Shasta County Agenda Preview 2-10-2026: Election Controversy, Health Update, Brown Act Compliance

REDDING, CALIF — The Shasta County Board of Supervisors meets Tuesday, February 10, 2026, at 9:00 a.m. at the County Administration Center, 1450 Court Street, Suite 263, in Redding. The agenda spans elections, public health, emergency infrastructure, labor agreements, and new state compliance requirements — with one item likely to generate the most heat: a discussion of whether the County Clerk/Registrar of Voters has been using public resources for campaign-related activity.

Opening Items

The meeting opens with an invocation from Pastor Josh Thompson of Westside Church of Redding and the Pledge of Allegiance led by Supervisor Corkey Harmon.

The first order of business is a resolution recognizing Jessica Stork, a social worker with the Health and Human Services Agency's Adult Protective Services Unit, as Shasta County's Employee of the Month for February 2026. Stork has been with the agency since November 2022 and was nominated for her work advocating for elderly and dependent adult clients, training new staff, and presenting at local stakeholder meetings.

Following that, under R2, County Executive Officer David Rickert will deliver his regular update on county issues. The Board will also hear supervisors' reports and may take positions on specific legislation related to the county's legislative platform. No details on specific bills were included in the packet materials for this item.

Public Health Officer Report

Supervisor Matt Plummer is sponsoring R3, a presentation from County Public Health Officer Dr. James Mu on key accomplishments from 2025 and priorities heading into 2026.

The presentation materials highlight a significant theme: Shasta County's ongoing physician shortage. Dr. Mu declared a formal Physician Shortage Crisis in June 2025, and the data in his slides tell the story of a county working hard to recruit and retain medical providers with mixed results.

According to the presentation, Mercy Medical Center recruited 49 providers in 2025, including 34 physicians, with another 16 committed to start in 2026. Shasta Regional Medical Center recruited six providers but lost four. Shasta Community Health Center added 28 providers and lost 15, for a net gain of 13.

Perhaps the most telling figure is the retention rate among primary care residents who completed their training locally. Of 11 residents who graduated from the county's three residency programs in 2025, only four stayed in Shasta County. Shasta Regional Medical Center's internal medicine program — its first graduating class — saw zero out of two graduates remain.

Among Dr. Mu's 2026 priorities is the launch of a Public Health Officer Newsletter aimed at physicians, clinics, and hospitals, intended to improve communication on communicable disease trends and locally relevant clinical topics. The Board may provide direction to staff following the presentation.

Elections Controversy Takes Center Stage

The agenda item most likely to draw public attention is R4, which lands on the continued portion of the Regular Calendar: a discussion of "the recent actions by the County Clerk/Registrar of Voters and the alleged misuse of public funds for electioneering and campaigning."

No vote is scheduled on this item, but the language on the agenda is pointed.

The background here is important. County Clerk/Registrar of Voters Clint Curtis — a Florida attorney and programmer who was appointed to the position in 2024 after two prior registrars stepped down — is now a candidate in the June 2026 election for the permanent seat. He faces former Assistant Registrar of Voters Joanna Francescut, whom Curtis terminated shortly after taking over the office.

This is not the first time Curtis's conduct has put him at odds with the Board. In October 2025, supervisors unanimously condemned Curtis after he removed the nonprofit news outlet Shasta Scout from his press release distribution list, alleging the publication had a left-wing bias. The First Amendment Coalition sent a letter warning of potential legal consequences. Board Chair Kevin Crye issued a pointed warning at the time: "We condemn Mr. Curtis' actions in excluding a member of the press and encourage him to maintain a high level of transparency and access to information. If it occurs again, the board will move to censure." Curtis subsequently stopped emailing press releases to any outlet and instead began posting them exclusively to the county website.

More recently, Curtis has drawn scrutiny for what some supervisors view as a blurring of the line between his official duties and his campaign. At the Board's January 6, 2026, meeting, Supervisor Allen Long raised concerns about Curtis's plans to ride on a float in local parades and hand out American flags as part of a publicly funded voter outreach initiative — activities Long said looked like campaigning for a sitting candidate running in the June election.

Then, on January 15, Curtis hosted at least five Republican candidates for governor at the downtown Redding elections office for a tour of his ballot processing operation. During the event, Curtis made pointed allegations that the previous administration had engaged in ballot stuffing, claiming there had been instances of more votes than voters and irregular result curves. Those allegations were directed at the administration that preceded him — a period during which Francescut, his current electoral opponent, served as assistant registrar. Curtis told KRCR he had notified the Department of Justice about the matter. No verified evidence has been presented to support the claims, and legal proceedings have not substantiated allegations of wrongdoing in past Shasta County elections.

Tuesday's agenda item signals that the Board intends to address the accumulation of these concerns more directly. No vote is expected, but the discussion itself — scheduled during an election year in which Curtis is a candidate — carries significant political weight. Residents watching local elections governance, an especially charged topic in Shasta County, will want to pay attention.

Strategic Plan Timeline Extension

Under R5, the Board will consider a request from the Strategic Plan Ad Hoc Committee to push back the deadline for presenting a draft County Strategic Plan from April 7 to May 19, 2026. The item requires a simple majority vote and carries no additional cost. Whether the delay reflects the scope of the planning effort or other complications is not detailed in the packet.

New State Law Forces Changes to Board Meeting Operations

R6 may be the most consequential governance item on the agenda. It deals with the county's compliance with Senate Bill 707, signed into law by Governor Newsom in October 2025, which represents the most sweeping overhaul of California's Brown Act open meeting rules in decades.

SB 707 requires "eligible legislative bodies" — a category that includes county boards of supervisors in jurisdictions with 30,000 or more residents — to provide two-way remote public access to all open meetings starting July 1, 2026. That means Shasta County will need to offer the public the ability to attend meetings via a telephonic or audiovisual platform like Zoom, with live webcasting and captioning. The law also requires agencies to adopt written policies for handling disruptions to remote access, translate meeting agendas into applicable languages, and take specific outreach steps to encourage public participation.

To comply, the Board is being asked to take four actions: receive a presentation on SB 707's impacts; approve the purchase of a public meeting engagement software subscription from PublicInput, Inc.; adopt a policy resolution amending Administrative Policy 1-101, which governs the operation and conduct of Board business; and approve a budget amendment increasing Clerk of the Board appropriations by $66,613, drawn from unassigned General Fund balance.

This item requires a four-fifths vote because it involves a General Fund expenditure not included in the current budget. The cost is relatively modest, but it marks the beginning of what could be an ongoing investment as the county adapts to the new requirements.

Consent Calendar Highlights

The consent calendar contains 16 items. Most are routine, but several are worth flagging.

Telepsychiatry contract increase (C5): The Board will consider more than doubling the maximum compensation on an agreement with Aloha Psychiatry, Inc. for telepsychiatry services — from $2 million to $4.3 million. The item notes no additional General Fund impact, meaning the costs are covered by existing Health and Human Services Agency funding, but the scale of the increase reflects the county's ongoing reliance on remote behavioral health services.

Disaster recovery housing grant for Anderson (C7): A resolution would authorize the county to accept and administer an $11.58 million Community Development Block Grant–Disaster Recovery multifamily housing grant on behalf of the City of Anderson from the California Department of Housing and Community Development. This is a significant housing investment and the resolution would also repeal two prior resolutions related to the program.

December storm emergency declaration (C10): Public Works is asking the Board to reaffirm that an emergency still exists from the December 2025 storm damage and to waive competitive bidding requirements for road, bridge, and infrastructure repairs. This requires a four-fifths vote and invokes Public Contract Code provisions that allow expedited emergency contracting.

Nuisance abatement funding (C12): A budget amendment would add $268,198 in appropriations for the ARPA-funded Voluntary Nuisance Abatement Cleanup Program administered through the Building Inspection division. This also requires a four-fifths vote.

Sheriff's labor agreement (C15): A successor Memorandum of Understanding between the Sheriffs' Administration Association and the county, covering January 2026 through December 2027, would be adopted along with a corresponding salary resolution effective February 8. The item notes "future General Fund impact," meaning costs will be absorbed in upcoming budget cycles.

Classification and salary changes (C16): A separate salary resolution would amend the county's classification specifications, salary schedule, and position allocation list, and would also revise Chapter 15 of the Personnel Rules governing management benefits.

Planning Commission appointment (C3): Supervisor Plummer has nominated Scott Pewitt to serve as the District 4 representative on the Shasta County Planning Commission through January 1, 2029. The Board would direct staff to return with a formal appointment item.

Fall River Valley annexation (C2): A resolution establishing property tax exchange terms related to a proposed annexation of about 24.61 acres into the Fall River Valley Community Services District. The annexation would allow the district to extend domestic water service to 13 parcels near McArthur whose private wells have recorded high levels of manganese and iron. The resolution holds current property tax allocations unchanged and is required before Shasta LAFCO can consider the application.

IT security and software (C8, C9): Two information technology items cover Adobe software licensing through a government purchasing agreement extending to 2032, and the purchase of a cybersecurity solution — a Field Effect Managed Detection and Response system from Clutch Solutions.

Jail competency treatment (C14): A retroactive agreement with Recovery Solutions for the Jail-Based Competency Treatment program. This program addresses defendants found incompetent to stand trial who are treated in the jail setting rather than waiting for a state hospital bed — a growing issue statewide.

Closed Session

The Board will recess to closed session for an estimated two hours to discuss two categories of items.

Under R7, the Board will meet with legal counsel regarding five pieces of existing litigation, including two cases styled as "Jane Doe" against the Sheriff's Department and Health and Human Services Agency respectively, a federal civil rights case, and two other Superior Court matters including one involving the Estate of Juan Moreno.

Under R8, the Board will discuss a public employee appointment for the position of Public Works Director.

Why It Matters

Tuesday's meeting touches on several issues central to how Shasta County governs itself and serves its residents — from whether the county's top elections official is blurring the line between public service and campaigning, to how the county will adapt its meeting procedures to meet new state transparency requirements, to the persistent challenge of recruiting and keeping doctors in a region facing a declared physician shortage. The consent calendar alone involves millions in contract authority, a major housing grant, emergency infrastructure spending, and new labor terms for sheriff's management staff.

Residents can attend in person at the County Administration Center at 1450 Court Street or watch the live-stream on the North State Breakdown Facebook page, or the county's website at ShastaCounty.gov . Those wishing to speak must submit a speaker request card to the Clerk of the Board before the meeting or before the relevant item is taken up.

And that's the agenda preview.

Link to County Agenda Packet for 02-10-2026