December 5, 2022 — An agreement between the county and its largest employee union is coming before the membership this week, with a side letter granting workers a bonus from the American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA fund.
And the “triple-demic,” or flu, RSV, and covid season, is compounded by staff shortages, including substitute teachers, which means administrative staff and even school principals have been taking on classroom duties.
Final election results came in on Friday, with some shakeups in key races. The top three vote getters for the Fort Bragg City Council long term were newcomer Jason Godeke, with 26.14% of the vote, incumbent Marcia Rafanan, with 16.08%, and incumbent Tes s Albin-Smith, with just over 12%. Incumbent Lindy Peters swept the short-term race with 78.31%.
In the Ukiah City Council race, newcomer Susan Sher netted the most votes, with 22.61%. Incumbents Juan Orozco and Mari Rodin stayed on, with 21.35% and 21.16%, respectively, edging out Mayor Jim Brown, who garnered 19.53%.
John Redding, the only incumbent who ran for the Mendocino Coast Healthcare District board, won the lowest percentage of the vote, with 12.64%. James Jade Tippett won the highest, with 27.78%, followed by Lee Finney, who won 21.73%, and Susan Savage, with 19.96%.
Two countywide taxes passed with slim margins, while a parcel tax in Hopland was defeated.
Measure P, a quarter cent ten-year general tax, passed the threshold of a simple majority with 55.17% of the vote. The measure asked voters for their approval to use an estimated four million dollars a year to fund “essential services, including fire protection and prevention.” The language is non-binding.
Measure O, a special sales tax to fund the libraries, passed with 60.82% of the vote. This tax essentially doubles the current eighth of a cent sales tax and removes the expiration date, making it effective until it is repealed.
Measure N, a parcel tax intended to fund emergency medical response and fire protection services for the Hopland fire protection district, required a two-thirds majority and was defeated, with 56.7%.
Medical woes are hitting schools hard, with substitute teachers struggling to provide instruction to classes where sometimes only half of the enrolled students are present.
Doug Shald, the communications officer for Ukiah Unified School District, which has about 7,000 students, said the district is trying a variety of programs, from in-person and online tutoring, to after-school programs, to make up for learning loss caused by absences due to illness.
County employees have contended with illness, too, with social workers and nurses putting in long hours at the height of the pandemic. Julie Beardsley is the president of SEIU 1021, which represents the largest county employee union. She’s been part of the negotiating team advocating for the county to use some of its $16.8 million allotment from the American Rescue Plan Act for an employee bonus. Last week, negotiators representing SEIU 1021 and four other county labor unions signed side letters, separate from their pending contracts, awarding ARPA bonuses to employees.
“The American Rescue Plan Act, ARPA, provided money to the counties to help offset the effects of the pandemic,” she said over the weekend. “This money was supposed to be designated for businesses who were in financial trouble. Also, a lot of counties designated it as a thank-you for the work that their employees did. Because you know, during the pandemic, people worked just so many hours overtime, and often at risk to their own health. I mean, we had nurses and social workers going into homes where they knew everyone had covid. And yet that was their job and so they went in and they did what they needed to do. So this money really was a thank-you. And the regular staff, full-time staff, will get $3,000. It will be taxable, so it won’t be the full $3,000. And we also were able to secure a bonus for our extra help staff.”
Employees who worked an average of 20-47 hours per pay period will get a bonus of $1500. SEIU 1021 has been in contract negotiations with the county since spring of this year. A tentative agreement has yet to be ratified. The union membership will hold meetings about it this week, and vote on whether or not they accept the terms, which have not been made public yet. The Board of Supervisors will hold a final vote before it can be approved. Beardsley thanked county CEO Darcie Antle and Deputy CEO Cherie Johnson for their work on the agreement, as well as the Board of Supervisors, whom she regards as pro-labor. “I appreciate that,” she concluded.