The Opioid Grant Plan Returns Without Its Year-End Numbers, and a $417,000 Landfill Penalty Reaches the Board Three Months After It Was Signed: Tuesday, November 10th, 2026 Shasta County Agenda

The Shasta County Board of Supervisors meets Tuesday, November 10, at 9 AM, with 24 items on the agenda: eight on the regular calendar, including two closed sessions, and 16 on consent. The biggest item is one the board has already put off once: how to give out $1.5 million in opioid settlement money. It is also the board's first meeting since the November 3 election. Supervisor Kevin Crye, who lost his seat to Erin Resner in the June primary, leaves in January. In District 5, the county's unofficial results, last updated Monday, November 9, at 12:36 PM with 12 of 13 precincts reporting, showed Supervisor Chris Kelstrom, the board's chair, trailing Mike W. Gallagher, 41.48 percent to 58.52 percent, 2,855 votes to 4,028. Those results are not certified; state law gives the county until December 3.

The Opioid Grant Plan, Back Without the Numbers It Waited For

Item R5 asks the board to consider "directing staff to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the allocation of $1,500,000 in Opioid Settlement Funds and appointing an Ad Hoc Committee to review and evaluate applications." Supervisor Matt Plummer sponsored it.

The idea dates to August 11, when the board voted 4-0, with Crye absent, to put a discussion of an RFP for "up to $1.5 million" and an ad hoc committee on a future agenda, according to the draft minutes. On September 29 the board put it off, 4-1, with Crye voting no, to wait for final figures from the fiscal year that had just closed; County Executive Officer David Rickert "stated that the motion to delay the RFP had come at his request," and Deputy CEO Erin Bertain suggested the first meeting in November, the draft minutes say. Crye's proposal to go ahead with an open dollar amount "failed for lack of a second."

That meeting is Tuesday, and the year-end figures are not in the packet. The staff report is the September report, still headed "BOARD MEETING DATE: September 29, 2026," with an attachments line that reads "1: None."

It also leaves open who would choose the winners. The agenda and the recommendation say an "Ad Hoc Committee." The body of the report, as in September, says Purchasing staff advised that the people who approve contracts should be separate from those who evaluate proposals, "to avoid actual or perceived conflicts of interest," so "staff recommends establishing a three-member County staff evaluation committee." Plummer asks that Bertain, Chief Probation Officer Tracie Neal and Health and Human Services Agency Branch Director Cindy Lane be considered. Whether a board-named panel of staff would have to meet in public is a question for County Counsel, and the packet doesn't address it.

No draft RFP, scoring criteria, eligibility rules or timeline appears in the packet, and none has come before the board since August. The report doesn't say whether county departments may apply.

The county's own staff reports say Shasta County "has just over $14 million from these settlements, including interest," expects an additional $24.2 million, and had committed "just over $11.8 million" through fiscal 2028-29, as of March 24. A list of committed opioid funds the county released under the Public Records Act, dated the same day, totals $10,107,467; the county's documents don't explain the difference. Neither total includes the $3.75 million the board committed in December 2024 as matching money for a Bridge Center for Hope project, a commitment the county's letter made "contingent upon award of BHCIP grant funding and State and County approval of an implementation plan." Whether that grant was awarded is not in any county record we found.

A Landfill Penalty, Signed in August

Item R6 asks the board, by four-fifths vote, to "ratify the Public Works Director's signature" on a $417,000 settlement with the California Air Resources Board over methane emissions at West Central Landfill, "retroactive to August 11, 2026," and to move the money from the landfill's reserves.

Public Works Director John Heath, then the interim director, signed the agreement on August 11; CARB's chief counsel signed it August 25. By early September, CARB had listed the case among its 2026 enforcement settlements. Public Works budget memos dated September 28 said the item "will be presented" to the board on October 13; the packet doesn't say why it moved to November 10. The board voted 3-2 on October 27 to make Heath the permanent director, with Supervisors Allen Long and Corkey Harmon and Kelstrom voting yes and Crye and Plummer no, according to the meeting recording.

The counts don't line up. The staff report says CARB tested the landfill twice in the summer of 2025 and found "as many as 29 locations" over the methane limits. The county's compliance plan, attached to the item, says CARB's June 12, 2025, inspection found 28 locations above 500 parts per million and one grid location above the 25 ppm average, and a July 16 reinspection "further revealed exceedances." CARB's public case page says "49 locations" above 500 ppm and one above 25 ppm. Neither document reconciles them.

The penalty rests on 139: "139 violations" in the staff report, "139 days in violation" in the agreement, at $3,000 each against a maximum of $12,550 per day. Of the $417,000, $238,397 is a civil penalty paid to CARB and $178,603 funds a schools air-quality project run by the U.S. Green Building Council California; neither CARB nor the packet names the schools. In the agreement, the county "admits to the facts" but "denies any liability."

The county's own landfill gas consultant surveyed the surface on June 11, 2025, the day before CARB's inspection, and found three locations above 500 ppm. The plan says local air district staff "had raised concerns about the County's landfill gas consultant," whose methods "may not provide an accurate picture," and that the county hired "a new landfill gas consultant mid-year." It names neither. Both documents say the leaks were sealed, and CARB's page says the county "worked cooperatively" with its staff.

The county owns the landfill, but the agreement states that "The City of Redding operated the facility during the relevant time period," and its release of claims covers the city as well. The compliance plan calls Redding "a co-operator" and says the city received CARB's notice of violation, dated August 5, 2025. Only the county's Public Works department signs and pays. The staff report says "the settlement terms were approved by the Solid Waste Disposal Committee," which, according to Redding's budget, is made up of the county CEO, Redding's city manager and an at-large member the two appoint jointly. The packet doesn't say when the committee met or how it voted.

The money comes from the landfill's Replace and Improve reserve, not the general fund. The staff report says "until recently, staff weren't aware that these costs were eligible for R&I reimbursement, which will be used instead of customer septage fee revenue." Payment is due within 30 days of a notification date the packet doesn't give, and the packet doesn't say whether the county has paid.

One Youth Mental Health Contract at 70 Percent

Consent item C10 asks the board to approve, retroactive to July 1, a renewal of up to $7.5 million over three years with Victor Community Support Services, Inc., for outpatient specialty mental health services for youth. (The agenda and staff report call the company "Victor Community Social Services"; the agreement says "Support.") By Tuesday the agreement will be 132 days past its start date; staff say it is retroactive because it needed new language under the county's contracts policy and new state requirements.

Victor's rate is the outlier. The agreement says "Consultant receives 70% of the rate assigned to Shasta County" for each service. All seven other 2026 county specialty mental health agreements North State Breakdown found with the same clause pay 65 percent, including the one with Northern Valley Catholic Social Service, Inc., the only other provider chosen from the same request for proposals. Neither the staff report nor the agreement explains the difference. The $7.5 million cap does not change with the rate: a higher share means the cap buys fewer hours of service, not a larger bill.

The county's September 2025 request for proposals drew seven proposals; a three-person panel scored them and two providers were selected, the staff report says. The scores, the panel's members and the other bidders have not been made public. Medi-Cal covers half the cost and state realignment money the rest, with no general fund share. Victor's last renewal, in March 2024, was also approved after its start date, by 255 days, according to the minutes.

Jones Valley's Water, Still an Emergency

Consent item C12 asks the board, by four-fifths vote, to find that the water emergency in County Service Area 6, Jones Valley, has not been resolved, so the county can keep contracting without bids. It is the second continuation since the emergency took effect September 28, when the pump system that draws the area's water from Shasta Lake failed. The service area serves about 500 households and has no other source of drinking water, the resolution says.

The packet puts the rental pumping system at about $17,000 a month and the permanent repair at "in excess of $4,000,000," and says talks with the state are "ongoing" about up to $1,000,000 in emergency drinking water funds. On October 13 the board added $250,000 to the service area's budget and approved a general fund loan of up to $250,000. The packet names no vendor and gives no total spent so far.

At an October 21 community meeting in Jones Valley, KRCR reported, Heath put the cost of a permanent system at $5 million to $10 million depending on its size, the pumps were two diesel units rented from Rain for Rent, and Plummer said state officials would commit $1 million toward temporary and interim pumps. No written state commitment appears in county records.

Fireworks and Outdoor Burning Violations Become Infractions

Item R2 introduces an ordinance that would make violations of the county's outdoor burning rules (Section 8.08.010) and every violation of its fireworks chapter (Chapter 8.12) infractions, with fines of $100 for a first violation, $200 for a second within a year and $500 for each one after that, the standard maximums state law sets for infractions of county ordinances. The ordinance would be adopted at a later meeting and take effect 30 days after that.

The staff report and the ordinance don't match on fireworks. The report says the change takes the penalty "from a mandatory misdemeanor to an infraction or a misdemeanor." The ordinance text has no misdemeanor option: anyone who violates the chapter "shall be guilty of an infraction." The rest of Chapter 8.08, including the section on failing to clear a fire hazard, isn't amended; the packet doesn't say why. The Fire Master Plan the board adopted October 13 does not recommend penalty changes for either chapter, and the packet doesn't say what prompted this one.

The CEO's Evaluation, and What Isn't on the Agenda

The closed session includes a performance evaluation of the County Executive Officer (R7). Rickert's contract says his performance "shall be evaluated by the Board in December 2025, and annually every December thereafter, unless that schedule is modified by the Board." This one is set for November; the packet doesn't say whether the board changed the schedule. The board also meets with its labor negotiators about the United Public Employees of California General Unit (R8), whose contract expires December 31; it is the second meeting in a row, and the fourth of the last five, with those talks in closed session. Supervisors' own cost-of-living raises are tied by county ordinance to this unit's.

Several items the board asked to see again are not on Tuesday's agenda. On October 27 the board voted, on Crye's motion, to bring back a Sheriff's Office presentation on the county's Flock license plate camera contract and then a vote on ending it, "before the end of November"; the motion passed 4-1 on a voice vote, as announced by the chair, according to the meeting recording. The board also voted that day to bring the mobile home rent issue back in about 30 days. Under the board's adopted 2026 calendar, the next regular meetings are November 17, December 8 and December 15; there is no November 24 meeting. The October 27 minutes had not been posted as of November 9.

The Full Agenda

The board takes up R1 through R3, then the consent calendar, then R4 through R8.

Regular Calendar

R1. Employee of the Month. Recognizes Amber Keegan, a Nutrition Assistant II with the Health and Human Services Agency.

R2. Fire and fireworks penalties. Covered above.

R3. CEO update and supervisors' reports. No vote. The item allows action on legislation but names no bill.

R4. Federal permitting bill. A Plummer-sponsored letter supporting S.5653, the "Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026." No draft letter is attached, the packet states no local connection, and the item would let the CEO send future letters on the bill without returning to the board. As of Monday night, the Senate had recorded no vote on the bill.

R5. Opioid settlement RFP. Covered above.

R6. Landfill methane settlement. Covered above.

R7. Closed session, CEO evaluation. Covered above.

R8. Closed session, labor. Covered above.

Consent Calendar

C1. Yuba Street parking. An agreement with the City of Redding to quitclaim the westernmost part of Yuba Street and the adjacent alley to the county, for Public Defender, Probation and public parking, in exchange for a pedestrian and bicycle easement. The county pays the fees and will pursue a quiet title lawsuit. No dollar estimate is given.

C2. Cash shortages and overages. The Auditor-Controller's annual report: $1,061.71 in net relief, all under the $500 statutory limit per item, and "No evidence of employee fraud."

C3. Fall River Resource Conservation District. Reappoints four incumbent directors, three of them Lassen County representatives. One Shasta seat remains vacant.

C4. Anderson Fire Protection District. Appoints Patricia Clarke and Amber Justi in lieu of election. One seat remains vacant.

C5. Castella Fire Protection District. Appoints Scott King and Mona Carr in lieu of election.

C6. Cottonwood Fire Protection District. Appoints Dale Allen and Odie "Mike" Foster in lieu of election. Two directors resigned after a September 23 special meeting; the packet gives no reason. One seat will stay vacant.

C7. Millville Fire Protection District. Appoints Ronda "LeeAnn" Brown in lieu of election.

C8. State housing grants. Accepts $380,801 in state Transitional Housing Program and Housing Navigation and Maintenance Program money, two programs the county has accepted before.

C9. About Time Recovery. A $72,000 agreement for sober living beds at $45 a bed per day, July 2026 through June 2027, retroactive to July 1. The agenda line gives no amount. The county's previous agreement with the company, July 2023 through June 2026, was for up to $926,385.

C10. Victor Community Support Services. Covered above.

C11. Public Defender positions. Adds a social worker and an analyst, paid by a state holistic defense grant, both ending June 1, 2028.

C12. Jones Valley water emergency. Covered above.

C13. Winter storm emergency. Continues the December 2025 storm emergency for a sixth time, pending state or federal aid. The damage estimates, $6,681,765 public and $2,609,541 private, have not changed since February.

C14. Boating safety grant. Authorizes the Sheriff to apply for state boating enforcement money for 2027-28: $413,936.19, the same as this year and down from $584,990 the year before. The packet doesn't say why.

C15. Visions of the Cross. A five-year, $650,000 agreement with VOTC, Inc., doing business as Visions of the Cross, for sober living and recovery residences, Parent University and other services, December 7, 2026, to December 6, 2031. The daily rates, $42.14 and $35.00 for an adult depending on the level, are the same as in the 2023 agreement, which split $849,000 over three years between Probation and Health and Human Services referrals. The new one has a single cap, no split between departments and no funding source. The agenda line gives neither the amount nor the term.

C16. Tax-defaulted property sale. Authorizes the sale of up to 78 properties, with minimum bids totaling $1,780,100, at a February 26, 2027, online auction. They include the former gas station at 3440 South Market Street in Redding, owned by Redding Chevron LLC and the subject of a City of Redding nuisance case in January, at a $59,900 minimum, and a 27.89-acre parcel zoned for multifamily housing in Redding, on its fourth straight list at $300,000, down from $700,000 last year.

And that's the Agenda Preview.