by Hank Weston, District IV Supervisor—Nevada County Board of Supervisors

Congratulations to Sue Hoek, as District IV Supervisor-Elect!

Please join me the next time you see Sue and congratulate her as our new next District IV Supervisor. Over the years, Sue has always exhibited a keen ear and ability to listen on issues with a fair and balanced perspective, spoken out on when needed, not only issues important to her but for the community, knows the community, and is courteous by nature but holds a fierce spirit for public service. Sue will be sworn into office in January 2019. I have all the confidence in the world that she will represent you with every action she takes and will be a great addition to my colleagues on the Board. 

The same day of the Election, the Board adopted the County’s Budget for Fiscal Year 2018/19 at its regular meeting on June 5, 2018. At the meeting, County Executive Officer Richard Haffey provided the Board with a summary report on the state of the County with a total proposed budget of $235.7 Million.  Fiscal conditions remain stable and continue to exceed pre-recession levels. County property tax growth is projected to have a 5.5% growth rate next year, which is the average growth over the past two decades. The budget is balanced and is focused on continuing to provide core services. Allocations have been made to address the Board’s Priority A Objectives that include programs to reduce the risk of wildfire while pursuing hazard vegetation mitigation, implementing a homelessness Service Plan, and to continue to develop a long term  cannabis regulation and funding measure for the November ballot – just to name a few.  I would like to also thank CEO Haffey for not only for his leadership and great work on this year’s budget, but also for his work throughout the years, as this was his final budget message to the Board of Supervisors before his retirement this summer. His leadership and fiscal insight has been invaluable to the Board, the County and our community alike.

In other updates, the Save Our Bridge Campaign Committee (S.O.B) has been back at it again. The county was informed on Monday May 21, 2018 that a funding shortfall of $ 2.8 million for the Bridgeport Bridge Restoration Project emerged that, if left unfunded, would delay the project for at least one (1) year that would most likely drive costs up and threaten the project. For the project to remain on schedule, with construction beginning this summer, funding for the project would need to be included within the State’s FY 18/19 Budget. With the State’s budget coming to a close, our CEO’s office quickly sprang into action and the Board authorized the Chair to submit a letter to the applicable State legislative committees requesting increased funding be considered as a part of the Budget for this year – thereby keeping the project on schedule. And without fail, the S.O.B. immediately mobilized showing how important this project is to our community. I am pleased to report that on Friday, June 8^th, the State Budget Conference Committee unanimously voted to include the additional 2.8 million in funding need to restore the Bridgeport Bridget as planned. As Dave Anderson from the S.O.B. exclaimed, “The Save Our Bridge committee is thrilled with the provision of the additional funding needed for the restoration of our precious bridge. We wish to express our appreciation to the community, community organization, and our county and city leaders that have been so instrumental in achieving this critical milestone. We are looking forward to the day that we can again walk across this historic treasure.” To echo Mr. Anderson remarks, I would like to specifically express my gratitude to Assembly member Brain Dahle for his leadership as well as the rest of the committee members including Assembly member Philip Ting, Assembly member Richard Bloom, Senator Jim Nelson, and Senator Ted Gaines, and Susan Chan, committee staff to the Assembly Budget Committee, for their support for this project. I will be working with our Chair to submit a letter to Governor Jerry Brown urging him to ensure the allocation of funds remains included in the Budget when he signs the Budget into law.

Last but not least, I want to urge you to be safe when recreating at the South Yuba River. Over the past year, I have had a pleasure of working with District I Supervisor Heidi Hall on an initiative called the Yuba River Public Safety Cohort which is a multi-agency workgroup that includes Federal, State and local agencies and departments. The Cohort was established for the purpose of coordinating public safety and law enforcement efforts in the South Yuba River corridor for the sole purpose of mitigating wildfire and promoting public safety. Supervisor Hall and I will be presenting to the Board on various initiatives that you soon will be hearing about. But in the meantime, remember these six key messages:

Be Safe – No Cell Service * No Fires – It only takes one Spark * Pick-up After Your Pets * Prevent Injuries – No Glass *

Pack It In, Pack It Out, and Recycle * Obey Parking Signs

Also, in an effort to help keep the community abreast of any local emergencies, the County Office of Emergency Services (OES) uses a notification system called CodeRED Emergency Alerts. CodeRED sends alerts to your phone when an emergency has been identified within your area that requires an immediate response - like an evacuation. You can sign up for CodeRED alerts by going to MyNevadaCounty.com and clicking the icon CodeRED Emergency Alerts at the bottom of the screen and then, simply follow the prompts to sign up. If you sign up with a mobile phone number, you will receive texts during an alert, whereas a registered landline number will receive an actual phone call. If you are having trouble signing up or have questions, please contact our Office of Emergency Services for assistance at 530-265-1515.