MENDOCINO CO., 5/8/25 — Dozens of Mendocino County employees plan to resign this summer as part of a voluntary separation program the county is implementing as it faces a multi-million-dollar budget deficit, the Board of Supervisors said at its meeting Tuesday.
During the meeting Tuesday, the county presented a summary of its fiscal year and its current budget deficit, which is $2.19 million as of this month.
At the meeting, the board discussed ways in which the county will be cutting costs in an attempt to decrease its deficit. One of the approved cost-cutting proposals is called the voluntary separation incentive program, where the county is offering to pay employees to resign from their positions.
Incentive payouts will be from $5,000 to $25,000 depending on length of service. Employees with 10 years or more of experience with the county are eligible to receive up to $25,000 in cash.
According to documents provided by the county, 28 employees expressed interest in resigning this summer. Of those, seven are county social workers, which could significantly impact resources for families, children and senior citizens.
Tony Rakes, the deputy CEO of the county, explained during the budget presentation at the meeting that the anticipated savings from the voluntary incentive program could be up to $338,000.
A social services worker for the county’s Family and Children’s Services Department, who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation from the county, said losing any number of employees will significantly impact departments already operating on thin margins.
“We are already lacking staff to adequately do our jobs. This is just one more burden,” the social worker said in an interview. “This all trickles down to Family and Children’s Services. When you don’t have adequate staff, that means it takes longer for people in the community to get ahold of somebody.”
She also explained that the voluntary incentive program will only lead to more burnout within social services departments and result in community members being inadequately served.
“The biggest problem with the buyout thing is that you’re taking staff from overworked departments,” she added. “What the supervisors don’t think about is the trickle down into the community. If you do something to the county employees, that affects the community. That to me is the biggest problem with this.”
For 3rd District Supervisor John Haschak, these cuts, while crucial to restoring the county’s fiscal stability, will create challenges for some non-profit groups as well as funding for senior centers on the coast and inland.
“We have had to cut out collaborative funding for some of the nonprofits in the county, and that’s putting a pinch on them,” Haschak explained in an interview. “Not only are the cuts affecting the operations of the county, but also there are the community effects too.”
Earlier this year, the county sent a letter to the Willits Senior Center stating that it would cut $34,100 in funding due to budget constraints. As a result, the center will lay off members of its operations department, a key component of communications with older adults in the city of Willits.
There will be other potential cancellations of contracts with some non-profit organizations and reducing grant matching that could cause some county programs to lose their entire funding.
Haschak noted that in addition to county budget cuts, possible federal funding reductions could add insult to injury.
On a more hopeful note, Haschak said that while the county is experiencing difficult financial constraints, he is optimistic that the community will be able to pull through.
“It’s going to be difficult, but we are going to come through this,” he said. “As a county, we are pretty resilient.”
I have an idea lers cut off the supervisors salaries until this mess is adequately dealt with.
How bout taking the raises the supervisor’s gave themselves!? That would be a really good start!!!!!!!
They did vote to rescind their own raises in that meeting.
So Haschak said that while the county is experiencing difficult financial constraints, he is optimistic that the community will be able to pull through.
“It’s going to be difficult, but we are going to come through this,” he said. “As a county, we are pretty resilient.”
I say. To him…to what extent and at whose expense? Will it be at the expense of a child remaining in an unsafe or abusive situation because there are not enough social workers to respond timely or to adequately investigate complex situations? Will it be at the expense of a child death or a child to continue to be physically. Sexually. Emotionally abused or neglected for a few more days, weeks, or months? Tell us how the County BOS can balance their budget deficit with State and Federal funds that are specifically sent to the county for only these services? It will be illegal for the BOS to take funds from the department and use them for services they are not specifically intended for. The math doesn’t add up. You cannot save a dime by vacating any social worker positions because you cannot take their salaries and spend them on anything else. The BOS needs to be investigated by the State. The BOS should tell us where the millions of dollars went that they spent over budget while funding their pet projects.
Color me shocked! NOT. who did not see this shit coming!? Govt waste at the local level, coming full circle. If it wasnt slightly tragic, id be lmfao.
This is so inconceivable and we all have not seen restraint from the supervisors when they want to spend. Like on outside advisors/lawyers, court cases, short-sighted expansions, ignoring expert and knowledgeable advice in the staffs, not demanding accountability from departments for budgets, etc. Did they forget they work for us? However, we should also accept our roles, as citizens, to demand they do their jobs. What a mess and, as usual, the most vulnerable will pay the price.
Sorry but the county cannot spend money on services or anything that it does not have. County government is not like the federal government which can just print more money or add it to the national debt. If the county has no money for the services or goods than there can be no services or goods.
Cutting staff may not only affect families and children at risk, but if there is a tragedy, the County is liable for lawsuit.
CWS Social Workers draw State and Federal funding, that is based on staffing levels of FY prior. So less SW means less $ for future FY.