The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors tackled several key issues during their Tuesday meeting, including a pay raise for supervisors, the use of Measure B funds for the county jail, and a proposed amendment to the cannabis ordinance.
The board approved a pay raise for supervisors in a 6-4 vote. Supervisors Ted Williams and John Haschak voted against the measure, citing concerns about timing and financial strain. The raise will increase the annual salary of supervisors from $95,302 to $110,715 over the next two years. Supervisor Williams said that his constituents did not support the raise due to the county’s financial challenges, including a structural deficit and the use of one-time funds to balance the budget.
Supervisors Dan Gjerde and Glenn McGourty, who will not benefit from the raise as they are leaving the board, argued that the increase is necessary to attract qualified candidates. Gjerde emphasized that even with the raise, more than 150 county job classifications will still offer higher pay than a supervisor’s salary.
This pay raise marks the first for the board in five years, excluding cost-of-living adjustments, and positions Mendocino County supervisors’ salaries slightly below those of neighboring counties like Napa and Humboldt.
The board also passed a controversial proposal to allocate $7 million in Measure B funds, a mental health sales tax approved by voters in 2017, to pay for the behavioral wing of the county jail. Supervisor Williams again dissented, arguing that the public did not support the use of mental health funds for jail construction. He warned that repurposing the funds could erode public trust and make future tax measures harder to pass. Despite the concerns, other supervisors felt the allocation was necessary to keep the jail project on track.
The board unanimously approved an amendment to the county’s cannabis ordinance, reinforcing the original intent to limit cannabis cultivation to 10,000 square feet per parcel.
