The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Tuesday to add fossil fuels to the list of investments that are formally discouraged by the county’s investment policy. Supervisors also heard from members of the public about safety, behavioral health and a proposal to bring IHSS caregivers’ pay up to $19.50 an hour. That’s fifty cents short of the $20 an hour that the caregivers union, SEIU 2015, has been asking for.
And Supervisor Dan Gjerde rebuffed Supervisor Maureen Mulheren’s attempt as chair to prevent him from speaking directly to a local dog trainer who raised a concern about animal control during public comment on off-agenda items.
Eileen Mitro, with Climate Action Mendocino, encouraged the Board to step away from fossil fuels. “If we’re considering discouraging investments in entities that receive revenue from tobacco, firearms or weapons that kill people, what about fossil fuels that are causing disasters on a daily basis, because of their impact on our planet’s atmosphere?” she suggested.
Supervisor John Haschak made the motion, saying the relevant section of the policy should read, “Investments are discouraged in entities that receive a significant portion of their revenues from fossil fuels, the manufacture of tobacco products, firearms, or weapons not used in the national defense.”
Carlos Oblites, a senior portfolio strategist with Chandler Asset Management, the company managing the county’s investments, said he doesn’t expect the decision to hit the county hard. He said the new policy would cause the county to remove two AA-rated companies from its portfolio. “They’re good diversifiers and provide competitive yield,” he acknowledged; “But you have a sizable investment portfolio. We would simply replace those names with other types of investments that are allowed by code.”
Caregiver Priscilla Tarver also brought a financial matter before the board. She read a statement she said was from the caregivers union rep, about the latest wage proposal, which will bring the wages of caregivers in Mendocino County to $19.50 an hour. “Caregivers will still be below the majority of workers in the county,” she read. “If accepted, these increases will take about two months to implement. By that time, minimum wage for fast food restaurant workers will be $20 an hour (as of April). With these proposals, we are trying to improve the lives of 1750 caregivers and their families.”
She then went off script, saying, “You seem to be able to take your raises, but when someone else asks you for one, you make everybody struggle (and) grovel at your feet. It doesn’t matter how many points we bring up to you. You make it difficult. I’m pretty sure if the public had a say in you getting your raises, you probably wouldn’t have gotten them.”
Tracy Vogel Thieriot said she wants better leadership on another issue, that of public safety. She said that last week, a transient who is a repeat sex offender chased and threatened three teenaged girls as they were on their way to her business in Ukiah. “The industry of support for the unhoused is being taken advantage of by criminals and repeat offenders,” she opined. “And it isn’t effectively supporting the very deserving people in need of help or the citizens the system is now putting at risk…It’s time for more accountability, and it’s time for better leadership from each and every one of you.”
Gjerde asked CEO Darcie Antle how supervisors can follow up, in the light of the fact that Bekkie Emery, the Director of Social Services, is on medical leave until April. “With no Director of Social Services, how can the board find out from the Department of Social Services what they’re doing to change the lives of the people they serve, rather than, what we’re hearing is sort of enabling bad behavior and enabling a life of drug addiction and other conduct that is really not the purpose of social services?”
CEO Darcie Antle replied that, “During this interim period, you can work directly through me as the Director of Social Services reports to the CEO, and/or (Deputy CEO) Steve Dunnicliff.”
Mulheren said she would prepare an agenda item. Gjerde and Mulheren clashed earlier in the meeting, when Manina Harris, a dog trainer and humane society volunteer, asked the board to address a lack of support for animals in the community. Gjerde began to reply, but Mulheren cut him off, telling him that he could share his comments during supervisors’ reports, which typically take place late in the day. Gjerde objected, saying, “We can speak at this point,” and beginning his comment again.
Mulheren reprimanded him, saying, “We’re not addressing the public during public expression so we can continue the meeting. We have her email address and we can respond to her.”
Gjerde continued to argue that this is not a rule the board has adopted, but Mulheren countered that it is. “We have only agreed not to take action on public comment because it’s not on the agenda, but it doesn’t prohibit the board from responding,” Gjerde insisted. Mulheren told him again that supervisors can make comments during supervisors’ reports, or bring forward an agenda item.
“Well, I’m elected by the people of the Fourth District, and I’m going to speak,” Gjerde decided. He then said he wished for Harris and the public to know that, “The County of Mendocino spends $1.8 million a year on animal care services. That’s separate from what we spend on animal control. We collect about $800,000 a year in fees from members of the public who pay for dog licenses, et cetera. The rest of it comes from the county property taxes…I personally would agree that this is an issue. We spend a tremendous amount of money on animal care. I’m not convinced it’s as cost effective as it could be.” He commended the work of the Mendocino Coast Humane Society and the Inland Humane Society, in Redwood Valley, “and I think those same dollars could be more effectively spent through outside partners than county employees. So I think it’s something that we should look into as a board. And with the public.”
Physically remove all of these marks as communists, they do not work to better the populace. They work to line their own pockets and cause more grief for the general public.
I recently saw a man pulling up his pants behind old train Depot and a man hitting a dirt pile with large wood object. The rail trail isn’t safe and it’s right on Perkins, one of the most traveled roads. How will tourist see this as a place of fun and as a family atmosphere? The cyclists event was wonderful but I fear that other areas of town, are being neglected, from security and transient altercations. The recent event of young people being chased is horrible. To risk life and auto in downtown, on the chance of, maybe it’s safe? Awareness and avoidence, is the best and first defense, with risky behaviors, of others. The council seems not aware or chooses to ignore the problem. Oakland, is a example of what happens when questionable transients, drug criminals, are allowed, to loiter for hours. Civil rights apply to public safety too. Prioritizing the right, to walk or shop downtown, feeling safe, is the biggest priority, in my opinion.
“Investments are discouraged in entities that receive a significant portion of their revenues from fossil fuels, the manufacture of tobacco products, firearms, or weapons not used in the national defense.”
to the BOS,
if this is your position, then i challenge you to live/lead by example and cease using anything associated with fossil fuels.
stop heating your homes stop using gas in your cars, stop charging your EV’s with power that is derived from the grid.
lead by example and get back to us on how that all played out for you. then perhaps we the people vote on all that. just a thought.
AGREED, Instead they should bow down on their knees and thank fossil fuel for every possession they have. I challenge them to name one that is not derived from fossil fuel. Wow
I strongly disagree with Supervisor Gjerde. During my interactions with the Inland Humane Society, in Redwood Valley, I found them to be excellent in providing animal services for the area. Privatization of these services leads to incompetence and harm to the animals and always increases costs to public entities.
The use of hydrocarbon fuels, aka fossil fuels, has lifted billions of people out of poverty and thereby improved and prolonged that lives of most of those billions of people. This is a provable claim. What is not provable is that the idea that using of fossil fuels has a significant, deleterious impact on the climate. So much so that benefits of using fossil fuels must be cast aside in a hopeless pursuit of Net Zero. Which will not happen US and certainly in the entire world. This vote by the BOS just tells me their actions are for show. It’s already been shown they can’t move the needle on any single issue which impacts our lives here in this woebegone County.
Politicians are vomit worthy. Gasoline and diesel are the source of accomplishing work that enables all them to sit around eating tofu burgers and deciding how the rest of us need to live. Ill keep my diesel truck my gas car and lawn tools. I’ll keep my firearms The tobacco is all yours. Now Bos. Or shd I say BS get off your ass and do something about the rapid decline of our county
We are asking for safety in our county! We’re a large rural county. Our county seat looks terrible. Spending money to dress it up is like putting lipstick on a pig. San Francisco spends millions of taxpayer dollars to help the homeless and look where they are. We’re a smaller version of that now. We need police on streets to address all these criminals running around. Get with the program! Listen to your constituents! This BOS are a bunch of chuckleheads????
The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Tuesday to add fossil fuels to the list of investments that are formally discouraged by the county’s investment policy and all mendocino energy needs will come from hot air blown out of their mouths.