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.
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