LAKEPORT— The Lake County board of supervisors held their weekly meeting in Lakeport this Tuesday where they considered an agreement with a contractor for public relations services. They also heard a report from the behavioral health services department regarding revenues, expenditures and status of a loan from the county.
Matthew Rothstein, Chief Deputy County Administrative Officer, presented an agreement alongside Katreena Salgado and Tomas Prower from Sacramento based Imprenta Communications Group. The agreement totals $264,000 over three years. Salgado explained how Imprenta has worked with several rural counties around the state in increasing local education with an optimized communications plan that aligns with both Vision 2028 and Lake County Plan 2050.
“Our goal is to help you help people live their best lives here and that starts with building trust and communicating in authenticity.” As part of this plan Imprenta plans to use downloadable and printable newsletters that would be easily updatable on a monthly or quarterly basis.
District 5 Supervisor Jessica Pyska expressed concern that there are no provisions to communicate or summarize the weekly Board of Supervisor meetings, which has been done in other counties and could be helpful here. Matthew Rothstein, Chief Deputy County Administrative Officer/Public Information Officer, replied that although there are no current provisions for weekly summaries it is something that can be considered. Board Chair Supervisor Bruno Sabatier asked where this funding is coming from, which Rothstein and Steven Carter from Administration decided was attached to the Board of Supervisors’ budget. The board approved the agreement 4-1 with Sabatier dissenting.
In other matters, Behavioral Health Director Alicia Jones appeared before the board in order to provide an update on their recent loan request and Medi Cal reimbursement. Joined by Amber Madero, fiscal program manager, and Deputy Director of Administration Christine Andres, the team explained the need for such loans and lacking funds from the state. Madero shared that the total billed successfully amounted to $4.5 million and added the county should be receiving money totaling $1.4 million in claims. “As you can see there is a discrepancy.”
She further noted other large discrepancies between the county and the state due to billing errors. Jones elaborated on the situation stating “As you can see, (there’s) still a significant delay in what’s being held up and what’s being reimbursed to us.” She continued, “We did receive a couple of large reimbursements and that gave us some hope but it’s halted again.” Explaining that this is occurring all over the state in several other counties, Jones believes advocacy is the only way to receive these payments in full and has drafted emails to begin discussions with the state.
District 1 Supervisor Moke Simon shared “We do have a lobbying firm we brought on board, and that’s what they are there for to lobby on behalf of the county, this is a big issue for us.” The board thanked the team for their time and will hear another update in one month.
During closed session board supervisors appointed Steven Carter to Interim Social Services Director effective May 4 2024.
More information on the Lake County Board of Supervisors including minutes, agendas, and video is available on their website lakecountyca.gov.
