_{Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz}

Among the items discussed at Tuesday’s Del Norte County Board of Supervisors meeting:

Salary Issues: Norma Williams, president of the Del Norte County Employees Association, took issue with proposals to hire Department of Health and Human Services employees at a more advanced step in the salary schedule.

The proposals to hire two medical records clerks and a behavioral health specialist at Step C rather than Step A appeared on the consent agenda. Supervisors approved them without discussion.

According to the county’s staff report, one of the medical records clerks has two years of customer service experience, can manage high call volumes and is experienced at data entry. The second medical records clerk is also experienced in an office environment, can multitask and has an understanding of privacy laws.

The behavioral health specialist is a certified drug and alcohol counselor and has experience in responding to crises, according to the staff report.

Williams said allowing the county to hire at a more advanced step recognizes that employees are underpaid.

“That is what you’re acknowledging when you are hiring at Step C as opposed to Step A and that’s even despite the fact that we just recently received a 5 percent [salary] increase,” she said.

CAO 25 Years of Continuous Service: The Board of Supervisors recognized County Administrative Officer Neal Lopez for his quarter-century of continuous service, approving his raise in the salary schedule to Step I.

According to the county’s salary schedules, Step I is a longevity increase that’s available after an appointed department head reaches 25 years of service. The Board’s unanimous decision means Lopez’s biweekly salary will be $7,381.24.

DHHS advocacy: Supervisors received copies of letters the Department of Health and Human Services sent state legislators advocating for a $245 million one-time investment into the CalWORKS and another advocating for the In-Home Supportive Services program.

These letters come ahead of California’s revised budget proposal next month and address “longstanding underfunding” of both programs.