Most County offices will close Monday, December 24 – Tuesday, January 1, in observance of the December holidays and previously announced furlough days.
The furlough days are non-compensated and were negotiated with our labor unions as a way to save money during a time of significant revenue decline. The County worked hard to keep the number of days to a minimum. Each of the furlough days saves approximately $27,000, for an overall savings of $135,000 for the year.
As has been reported in the media and in a previous Friday Memo, a major real estate fraud case is in its early stages in the Nevada County Superior Court. The case is being prosecuted by the State Attorney General, and defense is being provided by the County’s indigent defense fund for three of the four defendants. It is estimated that the defense costs of these three individuals to the County’s general fund may be in excess of $600,000 annually. Through October 31, the direct costs of this case for Nevada County have been $26,000, including costs of setting up a common office for defense at the Courthouse, attorney fees, and other costs. Indirect costs related to work from the Chief Executive Office are excluded from the tally.
Wesley Nicks has announced his resignation as the Nevada County Director of Environmental Health effective December 7th. He has accepted the position of Director of Environmental and Public Health in the Placer County Health and Human Services Department. This will be a newly reorganized department in Placer County which will also include Animal Control.
On Thursday, November 15, 2012, Nevada County participated in an annual exercise sponsored by the California Department of Public Health. The scenario for this year’s exercise was a devastating earthquake in the Bay Are that caused a large influx of people to Nevada County. The simulated influx of over 5,000 people challenged the Nevada County Public Health Department and the Nevada County Office of Emergency Services to provide support to local health care agencies who’s services were stressed, and to provide care and shelter for displaced families.
As part of the exercise the Nevada County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) was activated and staffed with county personnel who utilized the new EOC website based Incident Application that enabled County officials to receive real-time information while the EOC was activated.