Local News

COUNTY SUPERVISORS BACK IN PUBLIC SESSION TOMORROW

When county supervisors meet in San Bernardino tomorrow the proceedings will once again be open to the public, as will be the video conferencing center in the county government building in Joshua Tree. In all cases, strict social distancing will be required, as will face masks. Here’s reporter Mike Lipsitz to tell us what’s on the agenda…

At tomorrow’s 10 a.m. meeting, the board is expected to approve a $100,000 increase to the contract for crisis residential treatment services at Valley Star Behavioral Health in Joshua Tree. The $12 million contract runs through June 2022.

The County’s Mental Health Plan provides behavioral health treatment services for individuals with severe and persistent mental illness.  as a result of an increase need by consumers for these residential treatment services. The site provides crisis intervention for individuals diagnosed with mental health and co-occurring disorders including assessments, treatment plan development, collateral services, crisis intervention, medication support services, and individual and group therapy. 

Supervisors are also expected to approve a $31,235 contract extension to allow one probation officer to continue for one year at Morongo Unified School District. For more than 20 years, the Department has used various grants in combination with school district revenue to fund the services of school probation officers. These officers work with students and their families to provide necessary intervention/prevention services in response to problemsthat reach beyond the school setting and affect the student’s academic progress. These intervention/prevention efforts often result in reduced student delinquency and improved classroom attendance and performance.

And then following a public hearing supervisors will consider updates to the contract with Burrtec Waste & Recycling Services for handling of organic waste made necessary since passage of Assembly Bill (AB) 1826 requiring businesses to recycle their organic waste and local jurisdictions to implement organic waste recycling programs to divert organic waste generated from businesses from landfills. The proposed amendments to the Solid Waste Handling Franchise Agreements will (1) add commercial food waste rates, (2) add an Organic Waste Recycling Program in all CFAs that includes outreach, education and monitoring, and (3) add/replace and revise certain exhibits.

Then a second public hearing concerns the County Fire Protection District’s modified budget for 2020-2021 which includes a $7.5 million increase for the fiscal year. The District is a community-based, all hazard emergency services organization that covers approximately 19,000 square miles SBCFPD provides emergency mitigation and management for fire suppression, emergency medical services, ambulance services, hazardous materials response, arson investigation, technical rescue including water borne, flooding and mudslide, winter rescue operations, hazard abatement, and terrorism/weapons of mass destruction. SBCFPD also provides for the management of community safety services such as fire prevention, building construction plans/permits, and household hazardous waste.

While the public may attend in person, everyone is strongly encouraged to attend the meeting via the live video stream. You can access that stream by following a link at http://www.sbcounty.gov/Main/Pages/ViewMeetings.aspx

The following table displays the 2020-21 Recommended Budget for SBCFPD:

  Budget Unit2019-20 Modified Budget2020-21 Recommended BudgetIncrease (Decrease) in Budget
Requirements:   
  Administration$30,296,597$37,402,708$7,106,111
  Mountain Regional Service Zone$23,884,106$24,253,799$369,693
  North Desert Regional Svc Zone$50,313,777$50,761,975$448,198
  South Desert Regional Svc Zone$21,024,885$21,698,913$674,028
  Valley Regional Service Zone$112,900,612$111,003,205($1,897,407)
  Hazardous Materials$9,848,031$10,060,866$212,835
  Household Hazardous Waste$3,938,842$4,314,674$375,832
  Office of Emergency Services$5,733,893$4,759,831($974,062)
  Cal-OES Grant Programs$3,868,209$8,250,811$4,382,602
  Reserves$23,583,711$20,483,623($3,100,088)
Total Requirements$285,392,663$292,990,405$7,597,742
Budgeted Staffing:   
  Administration255252(3)
  Mountain Regional Service Zone9089(1)
  North Desert Regional Svc Zone187188                     1
  South Desert Regional Svc Zone8075(5)
  Valley Regional Service Zone340343                     3
  Hazardous Materials4848                      –
  Household Hazardous Waste2326                     3
  Office of Emergency Services2018(2)
Total Budgeted Staffing1,0431,039(4)
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