Agenda Preview - Board of Supervisors 8-26-2025

The Shasta County Board of Supervisors convenes Tuesday, August 26, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. in downtown Redding. On the agenda is a wildfire safety ordinance, a letter of opposition to the state’s redistricting package, a 90-acre land deal for custody programs, and another round of election office funding requests.

R1 — CEO Update and Supervisors’ Reports

This is the standing opening item. The County Executive Officer provides updates on county operations, often including legislative matters or recent developments in departments. Each supervisor then gives a brief report on activities in their districts or regional/statewide meetings they’ve attended. No formal votes are usually taken, but supervisors sometimes float future agenda topics or make public statements that hint at upcoming priorities.

R2 — Defensible Space Ordinance

The Board will consider the introduction of a new defensible space ordinance aimed at strengthening wildfire protection across Shasta County.

The ordinance would:

• Apply defensible space standards countywide, not just in designated high-fire areas.

• Require vegetation clearance around homes and structures, including specific rules for smaller parcels.

• Establish enforcement tools, treating violations as infractions with fines under Government Code 25132, while reserving misdemeanor-level penalties for serious or repeat cases.

• Allow the county to perform abatement work if a property owner fails to comply, with costs recoverable through liens against the property.

Staff describes the update as necessary to align with state fire safety mandates and to give the county clearer authority to enforce compliance. If adopted, the ordinance would move to a second reading and final approval at a later meeting.

Consent Calendar Highlights

The Consent Calendar bundles routine items that are typically passed with a single vote unless pulled for discussion. Among them are legislative letters, election consolidation, technology upgrades, and a multimillion-dollar agreement for jail-based competency treatment.

• C3 – Legislative Opposition: Approves a letter opposing the state’s redistricting package, which places a new congressional map before voters as Proposition 50 in a special election this November. The package includes AB 604, SB 280, and ACA 8, which together establish the rules, funding, and constitutional authority for the one-time election.

  
  

• C6 – November 2025 Election Consolidation: Consolidates the statewide Proposition 50 redistricting vote with the City of Redding’s proposed public safety sales tax measure, placing both before voters on the November 4, 2025 ballot.

  This comes just one week after a contentious 3–2 vote in which Supervisor Matt Plummer successfully delayed approval for the County Clerk to run the City’s sales tax election. Plummer argued the City’s measure should be tied to unrelated negotiations over land for custody operations, and was joined by Chair Crye and Supervisor Harmon in pushing the pause.

• C12 – Public Defender Technology: Approves a shift to Journal Technologies’ eDefender case-management system. The development agreement has no maximum cap, while licensing and support are estimated at $63,350 annually, subject to inflation. A budget transfer of $95,900 is also required, meaning this item needs a four-fifths vote.

  
  

• C14 – Jail-Based Competency Treatment: Renews the county’s agreement with the Department of State Hospitals for in-jail restoration of defendants deemed incompetent to stand trial. The contract is valued at up to $3.9 million over three years (2025–2028), with no added General Fund cost.

  
  

• C17 – Contract Management System: Adopts a new countywide system for contracts using DocuSign CLM. The agreements include $80,000 with Carahsoft and $170,280 with Marshfield Consulting for configuration and implementation. Staff note future General Fund costs once all departments migrate to the system.

R3 — Lease Agreement for Custody Operations

This item is regarding approval a 30-year lease agreement with the City of Redding for roughly 90 acres on Eastside Road, property the County intends to use for custody operations. The agreement carries no rent, framed instead as a partnership of mutual benefit, and gives the County the option to purchase the land later if certain conditions are met. On paper, it represents the first step toward expanding alternatives to incarceration and possibly building a new jail, though funding and regulatory hurdles remain significant.

Just one week earlier at the August 19th Board Meeting, Supervisor Matt Plummer pulled the City of Redding’s sales tax election item from the consent calendar, insisting the County should not approve the election until the City acted on this very land lease. That motion carried on a 3-2 vote, with Crye and Harmon joining Plummer, and sparked criticism from the other supervisors who argued the two issues were legally unrelated. After the meeting, Crye noted that it was the first time he, Plummer, and Harmon had voted together as a majority on an issue.

R4 — Legislative Opposition: Assembly Bill 470

The Board will consider opposing Assembly Bill 470, a proposal addressing the Carrier of Last Resort obligation for telecommunications providers. Under current California law, companies like AT&T must continue to provide landline service in areas where alternatives such as cell coverage or internet-based phones are not dependable. AB 470 would loosen those requirements, allowing carriers to withdraw from being the “last resort” in rural and hard-to-serve areas.

Shasta County’s opposition centers on the risk that residents in remote parts of the county could lose access to reliable phone service, particularly in emergencies. Many rural households still depend on landlines for communication during wildfires, power shutoffs, and other disasters when cellular networks can fail. By sending this letter of opposition, the Board would join other rural counties warning that AB 470 could disproportionately harm communities like Shasta, where geography and infrastructure gaps make redundancy in communications a public safety issue.

R5 — Commission on Aging

The Board will receive a presentation from the Health and Human Services Agency regarding the future of Shasta County’s Commission on Aging. Supervisors are being asked to decide between two paths: either authorize the County Executive Officer to begin the process of formally decommissioning the Commission, or provide alternative direction to staff about how it should continue.

The Commission on Aging has historically served as an advisory body focused on issues affecting seniors in Shasta County, including housing, healthcare access, transportation, and aging services. In recent years, however, participation has waned and its role has become less defined. Staff’s recommendation signals a concern that the Commission may no longer be functioning effectively or adding value in its current form.

If the Board votes to decommission, the county would lose a formal advisory body on senior issues, though staff emphasize they would continue to engage with service providers and advocacy groups through other channels. Alternatively, supervisors could opt to restructure or reinvigorate the Commission rather than shut it down entirely.

R6 — Elections Department Equipment Purchase

The Board will consider a request from the Elections Department to purchase equipment as part of a scaled-back pilot project. This comes after two previous regular calendar rejections earlier this month: first, a proposal for up to $2.6 million in new equipment was voted down, and then a smaller $125,000 request failed to gain support last week. The item was continued so that the Registrar of Voters, Clint Curtis could bring back what he specifically would be using the money for.

The current proposal seeks approval to buy specific items and services, including wireless security cameras, laptops, and other office hardware from Amazon, which is intended to modernize election operations per Registrar of Voter's Clint Curtis's vision. According to the staff report, the purchases are framed as necessary to improve transparency and efficiency. However, county IT staff have not yet reviewed the equipment list, raising questions about whether the proposed systems would function well for it's intended purpose.

There are technical and legal hurdles. Wireless cameras, for example, still require hard-wired power and can saturate a router when multiple high-definition feeds are running simultaneously. Others note that election equipment connected to the county’s network must meet stringent security requirements, meaning any purchase without IT vetting could pose risks.

This scaled-down plan represents a compromise, far less expensive than the original $2.6 million proposal.

R7 — Registrar of Voters Office Space

The Board will discuss options for temporary office space for the Registrar of Voters ahead of the November 4, 2025 election. The staff report does not identify specific locations, instead asking supervisors to provide direction on whether staff should continue exploring potential sites.

The debate comes against the backdrop of earlier discussions around the vacant Joann Fabrics building on Dana Drive in Redding. On August 12, the Board voted against pursuing that lease due to cost concerns. Following that vote, Chair Crye suggested he would try to negotiate a short-term arrangement to secure the building for a symbolic rate of one dollar, but no such deal has materialized. While Joann’s remains the most visible option discussed publicly, it is not named in the August 26 agenda, leaving the Board to consider either revisiting that idea or identifying alternatives.

R8 — Closed Session: Labor Negotiations

The Board will enter closed session to discuss labor negotiations with County representatives and legal counsel. The bargaining units involved are the Deputy Sheriffs Association, which represents deputies, sergeants, and District Attorney investigators.

While the details of these talks remain confidential, outcomes can carry significant implications for the County budget. Public safety contracts make up some of the largest recurring costs in local government, and any tentative agreements reached in closed session would still require formal approval by the Board in open session before taking effect.

R9 — Closed Session: Existing Litigation

The Board will meet in closed session with legal counsel to discuss a Workers’ Compensation Case for Laura Burch who most recently served as Director of the Health and Human Services Agency until she went on medical leave in September 2024. She formally announced her retirement earlier this year.

Her workers’ compensation claim is now before the state’s Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board. While the details of the case remain confidential, these types of proceedings typically address whether an employee’s medical condition is job-related and what level of benefits are owed. For the Board, the closed session provides an opportunity to review strategy with counsel and consider potential settlement options. Any formal action taken would be announced once the closed session concludes.

This meeting reflects choices that will influence public safety, elections, and essential county services, and are where decisions take shape that affect daily life in Shasta County. As I like to say, public involvement remains one of the most important checks on how those decisions are made.

And that’s the Agenda Preview.