The following is a column submitted by Mendocino County 3rd District Supervisor John Haschak. The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of the Mendocino Voice.
There has been a lot of talk about supervisorial raises. The Board’s goal in negotiations was to get all employees to market rate for their positions. We did this with all bargaining units. With all department heads, CEO, and elected officials, we did the same thing except we used comparables for Humboldt, Sonoma, and Lake counties which intentionally provided a lower increase in pay. Within the next two years, all employees will achieve this market rate. The same is true for the electeds, CEO and department heads. Instead of losing trained employees to other counties, we will be able to better retain and attract employees.
There are 150 job classifications making more than the Supervisors. As a teacher, I would have made more than I do as a Supervisor. When I first ran for Supervisor, the Board had given themselves a 39% raise before the employees got their raise. I did not accept that money. Instead, I created scholarships for students in the 3rd District. With the current agreements, everyone else has already received the market rate agreement. Without getting the Supervisors to market rate, we would not be treating everyone equally. This would set up future Boards for a huge increase at some point. As noted in the Board meeting, the State requires the Supervisors to approve their own salary increase.
The Sherwood Road Emergency Access Route special assessment passed by almost a 2-1 margin. Being a pilot program, we overcame many problems along the way. Persistence by many will create a safer community. This pilot program created a roadmap on how to better prepare our communities for emergencies.
Mendocino County Office of Emergency Services (OES) launched a new evacuation mapping software on MendoReady.org. The Genasys Protect map allows public access to all emergency advisories, warnings, and orders in the County. It also lets you view incident-specific evacuation points, evacuation centers, shelters, road closures, sandbag stations, and other resources.
A shout out to Municipal Advisor Councils. In the 3rd District, Laytonville and Round Valley have MACs. They provide needed input into land use issues and other community concerns. The meetings are open to the public and the members are all volunteers with the community’s best interest at heart. Whether it is providing comment on proposed projects or community concerns, organizing for disaster preparedness, or envisioning community needs, these meetings provide forums for local, county, and state officials to hear from and share with the people. I appreciate the concerns they bring forward and the meetings often give me projects to work on.
I am available by email haschakj@mendocinocounty.gov or phone 707-972-4214.
John