UKIAH, CA., 11/4/26 — The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors accepted the county’s first-quarter budget report Tuesday, and Supervisor Ted Williams said the balanced budget rests on decades of not paying for roads.
“The only way we got here, that we were able to put that money into reserves, is by defunding the roads,” Williams said. “I can see the public looking at this and asking, `If this isn’t a rainy day, what will be a rainy day?’”
The vote to accept the report and adopt its budget adjustments was 5-0.
Ashley LaVelle, a principal administrative analyst in the executive office, told the board the county’s $530.3 million budget was balanced in June with $2.6 million in one-time money and about 42 fewer full-time positions than the year before. First-quarter spending is on track, she said. The county has about $8 million in its contingency reserve and about $3 million each in its rainy day and infrastructure reserves. CEO Sara Pierce said room tax and sales tax are declining, and she expects some agricultural property owners to ask the assessor for temporary reductions in value.
Williams said the county’s response to crime is probably costing more than the first quarter shows. “In the bigger picture of whether we are maintaining a balanced budget, we’re probably not,” he said.
Supervisor John Haschak said the county has also fallen behind on its buildings. “Between the two of those, we’re digging a hole deeper,” he said. He said he doesn’t see a way out of the road problem without a tax measure.
Pierce said she will bring a capital needs report, deferred maintenance costs and road information to the board with the midyear budget report in March.
The adjustments the board approved included $1.4 million more for the jail medical contract, which the county’s spreadsheet says was budgeted at the wrong amount. No supervisor mentioned it.
The auditor’s office told the board it expects to close the 2025-26 books by the end of November, after what it called unexpected personnel issues, and to issue audited statements in mid-March.
County opts into home-kitchen restaurants
The board voted 5-0 to opt into the state’s microenterprise home kitchen program, which lets a resident apply to cook and sell up to 30 meals a day, or 90 a week, from a home kitchen without installing a commercial kitchen. Income from the business is capped at $100,000 a year. Environmental Health Director Marlayna Bourbonnais said about 18 California jurisdictions allow the program, including Lake and Sonoma counties.
Health Services Director Jenine Miller said the department would need one more employee and is looking at a flat user fee of about $200. Lake County charges $135 to apply and $269 a year, she said. The fee will come to the board at its December fee hearing, with an ordinance after that.
Williams said he had drafted his own agenda item after fielding complaints about why Lake County allows home kitchens and Mendocino doesn’t. He pointed to the county’s rules for Hipcamp-style campsites. Those took years to write and ended with a permit that costs $6,000 to $7,000, he said. “Nobody’s going to take out a permit,” he said.
Supervisor Mo Mulheren asked that the program be “as streamlined and affordable as possible.” One resident told the board to consider traffic and smells in neighborhoods where home restaurants open.
Six ambulance agencies draft a partnership
Six public ambulance agencies are drafting a joint powers agreement to share a medical director, buy supplies together, train together and apply for grants together. They’re Anderson Valley Community Services District, Coast Life Support District, Covelo Fire Protection District, Elk Community Services District, Long Valley Fire Protection District and Ukiah Valley Fire Authority. Together they answer about 30% of the county’s 911 ambulance calls.
Emily Tecchio, county coordinator for the Mendocino County Fire Safe Council, said a rural ambulance transport costs about $2,800 on average and brings in about $1,300. The agreement doesn’t create a separate authority and doesn’t let one district draw on another’s tax base, she said.
Tami Bartolomei, the county’s public health emergency medical services program manager, said the county hasn’t taken part in the meetings but supports the plan. Williams said that’s the right arrangement. “The county being in tight collaboration is probably the kiss of death for any funding ask,” he said. Pierce said about $990,000 remains of the PG&E settlement money the board set aside in 2021 for an ambulance partnership. The board accepted the presentation 5-0.
Bower Park grant resolution returns Nov. 17
The board directed staff to bring back a resolution Nov. 17 for a state parks grant to finish Bower Park in Gualala. The county owns the park and must be the applicant. The Mendocino Coast Recreation and Park District hired the grant writer and is running a community survey. Staff estimated the project at $4.57 million. The grant requires no local match and would reimburse county staff time.
Kylie Felicich, the district’s general manager, said the park is the only one of its kind within a 90-minute drive, but the state doesn’t count Gualala as underserved and won’t accept letters of support. The district will lean on the county’s state legislators instead, she said. Applications are due Dec. 17.The board adopted a proclamation for Veterans Appreciation Day on Nov. 11 and read the names of more than 50 county employees who served in the military.
The board went into closed session at about 11 a.m. on labor talks and one case of anticipated litigation.
Before it did, during supervisors’ reports, Williams said he will propose setting aside $5 million for roads in next year’s budget before any other money is allocated. “We’re not putting any general fund towards roads,” he said. “We’re funding everything else. And the public notices it.”