Agenda Preview - Board of Supervisors 9-09-2025

The Shasta County Board of Supervisors will meet on Tuesday, September 9, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. at the County Administration Center in Redding. The agenda includes employee recognition, legislative updates, and presentations, along with high-dollar agreements and a major funding loan for Social Services. The Amity Foundation returns after being pulled from last month’s agenda, and questions about the County Charter resurface in the consent calendar.

R1 — Employee of the Month

The Board will recognize Carrie Taylor, Senior Staff Services Analyst – Confidential with the Department of Support Services, as Shasta County’s Employee of the Month for September 2025.

Taylor began her county career in 2008 as an Office Assistant and has steadily advanced through multiple roles. She is credited with leading her team by example, managing a heavy workload with patience, and upholding strong ethical standards. She is also known for prioritizing staff development, ensuring consistent communication, and maintaining a supportive environment even during challenging times.

R2 — CEO Update and Supervisors’ Reports

The County Executive Officer will provide updates on county operations and may bring forward items tied to Shasta County’s legislative platform. These updates often include recent developments in state or federal policy that could affect local departments.

Following that, each supervisor will give a brief report on activities in their districts or regional and statewide meetings they’ve attended. These reports do not involve a formal vote but can be telling, as supervisors sometimes preview upcoming priorities or signal where they stand on future agenda items.

R3 — Constitution Week Proclamation

The Board will adopt a proclamation designating September 17–23, 2025, as “Constitution Week” in Shasta County. Sponsored by Supervisor Chris Kelstrom, the observance aligns with the national commemoration of the signing of the U.S. Constitution in 1787.

Proclamations like this are largely symbolic but serve as reminders of civic traditions. They also give supervisors an opportunity to highlight themes of governance, rights, and responsibilities that can resonate with current political discussions in the county.

R4 — Amity Foundation Presentation

The Board will hear from Doug Bond, President and CEO of the Amity Foundation, regarding its Male Community Reentry Program, offering services such as housing, job training, and therapeutic support for individuals transitioning from incarceration.

This item returns to the agenda after being pulled from the August 12 meeting, highlighting the Board’s ongoing interest in alternatives to incarceration. Significantly, on September 2, 2025, the Redding City Council unanimously approved a lease agreement with the County for a 90-acre tract at 7251 Eastside Road, designated as surplus city land and intended for the proposed alternative custody facility. The lease spans 30 years, with no rent required, though the County has the option to purchase the property after one year of operation.

This development suggests renewed momentum for the Amity proposal and related custody reform efforts. It also signals a tangible next step toward realizing hybrid models of justice that emphasize rehabilitation over incarceration.

Consent Calendar Highlights

The Consent Calendar bundles routine actions into a single vote, unless an item is pulled for discussion. Several items stand out this week for their cost, policy impact, or controversy.

C3 — Charter Survey

The Board will consider approving a community survey to gather feedback on possible additions to the County Charter. This comes just days after Chair Crye revealed on his September 7 radio show that Shasta County’s charter, approved by voters in March 2024, was never filed with the Secretary of State and is therefore not yet valid. Paperwork was only sent on August 29, 2025, and the County is now awaiting confirmation.

Despite that unresolved status, the survey has returned on the consent calendar with no scheduled board discussion. Notably, two of the questions reference Measure P and Measure Q, charter amendments that voters rejected in the November 2024 election. Measure P, concerning eminent domain, failed narrowly by 358 votes, while Measure Q, dealing with how vacancies are filled for elected offices, was rejected by more than 13,600 votes. Including these topics in a new survey raises questions about why the Board would solicit input on issues the electorate has already decided.

High-Dollar Agreements

Several agreements exceed $100,000 and involve key health and social services:

• C9 & C10: Retroactive renewals with Willow Glen Care Center totaling up to $5.9 million for residential treatment and mental health rehabilitation services.

  
  

• C11: Amendment with Adventist Health Vallejo increasing reimbursement for inpatient psychiatric hospitalization.

  
  

• C14: Revenue agreement with the California Department of Public Health for the WIC nutrition program, valued at $6.5 million.

  
  

• C18: Budget amendments totaling over $300,000 for roofing replacements at county facilities.

  
  

Legislative Letters

• C7: This item bundles position letters: support for composting livestock carcasses (AB 411), support for new regulations on short-term rental facilitators (SB 346), and opposition to a bill revising rules for classifying dangerous dogs (AB 793).

Proclamations

• C15: The Board will adopt a proclamation declaring October 2025 as Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Other Notables

• C2: A letter to Congressman Doug LaMalfa about the impacts of federal investment tax credits, with specific mention of the Fountain Wind Project.

  
  

• C19: An agreement with Solano County to house Shasta County inmates in their jail.

R5 — Crop and Livestock Report

The Board will receive the 2024 Shasta County Crop and Livestock Report from the Agricultural Commissioner and Sealer of Weights and Measures. These annual reports track production values and provide a snapshot of the county’s agricultural economy.

While no vote is required, the report offers useful insight into local trends.

R6 — CalWORKs Child Care Agreement

The Board will consider renewing a retroactive agreement with the Shasta County Office of Education (SCOE) for the administration of state-mandated child care and education services under the CalWORKs program. The contract is valued at up to $4.86 million, but it is funded by the state and functions as a pass-through; the county is required to approve these agreements to keep the program running.

On his September 7 radio show, Chair Crye previewed this item, casting doubt on whether SCOE deserved the funding and questioning why staff reports highlight the program’s long track record dating back to 1998. He said he planned to press for “metrics” and implied the contract might not be justified. What he did not emphasize is that these are not discretionary county dollars. Withholding funds would jeopardize legally mandated services.

For context, in August 2024, Superintendent of Schools Mike Freeman publicly shared his concern after Crye used a meeting on a SCOE contract to pitch his own Ascend program. A move Freeman flagged as a troubling conflict of interest. That history lingers as Crye now dismisses SCOE’s programs as political.

On his show, Crye underscored the contract’s size by remarking, “that’s a lot of cheese.”

Closed Session

Closed session items are discussed privately by the Board and are not heard in front of the public. Any reportable actions taken during closed session will be announced after the Board reconvenes in open session.

R7 — Labor Negotiations

The Board will enter closed session with its labor negotiators to discuss terms with the Professional Peace Officers Association. These confidential talks typically cover compensation, benefits, and working conditions for deputies and investigators. Outcomes can have significant budget implications since public safety contracts represent some of the county’s largest recurring expenses.

R8 — Anticipated Litigation

Also in closed session, the Board will confer with legal counsel regarding one potential case of anticipated litigation. The agenda cites “significant exposure,” though no further details are provided at this stage. Any reportable action will be announced when the Board reconvenes in open session.

R9 — General Fund Loan Extension

The Board will consider extending a General Fund loan of up to $7 million to cover negative cash flow in the Social Services Fund (Fund 140). The money is to be repaid by October 31, 2025, with interest at the county treasurer’s pool rate.

This request builds on earlier Board action from June 24, 2025, when supervisors authorized temporary use of up to $5 million in General Fund cash to keep the Social Services Fund solvent. At that time, HHSA explained that entitlement program costs were outpacing state reimbursements, leading to an average shortfall of nearly $1 million per month. By early September, the fund had dropped to more than $4.6 million in the red, prompting staff to seek an increase in the loan ceiling.

Several factors worsened the situation. In May, the State corrected an error in its 2023–24 realignment disbursements, which cut Shasta County’s share by roughly $4 million. HHSA also had to transfer over $2.1 million from Fund 140 to the county’s Mental Health Fund to fix an internal accounting issue.

Staff stress that these are mandated programs with no spending discretion, and that revenues are expected to catch up with expenses over time. The loan ensures HHSA can continue paying salaries, benefits, and service contracts without interruption until reimbursements arrive.

These meetings are where decisions take shape that affect daily life in Shasta County. Public involvement remains one of the most important checks on how those decisions are made, whether by attending in person or contacting supervisors to share your views.

And that’s the Agenda Preview.