORMATION AND HOPEFULLY WE DON'T SEE MUCH, AND WHICH IS WHY WE ONLY GO OUT THERE ONCE OR TWICE A YEAR.

IT'S REALLY A PREVENTATIVE MEASURE.

IDEALLY, JUST THE IDEA OF KNOWING THAT SOMEONE'S GOING TO GO OUT AND BE REGULATING, ENSURING THAT, YOU KNOW, THE CLEAN FORKS ARE USED FOR THE SAMPLES, THINGS LIKE THAT NATURE, THAT HELPS CREATE A SYSTEM OF TRUST IN THESE MARKETS.

AND SO, UM, AND I, I WILL SHARE TOO, AGAIN, THE DOLLAR AMOUNT IS VERY MINIMAL COMPARED TO WHAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT TODAY.

BUT THERE, THERE'S A SNOWBALL EFFECT.

I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S NOT JUST THIS THAT'S- THAT'S UNCOMPENSATED.

THERE'S THE WORK THAT ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH DOES, UM, THAT'S UNCO- IT, UH, FOR, FOR EXAMPLE, THE MOSS LANDING FIRE.

OUR ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH TEAM WENT OUT AND DID WATER LAB SAMPLES AND ALL OF THAT IS UNCOMPENSATED.

SO THERE BECOMES THIS UN- IT BECOMES A SNOWBALL EFFECT.

IF WE'RE NOT ABLE TO COVER OUR COSTS BASED ON THE DUTIES THAT WE ARE REQUIRED BY LAW TO DO, UM, WHERE WE CAN RECOVER OUR COSTS, WE NEED TO DO THAT IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE CAPACITY TO DO SOME OF THESE UNFUNDED THINGS THAT HAPPEN, SUCH AS EMERGENCY RESPONSE.

- OTHERWISE, WE'LL END UP LIKE LABS AND X-RAY, RIGHT? SUPERVISOR CUMMINGS.

- AND THAT'S, AND IN PART, AGAIN, THIS ACTION IS TO BE RESPONSIVE TO WHAT WE'VE HEARD FROM THE FARMER'S MARKET.

IT REFLECTS ACTION THAT THIS BOARD PREVIOUSLY TOOK IN 2019.

AND WE'RE ALSO PROVIDING DIRECTION TO HAVE OUR STAFF WORKING WITH THE FARMERS AND THE FARMER'S MARKET OPERATORS SO THAT WE CAN COME TO SOME KIND OF CONSENSUS.

AND THAT WAS PARTLY WHY I DIDN'T WANT TO GET INTO ALL THE DETAIL OF TRYING TO HASH THIS OUT HERE ON THE SPOT.

AND RATHER THAN DOING THAT, YOU KNOW, MOVING IN A DIRECTION, AGAIN THAT'S ALIGNED WITH WHAT THIS BOARD HAS PREVIOUSLY TOOK ACTION ON IN 2019, AND HAVING STAFF WORK WITH THE FARMER'S MARKETS SO WE COULD GET TO SOME MUTUAL, UM, CONCLUSION ON HOW WE WANNA MOVE FORWARD IN THE FUTURE.

SO THERE'S A MOTION AND A SECOND.

AND IF WE WANT TO CALL THE QUESTION, I'M HAPPY TO SECOND THAT BECAUSE I THINK, YOU KNOW, IT'S ALMOST SIX AND WE'VE GOT LIKE, I THINK 12 MORE ITEMS ON OUR AGENDA.

- I'LL BE SUPPORTIVE.

BUT I THINK THAT WE DO GOT TO FINANCE SOME SORT OF EQUITY TOOL MECHANISM, UH, WHETHER IT'S A LOWER COST FOR THE INDEPENDENCE, LOWER THE COSTS, UH, YOU KNOW, OR, UH, AND KEEP THE REGULAR COSTS FOR THE OTHER ONES.

BUT DO WHAT, UH, SUPERVISOR CUMMINGS IS SAYING.

OKAY.

- YES. AND THAT, THAT IS OUR RECOMMENDATION.

THAT IS IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE SUBSIDIZING THE COSTS, THAT WE RECOMMEND DOING IT JUST ACROSS THE BOARD.

- BUT TO CONTINUE WORKING ON FINDING A BETTER SYSTEM.

OKAY, SO WE HAVE A MOTION, UH, FROM SUPERVISOR CUMMINGS AND A SECOND FROM? - SUPERVISOR KOENIG.

- SUPERVISOR KOENIG, OKAY.

- SUPERVISOR DE SERPA? - AYE.

[03:05:03]

- HEY, YOU ALMOST FORGOT ME AGAIN.

AYE.

BUT I DO WANNA SEE A, A BETTER SOLUTION COME UP TOO.

MOVING ON, ITEM NUMBER 10.

[10. Consider approval of the County of Santa Cruz Proposed 2025-26 Budget with Last Day, Concluding and related actions, approve the Continuing Agreements List and Fixed Assets for 2025-26, and take related actions]

CONSIDER THE APPROVAL OF THE COUNTY OF SANTA CRUZ PROPOSED 2025-2026 BUDGET WITH LAST DAY CONCLUDING AND RELATED ACTIONS.

APPROVE THE CONTINUING AGREEMENTS LIST, AND FIXED ASSETS FOR 2025-2026, AND TAKE ALL RELATED ACTIONS.

I'LL TURN IT OVER TO MARCUS PIMENTEL, OUR COUNTY BUDGET MANAGER FOR THE PRESENTATION.

- THANK YOU, BOARD CHAIR.

AND I DO RECOGNIZE YOU HAVE ANOTHER BUDGET ITEM AFTER THIS AND 11 MORE ITEMS FROM THIS MORNING. - ELEVEN MORE ITEMS. - SO I'LL, WE'LL KEEP THIS BRIEF.

UM, I'M HERE TODAY WITH LANA MARTINEZ DAVIS, OUR SENIOR ADMINISTRATIVE ANALYST FOR OUR DEPARTMENT.

AGAIN, THIS- WE'RE ON THE BACKDROP OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, MAKING SOME INCREDIBLY HUGE, UH, IMPACTFUL, NEGATIVELY IMPACTFUL POLICY DECISIONS THAT ARE GONNA REDUCE ELIGIBILITY, REDUCE COSTS, REDUCE FUNDING TO THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, TO US DIRECTLY.

AND THEN THE STATE'S GONNA REACT AND REDUCE THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS, FUNDS AND ELIGIBILITY TO US.

SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE A CASCADING IMPACT FROM FEDERAL ACTIONS.

THEY'RE GONNA LAND ON US IN THE COMING MONTHS.

RIGHT NOW, WE ALREADY KNOW THE, THE SENATE HAS COME OUT.

THE CALIFORNIA SENATE HAS ISSUED A ALTERNATIVE TO THE GOVERNOR'S MAY REVISE ON JUNE 9TH THAT THANKFULLY IS PROPOSING SOME LOWER REDUCTIONS, NOT ELIMINATING THE REDUCTIONS, BUT LOWER REDUCTIONS IN THE ELIGIBILITY, DE-DELAYING SOME CUTS.

BUT THERE'S STILL CUTS COMING, AND WE WILL GET MORE DETAILS OVER THE COMING MONTHS.

UM, WITH THAT, WE'RE JUST GONNA RECAP A LITTLE BIT OF WHERE WE'RE AT AT THE BUDGET HEARING.

WE SHOULD HAVE ABOUT 10 MINUTES.

WE'LL GO PRETTY QUICK 'CAUSE YOU'VE DONE ALL THE HEAVY LIFTING UP TO THIS POINT.

I'LL TURN IT OVER TO LANA MARTINEZ DAVIS.

- GOOD AFTERNOON.

SO WITH ALL OF THE, UM, LAST DAY AND CONCLUDING ITEMS, WE'RE UP TO ABOUT $1.24 BILLION BUDGET.

UM, THE MAJORITY OF THE ADDITIONS ARE IN THE GENERAL FUND AND THE SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS.

I'LL NOTE TOO THAT THE, UM, FROM A FEW ITEMS, FROM ITEM SEVEN, THE RADIOLOGY POSITIONS ARE NOT CURRENTLY IN THE SUMMARY OF THE ACTIONS THERE ON THE LEFT OF THE SLIDE, BUT THOSE WILL BE ADDED WITH THE CONCLUDING ACTIONS.

SO THE POSITION CHANGE FROM THE LAST DAY IS ABOUT 9.6 POSITIONS.

AGAIN, THIS DOESN'T INCLUDE THE 2.0 FDA RADIOLOGY POSITIONS.

THE 5.6 AND 2.0 RADIOLOGY POSITIONS WILL, UH, PER THE DIRECTION OF THE BOARD BE CONTINUED UNTIL SEPTEMBER 30TH.

THE OTHER, UM, UM, POSITIONS INCLUDE THE ONES FROM THE PROPOSED, FROM THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, SHERIFFS TRIAL SUPPORTS, REDUCTIONS, HSA.

AND THEN FROM SUPPLEMENTAL LAST DAY, THE A POSITIONS ADDED TO CDI AND THEN THE ONE ANALYST POSITION, UM, ADDED IN MEASURE Q AND THEN THE ONE SENIOR HEALTH, UM, SENIOR MENTAL HEALTH CLIENT SPECIALIST POSITION THAT WAS ADDED, RESTORED FOR A FULL FISCAL YEAR.

BRINGING IT BACK TO MARCUS.

- YEAH. SO, UH, DESPITE THAT OPENING OF WHAT IS TO COME, IT'S GONNA BE PAINFUL AND CHALLENGING AND TERRIFIC- AND HORRIFIC TO SOME EXTENT.

UM, THIS COUNTY HAS CONTINUED TO BE IMPRESSIVE IN WHAT THEY'VE BEEN ABLE TO ACHIEVE DESPITE BEING SYSTEMATICALLY UNDERFUNDED, DESPITE BEING UNDERSTAFFED IN A LOT OF WAYS.

AND WE, WE CONTINUE TO BE REMARKABLE IN WHAT WE CAN AND ARE WILLING TO DO AND HAVE DONE.

SO THIS BUDGET REPRESENTS A LOT OF ACHIEVEMENTS.

UH, WE ENCOURAGE ALL OF OUR READERS TO GO THROUGH EVERYDAY DEPARTMENTS PAGE, LOOK AT THEIR ACHIEVEMENTS, LOOK AT THE EMERGING ISSUES TO SEE WHAT'S COMING DOWN THE PIPELINE, AND THERE'S SOME GOOD OPPORTUNITIES IN THERE AS ALL, AS WELL AS SOME THREATS.

AS A RECAP, OUR, WE ARE PROPOSING A BALANCED, STILL A BALANCED GENERAL FUND.

UM, WE ARE FULLY FUNDED, SO THAT IS A, AN INCREDIBLE ACHIEVEMENT AT THIS POINT IN TIME.

BUT WE DO HAVE SOME OUT YEAR DEFICIT PROJECTIONS THAT WILL LIKELY GET WORSE IN A COUPLE OF MONTHS, SO STAY TUNED FOR THAT.

UM, OUR CASH RESERVES REMAIN AT, UH, ABOVE OUR TARGET LEVEL, BUT AS WE TALKED ABOUT, WE'RE BELOW OUR PEERS.

OUR PEERS WOULD HAVE A FUNDED LEVEL OF $200 MILLION, AND WE'RE HALF THAT SIZE IN OUR, IN OUR CASH RESERVES.

HALF OUR CASH RESERVES ARE DEDICATED TO FQHCC SYSTEM SUPPORTS.

SO REALLY, WE'RE DOWN TO THREE PAYROLLS.

YOU'VE HEARD THIS BEFORE AS A CHALLENGE.

AGAIN, WHAT WE'RE REALLY GONNA BE FACING IN THE COMING MONTHS IS BY THIS, BY SUNDAY, THE STATE SHOULD HAVE AN ADOPTED BUDGET.

OFTEN THOSE DETAILS ARE STILL LIGHT.

THERE'LL BE TRAILER BILLS THAT WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE MONTH OF JUNE, AND THEN THERE'LL BE BUDGET JUNIOR BILLS THAT HAPPEN IN, IN JULY, AUGUST UNTIL THE FINAL IS DONE.

IT COULD BE SEPTEMBER OR COULD IT BE OCTOBER? THIS WILL BE A LONGER SEASON FOR THE STATE BECAUSE THEY'LL LIKELY BE REACTING TO THE FEDERAL BUDGET.

IT MAY NOT FINALIZE THEIR BUDGET UNTIL THE FEDS DO.

SO WE'LL HAVE TO SEE WHERE THAT HAPPENS.

ONCE THE FEDS FINALIZE THEIR CHANGES REDUCTIONS AND IMPACTS TO US, THE STATE WILL THEN REACT AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO COME BACK TO THIS BOARD.

WE'RE THINKING THAT TIMEFRAME IS STARTING IN SEPTEMBER, IT COULD BE OCTOBER, DEPENDING ON WHEN WE FIND OUT THE INFORMATION.

BUT WE'RE GONNA BE AS RESPONSIVE AS WE CAN, UM, GOING INTO NEXT SEASON.

OUR OBLIGATIONS ARE TO HAVE A BALANCED BUDGET

[03:10:02]

APPROVED BY THE BOARD TODAY.

AND SO WE CAN START THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR ON JULY 1ST.

THERE'S A LOT OF WORK TO DO FROM TODAY TO JULY 1ST TO GET ALL OF OUR ACTIVITIES IN LINE, AND THEN WE COME BACK TO PRESENT THE ADOPTED FORM OF THE BUDGET ON SEPTEMBER 30TH TO GO TO THE STATE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE.

SO WE'RE, WE'RE STILL IN LINE TO MEET ALL OF OUR LEGAL MANDATES.

UM, WHAT I'LL, WHAT I'LL FINISH WITH IS JUST A LITTLE BIT OF, IN THIS TIME OF STRESS, AND THERE'S BEEN A LOT IN THIS TIME OF, UM, UM, HEAVY LEVEL OF UNCERTAINTY.

I THINK I'VE SEEN THIS FOUR TIMES IN MY CAREER.

I'VE BEEN WORKING SINCE 95.

THERE'S BEEN FOUR TIMES IN OUR CAREER WHERE I FEEL LIKE THIS UNCERTAINTY IS JUST UNSUSTAINABLE AND IT'S, IT'S, IT'S OVERWHELMING.

UM, CEO PALACIOS HAS MENTIONED IT FEELS LIKE THINGS LIKE THE GREAT RECESSION, ALTHOUGH THIS IS BEING DRIVEN KIND OF FROM A SINGLE SOURCE AND NOT FROM AN ORGANIC, ENVIRONMENTAL, ORGANIC NATURAL DISASTER OR AN ORGANIC, UH, ECONOMIC EVENT THAT'S BEING DRIVEN BY SOME POLICY CONSIDERATIONS THAT ARE CASCADING DOWN ACROSS THE ENTIRE COUNTRY.

UM, WE, I DO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE AND GIVE DEEP APPRECIATION TO ALL THE STAFF IN OUR DEPARTMENTS WHO, TO THIS POINT IN TIME, HAVE COMPLIED WITH ALL OF THE DIRECTION YOU HEARD TODAY, CARLOS TALK ABOUT.

THIS WAS A HARD YEAR FOR DEPARTMENTS.

THERE WAS A LOT OF NEED ACROSS THE DEPARTMENTS AND THEY HAD TO TAKE THE WORD NO AND SMILE WITH IT, AND JUST OUR INITIAL REQUEST BEFORE THEY EVEN MADE IT FURTHER ALONG IN THE PROCESS.

AND THAT WAS CHALLENGING.

UM, THEY, THEY ALL COMPLY WITH OUR BUDGET DIRECTION AND WE, WE, WE PRESENTED ON TIME A BALANCED PROPOSED BUDGET TO THIS BOARD IN OUR COMMUNITY IN, IN THE MONTH OF APRIL, WHICH WAS REALLY IMPRESSIVE GIVEN ALL THE WORK THAT'S NEEDED TO GET DONE ON THE BACKDROP FOR PROBABLY THE THIRD YEAR IN A ROW OF A DIFFERENT BACKDROP.

UM, IT WAS A DISASTER, AND IT WAS FUNDING THE DISASTERS.

AND THIS YEAR IT'S DOING ALL THE WORK WEEKLY ABOUT UNDERSTANDING WHAT ARE THE FEDERAL IMPACTS, WHAT ARE THOSE THREATS? SO THAT'S BEEN HAPPENING IN PARALLEL TO ALL THIS BEHIND THE SCENES.

AND AS YOU KNOW, THE NEWS CHANGES DAILY OR WEEKLY OR BY THE MINUTE, UM, TRYING TO ASSESS THOSE IMPACTS.

SO ON THAT BACKDROP, COUNTY DEPARTMENTS AND THEIR BUDGET TEAMS HAVE DONE A PHENOMENAL JOB TO GET US THE INFORMATION WE DEMAND OVER AND OVER AGAIN IN DIFFERENT WAYS, BECAUSE IT'S REALLY, REALLY BEEN A CHALLENGING YEAR.

SO I WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE AND APPRECIATE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM.

UM, IN PARTICULAR, I WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE JULIET BURKE AND HER STAFF, ELIZABETH PADILLA, LORI BETTENCOURT, HECTOR ROCHA MARTINEZ, HELEN BAAL, AND OUR NEWEST, PHYLLIS ESCOBAR, WHO JOINED US.

IT'S BEEN A CHALLENGING YEAR FOR THEM, TOO.

UM, WITH ALL THE BUDGET HEARINGS AND CHANGES.

UM, I'M GONNA GIVE DEEP RESPECT.

WE HAVE A VERY SMALL BUT MIGHTY BUDGET COLLECTION TEAM.

WE KIND OF GET TOGETHER VOLUNTARILY AND FIGURE ALL THIS STUFF OUT.

AND SOME OF THAT IS LED BY OUR ACAO, UH, NICOLE COBURN, UH, TO MY LEFT, UH, LANA MARTINEZ DAVIS, RYAN FRIEDRICH, WHO PRESENTED THE CIP AND MYSELF, WE'VE KIND OF BEEN, UH, YOU KNOW, PULLING THIS TOGETHER WITH A WHOLE TEAM BEHIND US WHO'VE BEEN VOLUNTEERING AND- AND STOPPING SOME OF THEIR WORK.

I WANNA TALK ABOUT MELODY SERINO, OUR ACAO, WHO'S BEEN BEHIND THE SCENES, GIVING GUIDANCE AND HELPING PREPARE A LOT OF OUR DOCUMENTATION.

OUR PRINCIPAL MOVEMENT, PRINCIPAL MINISTRY OF ANALYSTS, FINN STAFFORD AND PETER DETLEFS.

UM, DAVID BROWN, OUR SENIOR ADMINISTRATIVE ANALYST, GINA DE MARTINI-KUHNS, AND GEORGE INTIS, AND OUR EXECUTIVE SECRETARY, DENITA GONZALEZ.

AND I'M LEAVING UP ONE PERSON WHO SHE JUST CELEBRATED BIRTHDAY.

I'M NOT GONNA MENTION THE DATE OR THE AGE, BUT, AMIKO WHITE IS AN INCREDIBLE ASSET TO THIS COUNTY, BEHIND THE SCENES AND IN ADMINISTRATION FOR OUR DEPARTMENT.

SHE'S BEEN CREATIVELY PULLING TOGETHER HOW WE CAN DYNAMICALLY PRODUCE A DOCUMENT IN A WAY THAT'S TIMELY AND EFFECTIVE AND GIVING US A LOT OPPORTUNITIES.

I JUST REALLY WANNA GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO AMIKO AND THE TEAM BEHIND US IN ISD WHO'S BEEN HELPING PULL ALL THIS TOGETHER.

AND IT'S MY HONOR TO SERVE UNDER CEO PALACIOS, CARLOS PALACIOS.

HE'S BEEN LEADING US, UH, CONSISTENTLY, UM, THROUGH THIS CHALLENGING YEAR, AND THESE CHALLENGING YEARS BEHIND US, ALONG WITH ASSISTANT CEOS, ELISA BENSON AND NICOLE COBURN, AND OUR DEPUTY CEO, MELODYE SERINO.

WE'RE JUST REALLY FORTUNATE TO HAVE THAT LEADERSHIP TEAM BEHIND US.

SO I JUST WANT TO END THERE WITH SOME GRATITUDE AND THANKS, BECAUSE IT'S BEEN A TOUGH YEAR.

AND I'LL FINISH WITH THANKING EACH OF ONE OF YOU, AS YOU'VE DEMONSTRATED HOW CHALLENGING THIS YEAR HAS BEEN, NO MATTER HOW BIG OR SMALL IT IS, THERE'S NOT BEEN AN EASY DECISION THAT'S FACED THIS BOARD, AND I JUST APPRECIATE THE EFFORT AND, AND THE LEVEL OF RESPONSE AND THE QUESTIONS YOU'D BE GIVING US ALL YEAR.

SO, WITH THAT, I'LL CONCLUDE, OR THIS YEAR'S BUDGET HEARINGS, EXCEPT FOR THE ITEM THAT WAS MOVED [CHUCKLES] AFTER THIS.

UH, WE'LL OPEN THAT UP TO THE PUBLIC TO SEE IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO MAKE ANY COMMENTS ON THIS ITEM.

SEEING NONE, WE'LL GO TO THE- ONLINE.

SEEING NONE, WE'LL BRING IT BACK TO THE BOARD TO SEE IF WE CAN ENTERTAIN A MOTION.

SUPERVISOR CUMMINGS.

- YEAH, I JUST WANNA THANK YOU ALL ON ALL YOUR HARD WORK AND, UM, YOU KNOW, STARTING BACK, I GUESS IT WAS IN MAY, WE, YOU KNOW, HAD OUR FIRST HEARINGS.

WE'VE BEEN HAVING THOSE THROUGHOUT JUNE.

AND EVERY YEAR, IT'S A CHALLENGING TIME.

AND I DO ACTUALLY WANT TO THANK THE PUBLIC, TOO.

THIS IS- SINCE I'VE BEEN, UM, WHETHER IT WAS ON THE CITY COUNCIL AND BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, I DON'T THINK I'VE EVER SEEN THIS MANY PEOPLE COME OUT TO BUDGET HEARINGS.

AND SO, I JUST REALLY WANT TO THANK, UH, MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC FOR THEIR PARTICIPATION.

UM, IT'S OBVIOUSLY A REALLY CHALLENGING YEAR.

WE'RE GONNA BE BACK AGAIN IN THE FALL,

[03:15:02]

BUT I THINK YOU ALL HAVE WORKED REALLY HARD TO GET US TO A PLACE WHERE WE'RE GONNA MOVE INTO THE NEXT YEAR WITH A BALANCED BUDGET.

I THINK THAT'S ONE OF THE MOST, YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE BEST WE CAN ASK FOR UNDER THESE REALLY CHALLENGING CIRCUMSTANCES.

AND SO, I'M HAPPY TO MOVE THE RECOMMENDED ACTIONS.

- SECOND.

- CAN I ASK STAFF ONE QUESTION? - ONE.

- UM, ALRIGHT, SO I, I JUST WANNA UNPACK ONE THING IN HERE, WHICH IS, UM, CONCLUDING ACTIONS AND BUDGET HEARINGS, ITEM 10, UH, BIT OF A CRYPTIC PARAGRAPH HERE.

AUTHORIZE THE AUDITOR CONTROLLER AND THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE OFFICER TO RE-BUDGET ALL UNEXPECTED BALANCES AND APPROPRIATIONS IN THE CAPITAL, FORMER PLANT ACQUISITION GL KEYS WITHIN THE CAPITAL PROJECT FUNDS, INCLUDING DISTRICT 1 AND TWO ALLOCATIONS OF $75,000 EACH SET ASIDE IN CAPITAL CONTINGENCY FOR PARKS IMPROVEMENTS AS PART OF THE TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX, NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENTS, AND INTEREST TO ADJUST THE APPROPRIATIONS OF THE VARIOUS PARK DEDICATION BUDGETS FOR EXCESS AVAILABLE FINANCING BY INCREASING THE LAND OTHER OBJECT.

UH, IS, IS WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE- SO THE CLAW BACK OF ANY UNSPENT FUNDS.

- AND- THERE'S TWO THINGS GOING ON THERE.

ONE, THAT'S AN ERROR ON OUR PART, THAT 75,000 IS THIS BOARD IS ALREADY DIRECT.

WE'RE REPURPOSING THAT INTO THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT, THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN REMOVED FROM THE LANGUAGE.

UH, WHAT THAT PARTICULAR ITEM DOES IS WE HAVE CAPITAL PROJECTS THAT HAVE MULTIPLE SPANS, MULTIPLE YEARS.

AND SO WE'LL END THE FISCAL YEAR, AND ANY CONTRACT AMOUNTS OR CIP AMOUNTS THAT ARE STILL ONGOING, WE'LL CARRY THOSE OVER FROM THIS YEAR INTO THE NEXT YEAR.

SO IT ALLOWS US TO KEEP MULTI-YEAR PROJECTS ALIVE.

WITHOUT THAT, THE FUNDING, IF ANYTHING, ANY UNSPENT DOLLARS WITHIN THE PROJECT WOULD DIE 25% OF THE WAY THROUGH.

SO THIS ALLOWS US TO KEEP THE FUNDING GOING.

- SO ANY UNEXPANDED REVENUES FROM 25- - IT WOULD CARRY OVER. - WOULD CARRY OVER.

- YEP.

- UH, AND AS YOU MENTIONED, THE 25-26 REVENUES WOULD BE OUR- I THINK THEY WERE ALLOCATED TO CONTINGENCY.

UM, YEAH.

- YEAH.

- OKAY. WE HAVE A MOTION FROM SUPERVISOR CUMMINGS AND A SECOND FROM HERNANDEZ.

CAN WE TAKE A ROLL CALL VOTE? - SUPERVISOR DE SERPA. - AYE.

- CUMMINGS. - AYE.

- MARTINEZ.

- I'M GONNA BE VOTING AYE, WITH AN ABSTENTION ON RECOMMENDED ACTION NUMBER TWO ON THE CONTINUING AGREEMENTS LIST, ANY CONTRACT WITH ENCOMPASS COMMUNITY SERVICES.

- SUPERVISOR KOENIG.

- UH, AYE.

BUT I WANNA MAKE JUST CLEAR TO MY COLLEAGUES THAT WHAT'S HAPPENING HERE IS WE ARE PULLING BACK TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAXES THAT WERE EXPLICITLY, BY RESOLUTION IN THE PAST, DEDICATED TO NEIGHBORHOOD PROJECTS UH, IN TWO AFFECTED DISTRICTS.

SO I'M WILLING TO DO THAT GIVEN THE DIFFICULT BUDGET YEAR WE'RE FACING, BUT I THINK WE DO NEED TO LOOK AT IT IN THE FUTURE, UM, AS A WAY ALSO TO EQUITABLY SHARE, UM, YOU KNOW, ENSURE THAT THESE SORTS OF NEIGHBORHOOD PROJECTS ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE COUNTY.

- AYE. MOTION PASSES UNANIMOUSLY? - YES.

- SUPERVISOR HERNANDEZ.

- MOVING ON TO MEASURE 10.1, MEASURE 2.

[12. Accept and file report providing detailed cost estimate information for the Water, Wildfire and Wildlife Protection Act (Measure Q) operations and administration budget for Fiscal Year 2025-26]

LET ME READ THIS ITEM HERE.

IT'S BACK IN THE OTHER FILE.

ACCEPT AND FILE THE REPORT PROVIDING DETAILED COST SYSTEM AND INFORMATION FOR WATER, WILDFIRE, AND WILDLIFE PROTECTION ACT MEASURE Q, OPERATIONS AND ADMINISTRATION FOR BUDGET FISCAL YEAR 2025-2026.

AND WE HAVE A PRESENTATION FROM CHLOE. OH.

- WE'RE JUST HERE FOR- ANSWER QUESTIONS.

- OKAY. OKAY.

- AT THIS POINT, WE'RE HERE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS.

- YES.

- ALRIGHT. SO I MAINTAINED THE, YOU KNOW, PULLING THIS ITEM.

I MEAN, UNLESS SUPERVISOR CUMMINGS WANTS TO LEAD WITH ANYTHING.

UM, ONE THING WE CONSISTENTLY HEARD FROM THE COMMUNITY WAS THE CONCERN OVER STAFFING COSTS.

UM, AND AFTER LAST, THE LAST MEETING WHEN WE DISCUSSED THIS UH, MY STAFF WAS LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, SPECIFICALLY THE STAFF THAT'S BEING PROPOSED FOR HIRE, WHICH IS A, UH, SENIOR ADMIN ANALYST IN THE CEO'S DEPARTMENT.

UH, WE IDENTIFIED ANOTHER COMPARABLE POSITION, A SENIOR DEPARTMENT ADMIN ANALYST, UH, WHICH IS ACTUALLY $20,000 CHEAPER.

AND WHEN YOU READ THE POSITION DESCRIPTION, SOUNDS A HECK OF A LOT MORE APPLICABLE.

THE DEPARTMENT ANALYST ACTUALLY PREPARES AND ADMINISTERS GRANTS AND CONTRACTS, INCLUDING THE FINANCIAL PROGRAM AND COMPONENTS, UH, CONDUCTS NEEDS ASSESSMENTS, AND ASSISTS DEPARTMENT ADMINISTRATION TO PREPARE LONG-RANGE PROGRAM PLANS, MAY SERVE AS THE STAFF REPRESENTATIVE TO COMMISSIONS, COMMITTEES, AND TASK FORCES.

UM, WHEREAS A SENIOR ADMIN ANALYST IN THE CEO'S DEPARTMENT, THE POSITION DESCRIPTION IS A LOT MORE, UH, ANALYSIS-BASED.

ANALYZING DEPARTMENT WORKLOADS, RECOMMENDS STAFFING PATTERNS, PERFORMS COMPLEX BUDGET ANALYSIS, AND OVERSEES BUDGET CONFORMITY FOR MULTIPLE COUNTY BUDGET DEPARTMENTS.

UM, SO, UH, MEANWHILE, WE'VE ALSO HEARD SOME CONCERN.

I MEAN, THE, THE, THE MEASURE LANGUAGE DOES SAY THAT BOTH THE DEPARTMENT, MEANING THE PARKS DEPARTMENT,

[03:20:02]

AND THE OFFICE, MEANING THE OFFICE OF RESPONSE, RECOVERY AND RESILIENCE, ARE GONNA HAVE TO COLLABORATE ON THIS.

AND SO THERE WAS CONCERN ABOUT PUTTING, YOU KNOW, REALLY ALL OF THE STAFFING FIREPOWER AND THE OFFICE OF RESPONSE, RECOVERY, AND RESILIENCE.

UM, THE ADMIN ANALYST CAN ONLY GO IN THE CEO'S DEPARTMENT.

THE DEPARTMENT ADMIN ANALYST CAN GO IN EITHER ULTIMATELY.

AND SO I'M JUST CURIOUS WHAT CONSIDERATION, IF ANYONE'S GIVEN TO THIS BY, UM, THE...

- I THINK FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE, KNOWING THE MARKET OF ANALYSTS AND TRYING TO, UM, HIRE THIS PROMPTLY, WE WILL BE MORE COMPETITIVE WITH THE HIGHER- THE ONE THAT FITS IN THE SENIOR ADMINISTRATIVE ANALYST ROLE.

IF YOU ALL DECIDE THAT YOU DON'T SUPPORT OUR RECOMMENDATION, WE CAN GO WITH A LOWER ANALYST, BUT WE MAY HAVE A HARDER TIME FILLING THE- FILLING THE POSITION.

I MEAN, 190 IN CONVERSATION VERSUS 170,000.

YEAH.

- AND I HOPE NOT TO FILL IT AT THE HIGHEST PART OF THE SCALE.

- MM-HMM.

UM, AND ANY, UM, CAN YOU SPEAK AT ALL TO CONCERN ABOUT WORKLOAD BETWEEN OFFICE AND DEPARTMENT? - I'M, I'M NOT CONCERNED ABOUT THAT, GIVEN THE PARTNERSHIP THAT WE'VE ESTABLISHED SO FAR.

AND THIS WAS, UH, A RECOMMENDATION THAT WE CAME TO, WE CAME TO TOGETHER.

SO I'M NOT WORRIED ABOUT THE FACT IT WOULD BE SITTING IN OR3.

I DO WANNA SAY ONE OTHER THING THOUGH, AROUND THE, UH, SENIOR DEPARTMENT ANALYST TRACK VERSUS THE SENIOR ADMIN ANALYST TRACK.

ALL THE OTHER ANALYST ROLES WITHIN OR3 ARE SENIOR ADMINISTRATIVE ANALYSTS.

SO IT SETS US INTO A DIFFERENT, UM, STRUCTURE WITHIN OR3, IF THAT WAS THE DIRECTION OF THE BOARD.

UM, WELL, I MEAN, I GUESS MY THOUGHT ALSO IS ESPECIALLY IF, UM, YOU KNOW, IF THERE IS THIS BOARD-DIRECTED FUNDING, IS THAT PROBABLY THE PROJECTS THAT WE'RE CONSIDERING MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT MORE PARKS-RELATED, UM, THAN JUST OR3 RELATED.

AND, UM, I MEAN, THE DEPARTMENT ADMIN ANALYST IN THE PARKS DEPARTMENT WOULD ACTUALLY HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE STAFF SUPPORT AROUND THEM.

SO, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR THE, UM, YOU KNOW, I'LL PROPOSE A MOTION TO ACCEPT AND FILE THE REPORT, BUT APPROVE THE ADDITION OF ONE, UH, FTE SENIOR DEPARTMENT ADMIN ANALYST IN THE PARKS DEPARTMENT RATHER THAN THE SENIOR ADMIN ANALYST, UH, WHICH IS A CEO-SPECIFIC ROLE.

- SO, UM, LET ME JUST COMMENT ON THE PART OF THE RATIONALE IS, AGAIN, THIS IS NOT JUST TO HAND OUT THE BOARD'S MONEY AT ALL.

THIS IS TO ADVISE THE COAB, THE WHOLE COMMUNITY BOARD, ON THE $3 MILLION OF GRANTS, RIGHT? THAT THEY'RE GONNA BE HANDING OUT FOR THE ENTIRE MEASURE Q BUDGET.

AND THE VISION IS NOT THAT THEY'RE JUST GONNA SIT THERE AND HAND OUT MONEY TO LOCAL NONPROFITS, THAT THEY'RE GONNA LEVERAGE GRANTS FOR OTHER GRANTS REGIONWIDE.

SO THIS IS A PERSON THAT'S GONNA GO AND NEGOTIATE WITH CITY MANAGERS, THAT'S GONNA GO AND MEET WITH OTHER COUNTY OFFICIALS.

AND SO, PART OF IT IS HAVING THAT PERSON IN MY OFFICE GIVES THAT WEIGHT.

SO WHEN THEY GO MEET WITH MONTEREY COUNTY, THEY'RE COMING FROM THE CAO'S OFFICE OR THE CEO'S RATHER, AND THEY'RE ACTUALLY TALKING ABOUT A MULTI-JURISDICTIONAL, UM, PROJECT, RIGHT? THAT WE'RE TRYING TO NEGOTIATE, OR THEY'RE TALKING WITH STATE OFFICIALS.

AGAIN, I'M TRYING NOT TO HAVE A NARROW VISION.

I'M TRYING TO HAVE A BIG VISION.

AND THE IDEA IS NOT TO HAND OUT $3 MILLION OF GRANTS ON THEIR OWN, BUT TO LEVERAGE MULTIMILLION-DOLLARS.

AND SO WE WANTED TO GET- I WANTED TO MAKE SURE, AND THIS IS MY DIRECTION, A PERSON AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL WE COULD GET, AND IN MY OFFICE, THAT CARRIES THE WEIGHT OF MY OFFICE, WHICH MAKES A BIG DEAL TO OTHER JURISDICTIONS BECAUSE BELIEVE ME, IF THEY MAKE AN APPOINTMENT FROM THE PARKS DEPARTMENT VERSUS THE CEO'S OFFICE, IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT A STATE DEPARTMENT, WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT ANOTHER COUNTY.

THAT'S- THAT'S PART OF THE RATIONALE, AND THAT'S WHY, WHAT'S DRIVING- PART OF WHAT'S DRIVING THE RECOMMENDATION.

- THANK YOU. SUPERVISOR CUMMINGS.

- YEAH, I INITIALLY PULLED THIS BECAUSE, UM, I, I WAS CONFUSED COMING INTO THE MEETING OF WHERE THE MEASURE Q ALLOCATIONS WERE.

AND WHEN I LOOKED IN HERE, I DIDN'T SEE THEM.

BUT THEN, AFTER LOOKING THROUGH OTHER PARTS, PARTS OF THE AGENDA THAT WAS- IT BECAME CLEAR WHERE THE BOARD ALLOCATIONS WERE.

SO THAT'S WHY I WAS GONNA RECOMMEND PUTTING IT BACK ON CONSENT BECAUSE I KIND OF FIGURED OUT LIKE WHERE THE, UM.

- I APOLOGIZE FOR THE CONFUSION AND JUST, THIS WAS JUST AROUND THE ADMINISTRATIVE OPERATIONS BUDGET, NOT THE LARGER IMPLEMENTATION OF THE, THE COUNTY BUCKET.

- AND I'D ALSO WOULD, YOU KNOW, I'D GRAPPLE WITH THIS QUESTION OF LIKE, WHERE'S THE APPROPRIATE PLACE FOR THIS TO GO? AND, I HAD- I HAD SOME CONVERSATIONS WITH SUPERVISOR KOENIG, AND SO I'VE BEEN ALSO KIND OF INTERESTED IN THE SAME QUESTION,

[03:25:03]

UH, ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THE BEST PLACE.

BUT, UM, I'M OPEN TO HEAR WHAT THE BOARD HAS TO SAY ON THAT.

- I HAVE NOTHING TO SAY UNLESS, UH, SOMEONE HAS, WANTS TO RECOMMEND A MOTION.

- YOU DO HAVE FOR PUBLIC COMMENT ON THIS.

- THAT'S RIGHT.

ANYBODY IN THE PUBLIC WISH TO ADDRESS US? - ALL RIGHT.

UH, GOOD EVENING, BOARD, CHAIR HERNANDEZ, BOARD MEMBERS, AND STAFF, THANK YOU FOR THE TIME.

IT'S BEEN A LONG DAY.

UH, MY NAME'S ERIC LOMBARDO.

I'M THE EXTERNAL AFFAIRS DIRECTOR AT THE LAND TRUST OF SANTA CRUZ COUNTY.

UH, MY COMMENT RELATES TO THE MEASURE Q BUDGET ITEM, BUT I JUST WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE A LOT OF OTHER HARD DECISIONS THAT ARE BEING MADE BY THE BOARD.

MANY OF THEM DUE TO FEDERAL AND STATE FUNDING PULLBACKS THAT ARE OUT OF YOUR CONTROL.

SO, UH, THANKS FOR ALL YOU DO IN MAKING THIS BUDGET HAPPEN.

AND THAT GOES FOR STAFF AS WELL.

UM, SO JUST WANNA MENTION THAT THIS IS A REALLY IMPORTANT MOMENT TO FULFILL THE INTENT OF VOTERS, UH, WHO OVERWHELMINGLY PASSED MEASURE Q IN 2024.

THIS IS A REAL BRIGHT SPOT.

UH, WHILE WE HAVE SO MANY OTHER FUNDING SOURCES THAT ARE CONSTRAINED, UM, IN MY COMMENT, I JUST WANNA BRING US BACK TO THE ORDINANCE LANGUAGE THAT WAS PASSED.

UH, WE UNDERSTAND THAT THE NEW POSITION THAT IS PROPOSED THAT'S BEING DISCUSSED HERE, UM, WILL LEAD, UH, MANAGEMENT OF THE MEASURE Q GRANT PROGRAM AND OTHER IMPORTANT DUTIES.

UH, WE JUST WANT TO, I WANNA SPEAK TO THE, UH, ACT LANGUAGE THAT APPROVED BY VOTERS THAT STATES THAT THE PARKS DEPARTMENT AND THE OFFICE OF RESPONSE, RECOVERY, AND RESILIENCE WILL CO-ADMINISTER, UM, THOSE GRANT FUND PROGRAMS AND MAKE JOINT RECOMMENDATIONS TO YOU, BOARD.

UH, I, I, IT'S NOT REALLY MY BUSINESS TO GET INTO EXACTLY WHERE THESE THINGS ARE TO BE PLACED OR WHAT LEVEL THEY'RE AT.

I JUST REALLY WANNA REFERENCE THAT VOTER AND APPROVED LANGUAGE.

I ALSO WANNA AGREE WITH CEO PALACIO'S COMMENT, UH, WHERE HE NOTED THAT BOTH TODAY AND IN THE PREVIOUS MEETING, THAT THIS ROLE WOULD BE BEST SERVING AS A STRATEGIC COLLABORATOR THAT CAN IDENTIFY THOSE, UH, FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES TO LEVERAGE MEASURE Q DOLLARS AND BRING, UM, LARGER PUBLIC BENEFITS TO OUR COMMUNITY.

UH, BRINGING THOSE GRANTS IN, UH, TO THE COMMUNITY.

SO JUST WANTING TO HONOR THE INTENT OF THOSE VOTERS AND ENSURE THAT BOTH COUNTY PARKS AND OR3 CAN JOINTLY COORDINATE THIS POSITION TO FURTHER THE GOALS OF MEASURE Q AND THE COUNTY'S GOALS TO SERVE OUR COMMUNITIES THROUGH WORLD CLASS PARKS, CLIMATE RESILIENCE SOLUTIONS, DISASTER PREPAREDNESS, AND JUST HONOR THAT INTENT THAT THOSE, UH, DEPARTMENT AND THE OFFICE ARE JOINTLY MANAGING THESE MEASURE Q FUNDS AND RECOMMENDING, UH, TO THE BOARD.

SO, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY.

THE LAND TRUST LOOKS FORWARD TO REMAINING INVOLVED AS WE CONTINUE WITH IMPLEMENTATION.

- THANK YOU. ANYONE ONLINE? - I HAVE NO SPEAKERS ONLINE, CHAIR.

- I'LL BRING IT BACK TO THE BOARD TO ENTERTAIN A MOTION.

- IF THERE'S, AT SOME POINT, I CAN COMMENT ON THIS QUESTION ABOUT PARKS AND OR3...

- THAT'S WHAT I WAS GONNA ASK.

- I WOULD APPRECIATE THAT OPPORTUNITY.

- I THINK THE INFORMATION THAT I PROVIDED WITH DETAILED HOURS DEMONSTRATES A SHARED COMMITMENT AND APPROACH TO HOW PARKS AND OR3 WILL BOTH BE INVOLVED DEEPLY IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF MEASURE Q IN THE WORK WITH THE COAB, WITH THE WORK WITH GRANTS, THEY'RE, THAT'S WHERE WE SHOW THOSE INDIRECT STAFFING COSTS AND WHO WILL BE INVOLVED IN THAT.

AND AS THE, UH, ASSISTANT CEO TO WHOM THOSE DEPARTMENTS REPORT I MEAN, I AM, I'M GONNA BE CONTINUING TO BE HAVING THEM TALK ABOUT IT WITH ME, ENSURING THAT THAT, UM, UNIFIED YET STILL UM, SPECIALIZED PERSPECTIVES THAT THEY EACH BRING, THAT'S PART OF WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR.

WE DON'T WANT JUST A PARK'S PERSPECTIVE, AND WE DON'T WANT JUST TO KNOW OR3'S PERSPECTIVE.

AND IT'S THE POWER OF THE DIVERSITY OF THOSE PERSPECTIVES THAT IS GONNA REALLY HELP US GET TO THAT LEVEL OF COLLABORATION.

SO, UM, I'M VERY, UH, IN TUNED WITH THE LANGUAGE AND VERY IN TUNED WITH HOW THIS IS GONNA BE MOVED FORWARD.

UM, AND I, WE MADE THIS RECOMMENDATION BASED ON, UH, I THINK THE WAY THINGS WILL WORK BEST GIVEN WHERE WE ARE IN THE PROGRAM.

- THANK YOU. SEEING THAT NO ONE'S WILLING TO MOVE THIS FORWARD, I WILL MAKE A MOTION TO ACCEPT AND FILE A REPORT PROVIDING DETAILED COST ESTIMATES INFORMATION FOR WATER, WILDFIRE, WILDLIFE PROTECTION ACT, AND OPERATIONS AND ADMINISTRATION BUDGET FISCAL YEAR 2025-2026 RECOVER- FOR- I'LL MAKE THE MOTION.

- SO I HAVE A, UH, A QUESTION, A QUESTION FOR CLARITY.

I THOUGHT I HEARD A MOTION FROM SUPERVISOR KOENIG EARLIER.

WAS THAT ON THE- WAS IT SECONDED? - I DID MAKE IT, BUT I THINK IT WAS- WASN'T SECONDED, AND IT WAS BEFORE WE TOOK PUBLIC COMMENT. AND SO...

SO, HAVE YOU RETRACTED THAT MOTION? - WELL, I WAS WAITING FOR A SECOND ON THE CHAIR'S MOTION.

GOT IT.

- IS YOUR MOTION THE RECOMMENDED ACTION - STAFF REPORT? YES.

- UH, SECOND.

- ALL RIGHT. WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND.

CAN WE TAKE A ROLL CALL VOTE? - UH, WELL, I GUESS FOR THE SAKE OF DISCUSSION, OFFER A SUBSTITUTE MOTION, WHICH IS, UH, THAT WE ACCEPT AND FILE THE REPORT, BUT APPROVE ADDITION OF ONE FULL-TIME, UH, SENIOR DEPARTMENT ADMIN ANALYST IN THE PARKS DEPARTMENT, RATHER THAN THE SENIOR ADMIN ANALYST, UH, WHICH IS A CEO SPECIFIC ROLE, UNDERSTANDING THAT, YOU KNOW,

[03:30:01]

OF COURSE THIS- THE, UH, THE MORE FLEXIBLE DEPARTMENT ADMIN ANALYST COULD MOVE IN THE FUTURE.

AND THAT, UM, THIS DOES NOT PRECLUDE MEMBERS OF THE CEO'S OFFICE FROM MEETING WITH OTHER COUNTIES OR STATE DEPARTMENTS IF NEEDED.

- I'LL SECOND FOR THE PURPOSE OF DISCUSSION.

- ANYBODY HAVE DISCUSSION? - WELL, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S THE TIME OF NIGHT AND I'M VERY TIRED, BUT YOU TALK REALLY FAST.

COULD YOU JUST SAY IT AGAIN AND SLOW IT DOWN? - OKAY.

- BECAUSE I'M TRYING TO GET MY MIND AROUND IT.

SO, ARE YOU SUGGESTING THAT WE INSTEAD MOVE THIS POSITION FROM OR3 TO PARKS? - CORRECT.

AND THEY USE A DIFFERENT CLASSIFICATION THAT'S ABOUT $20,000 CHEAPER.