By Linda Sutter
August 11th, Board of Supervisors meeting; there were 25 items placed on the agenda. Out of the 25 items only six items made discussion and the rest were rubber stamped without discussion or public comment amounting to only a total of $791,065.00 spent.
Chair Finigan stated at the beginning of the meeting anyone want to make a public comment on any item of the agenda? Well, there were several items that needed discussion, but during public comment you only have THREE minutes to talk. So, tell me, how are we suppose to speak on 18 items in THREE minutes?
There was a great deal of money rubber stamped today without public comment or discussion. One such item was Agenda item 12. Authorize the Chair to sign the agreement with Victor Treatment Centers, Inc. providing children’s mental health services for the period of July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016, not to exceed $70,000.
Let’s visit what that entails;
The Health and Human Services mental health branch, is required to provide mental health treatment services to children and adolescents when the severity of their mental illness requires residential care.
Victor Treatment Centers offers an appropriate residential treatment for dependents of the court in Redding, California. The agreement provides for ONE (1) CHILD to receive services for a full year. Services include therapy, case management/brokerage, medication support services, crisis intervention, full day intensive treatment, and full day rehabilitation treatment. The provider is a certified Medi-Cal provider.
The question is this; is $70,000 for one child, or several children? If it is for just one child, why is Del Norte county spending money we don’t have that only benefits one and why is it being spent in Redding, California?
$30,000.00 was spent for an all terrain vehicle for the parks and recreation department grant that was received. The reasoning for spending money on a new vehicle was because their current 17 year old van which only has 96,000 miles on it cannot drive on gravel roads. Quote, Unquote. So Del Norte Chair Finigan will spend $30,000.00 on an all terrain vehicle that is utilized approximately 5,647 miles a year, increase the insurance rates and maintenance, we the tax payers have to pay so someone can drive a new off road vehicle for approximately 5,647 miles a year.
Jay Sarina signed this document, guess he wanted a new vehicle to sport around in our county.
According to Roger Gitlin in last months Board of Supervisors meeting, Del Norte County is $2.5 million in the Red.
$91,000 was approved to rebuild our old jail house. That is something that is needed more so than an SUV, BUT why was the discussion withheld from the public?
Is Finigan hiding something? Is he washed up? Tired of his due diligence as a supervisor? What Mr. Finigan is not tired of is reprimanding the public because someone forgot their cell phone was on their person. After all, reprimanding the public for something as sinister as a phone going off is vitally more important than rubber stamping hundreds of thousands of dollars that will not stay in the county.
For the record. I have never been associated with the public health department.. I believe you have mistaken me for Thomas Martinelli, M.D.
HOLY COW CONNIE ;;;;;UNLEASH THE CRACKEN…..
Just as I was visualizing the appropriate place to present an award to you for unraveling the infinite maze of procedures, committees, documents, prepared perfectly to qualify the city, county, special district, joint powers, authorities,to receive that $70,000 for children’s mental health. You ask the question
“The question is this; is $70,000 for one child, or several children? If it is for just one child, why is Del Norte county spending money we don’t have that only benefits one and why is it being spent in Redding, California?”,,,
Did you get an answer Linda? Let’s try again.
Chairman Finigan, how many children in this county have mental health issues?
Martha, you were a DNC educator and involved with children’s health issues, how many children in this county have mental health issues or learning disabilities?
Hemmingson, you still haven’t figured out what the word cahoots means.
I want to ask you a question, Linda. Do you think the money embezzled from our Districts
leaves DNC. Did the TAX PAYERS OF THIS COUNTY EVER GET THE TRUTH ON THE AMOUNT EMBEZZLED FROM THE SENIOR DISTRICT.
Exactly how much was stolen MARTHA? You were in charge of OVERSIGHT. THE TRIPLICATE PROVIDES LOTS OF ACCUSATIONS with NO FACTS to back them up. Only, innocent victims they use as scapegoats.(scapegoat is one who bears the blame for the mistakes, or crimes, of others)
Supervisor Gitlin is being used as a scapegoat by the grand jury, the supervisors, Mr Holly and anyone else who assists in keeping the focuss away from the much needed investigation and Summary report of the embezzled Solid Waste tax dollars.
Is this the same Senior district Supervisor Roger Gitlin is Chairman and Martha wants to REMOVE Supervisor Gitlin from? So Gitlin is on the committee of Solid Waste and THE Senior District. No wonder every body is coming out of the wood work.
What if Gitlin finds a reason to investigate that embezzlement?
Both have been embezzled? Roger wants to investigate the Solid Waste EMBEZZLEMENT OF THE TAX PAYERS MONEY AND THE BIG 3 WANT HIM REMOVED BECAUSE OF HIS CONCERNS ABOUT EXISTING BLIGHT? DON’T FORGET BULLYING AND HIS TONE, TOO! His tone was to high and sharp and a little low and some times flat and definitely OFF. AND HE SHOULD NOT REMAIN anywhere near,or work for or ELECTED TO a place or position where money has been or was or will be embezzled. HIS QUESTIONING OF THE MANAGERS OF THE AREAS THAT HAVE BEEN BLIGHTED HAS NOT WON ROGER ANY AWARDS. I know who did win an award. And it was an award for BLIGHT! IS THERE AN AWARD FOR BLIGHT RECIPIENT IN THE ROOM? Instead of removing Roger Why are there NO QUESTIONS for Mr. Mason? Why isn’t code enforcer Mason’s employment being threatened? I have a copy from 2007 saying:
Over the past two years Mason handled more than 1000 complaints,Towed over 400 vehicles, and issued over 100 citations.He was also responsible for six criminal investigations as well as securing $500,000 for the eradication of trash and debris from blighted properties. This was the first time for this award to honor code enforcement.
A great big WOW for you Mr. MASON! If you work 50 weeks a year that is 2 complaint a day handled by Mr. Mason, plus 4 tows and 1 citation a week, plus 6 criminal investigations. That was when? 2005 and 2006 or 2006 and 2007. So why does this place still look like crap?
WHAT HAPPENED? Did Mr. Mason pull a Dr. Don Micheletti? Move to another county while being paid as Department HEAD. Dr. Micheletti was in charge of Public Health?
I only bring this up because of the repeat position I see Supervisor Gitlin involved.
THE BIG 3, ONCE AGAIN DICTATING POLICY AND ONLY REVEALING HOW THE TAX PAYERS MONEY HAS BEEN SPENT AFTER THEY ARE EXPOSED. THEY COLLECTIVELY GATHER AND COLLABORATE THEIR STORIES. NO WONDER IT IS MANDATORY ONLY PRESENT AND PREVIOUS EMPLOYEES RECEIVE JOBS, ARE PLACED ON COMMITTEES,AND WIN CONTRACTS. bLATNI Do you remember this, Linda?
Health officer residency raises spat
By Jessica Cejnar, The Triplicate April 26, 2013 06:14 pm
‘Very definition of cronyism,’ Gitlin calls arrangement
A proposal to create a volunteer deputy public health officer position prompted Del Norte’s newest supervisor Tuesday to question the ability of the current public health officer to do his job from his home in Santa Barbara.
Supervisor Roger Gitlin, who pulled the item off the consent agenda, unsuccessfully attempted to introduce a motion to require that the public health officer live in Del Norte County at least 180 days of the year. He also questioned Health and Human Services Director Gary Blatnick on the salary that Public Health Officer Dr. Thomas Martinelli earns and the hours he works.
Gitlin said that four physicians from Del Norte and Curry counties are interested in the public health officer position. He cast the dissenting vote when the Board approved the deputy position 4-1.
“The Board’s passing of a volunteer deputy public health officer at the request of Director Blatnick is analogous to placing a Band-Aid on an open wound,” Gitlin said in a written statement Wednesday. “The placing of this item on the consent agenda speaks to the issue that this item would not have reached the level of public scrutiny demanded. (Yesterday’s) decision is the very definition of cronyism.”
Martinelli, who came to Del Norte County in 1982 and founded Crescent City Internal Medicine, has been the county’s public health officer since 2005. He said he moved to Santa Barbara in October 2011, but still has a home in Del Norte and spends about a week each month there working with public health nurses and environmental health officers.
Martinelli said he also works in various clinics at Pelican Bay State Prison and acts as a consultant between the prison and Sutter Coast Hospital.
GIBBS v. CARSON | Leagle.com
http://www.leagle.com/decision/…/GIBBS%20v.%20CARSON
Aug 13, 2014 – ORDER SERVING UNSERVED DEFENDANT MARTINELLI; … to serve Dr. Martinelli at Sutter Coast Hospital in Crescent City, California — where … Thomas J. Martinelli, M.D. 860 Miramonte Drive Santa Barbara, CA 93109.
The public health officer serves as the county’s medical and public health authority to enforce local health orders, ordinances and statutes. The officer assesses the health status of the community, provides medical direction to the Public Health Department and helps plan local environmental and public health service and education programs.
Martinelli said the Department of Health and Human Services and the Board of Supervisors approved him to continue on as the public health officer in 2011 despite the move to Santa Barbara because of the nature of the position.
During his tenure as public health officer, Martinelli said he has worked through three major outbreaks. The first was an outbreak of an intestinal illness due to raw milk that affected 14 people in 2007. Del Norte County also experienced outbreaks of H1N1, or swine flu, four years ago and pertussis, or whooping cough, three years ago, Martinelli said. In all three cases, Del Norte’s Public Health Department received praise from the state, he said.
“We were commended by the state (on) getting information out to clinics and starting vaccinations,” Martinelli said, referring to the pertussis outbreak, which affected infants. “They commended us on how we reduced the pertussis outbreaks so quickly.”
Martinelli added that he has also been working with the Wild Rivers Community Foundation and the Rural Health Program at the University of California, Davis, to create a physician loan repayment or scholarship program that will encourage new doctors to relocate to Del Norte.
“That’s what I can do where I am in Santa Barbara,” he said.
Representatives from UC Davis will visit Del Norte in June to meet with the Board of Supervisors and the community about its physician loan repayment and scholarship program.
The deputy public health officer will assume the public health officer’s duties in his absence, Blatnick said. Dr. Matthew Blundell, a former colleague of Martinelli who works at Crescent City Internal Medicine, has volunteered to fill the deputy position. Creating a deputy public health officer position is simply formalizing a system that has already been in place, Blatnick said.
“The physicians in the community have been willing to fill in for the public health officer, and I’ve talked to a number of local physicians who have told us ‘in any sort of emergency situation, anything you may need, give us a call,’” Blatnick said. “We haven’t had to take them up on it yet, but we wanted to still see if we can formalize (the position) a little bit more.”
Blatnick said he and County Administrative Officer Jay Sarina are working with a former public health officer, Dr. Warren Rehwaldt, and other physicians on coming up with a local option for the public health officer position if that is what the Board of Supervisors decide on.
“We will decide, hopefully, in the near future what exactly we’re going to be doing,” Blatnick said. “Whether we will retain Dr. Martinelli or whether we will hire one of the local physicians who’s interested.”
During the board’s discussion Tuesday, Supervisor Gerry Hemmingsen said he had questioned Martinelli’s ability to do his job from Santa Barbara, but was satisfied with the response he received.
Reach Jessica Cejnar at jcejnar@triplicate.com.
No awards yet Linda. Not until we regain our rights and our constitution. Not until the public grows a pair to at least be able to question these self serving, lying, thieving, entitled bullies. I grew my pair when I marched in protest against Americas’ involvement in the Viet Nam War wearing my Army Dress Uniform. And your question, What are the BOARD of Supervisors Rubber Stamping? qualifies you to a pair of ovaries, also.
Congratulations. And thank you for having the insight to be able to ask this question, What Are the Board of Supervisors Rubber Stamping? Your courage and commitment will help keep what is left of the freedoms my fellow soldiers fought and died for. I don’t think you have to be a soldier to promise to keep America free from all enemies, both foreign and domestic. THANK YOU AGAIN, LINDA