LAKEPORT— The Lake County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a policy Tuesday that will increase incentives to hire employees for hard-to-fill positions.
Under the new policy, department heads will have the ability to offer a sign-on bonus of up to $10,000. The incentives will be financed by cannabis tax revenue.
Eligible positions include: attorneys, engineers, licensed medical staff, mid/senior-level managers, planners, public safety staff, senior accounting and finance staff, social workers, and mental health and substance abuse professionals. The board also added county surveyor, veterinarian, and veterinary technician positions to the list Tuesday, at the request of department heads.
In the staff report, the incentives suggested for public safety positions, including deputy sheriff, deputy probation officer, and welfare fraud investigator, were $5,000-$6,000, but the supervisors decided to raise those to a maximum of $10,000 as well.
Chairman Bruno Sabatier suggested making the $10,000 limit flexible and reviewing requests on a case-by-case basis in order to be competitive with surrounding counties. Sabatier described the competition for public safety positions as “insane.”
Lake County Sheriff Brian Martin said the Ukiah Police Department offered a $10,000 incentive to academy graduates and $8,000 to staff who chose to reside in the city of Ukiah.
“It’s tough to compete with that,” Martin said.
The sheriff said that retention was just as much an issue as recruitment in his department, and he urged the board to consider ways to keep its staff next.
Todd Metcalf, Lake County behavioral health director, said that while some of “hard-to-fill” positions in his department were filled, retention was also a struggle. Metcalf described it as a “training ground,” with many employees moving on after one to two years of employment with the county.
Crystal Markytan, Lake County social services director, said she had seen many staff members move on to jobs with other counties where they could get a higher salary and work remotely.
Supervisor Moke Simon said the policy being discussed was just one tool to help the county workforce. Simon said the next step would be focused on current county employees.
“We understand the retention part is a big part of the conversation … the other 80% as far as I’m concerned,” he said.
During the public input portion of the meeting, members and representatives of the roughly 1,800 home care providers seeking the new minimum wage of $15 per hour addressed the board.
Arnulfo De La Cruz, executive vice president of SEIU 2015, the union representing IHSS, spoke on behalf of what he said is the largest work force in Lake County, seeking a raise in wages for workers caring for seniors and disabled people in the county.
A contingent of IHSS workers spoke before the board, some stating that the cost of living in the state has gone up, but wages have not kept up. They cited increases in gas prices and other financial challenges which they stated makes it difficult for them to continue to do the job.
“We can’t keep pushing them to the side,” said De La Cruz. “the time is now to take action.” adding that five years in negotiation and seven years without a wage increase “is absolutely unacceptable… Allow these folks to have the same dignity that they give every day to those that they care for.”
