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KZYX reporters and independent journalists cover local news for Mendocino County, California, Monday through Friday in six and a half minute reports. The KZYX News podcast is available for redistribution under CC BY 4.0, or the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.
From Mendocino County Public Broadcasting, this is the KZOEX News for Wednesday, October 9th. I'm Elise Cox. Ballots for the upcoming presidential election were mailed on Monday. If you have not received your ballot by next Wednesday, October 16th, please call the registrar of voters at 707-234-6819. That's 707-234-6819.
Elise Cox:Normal delivery is typically 5 to 7 days. You can also pick up a ballot at the county clerk's office in the general administration building in Ukiah. Sample ballots were previously mailed out by an outside vendor and have already begun arriving. If you do not receive your sample ballot by the end of the week, please call the registrar of voters at 707-234-6819. And in other news, the Mendocino County Air Quality Management District has an advisory in place for today, Wednesday 9th, through Friday, October 11th.
Elise Cox:A prescribed burn on the Shamrock Ranch will encompass around 2,000 acres. Another prescribed burn is taking place in Jackson Demonstration Forest. Laytonville, Covalo, and Willits in particular should expect widespread haze and moderate amounts of smoke accumulation that could reach levels of particulate matter concentration rated as unhealthy for sensitive groups. And speaking of the district, the Mendocino County Air Quality Control Management District is running out of money and needs to raise fees. That was a message that Efraim Lopez, the deputy air pollution control officer, delivered to the board of supervisors at their regular Tuesday meeting.
Efraim Lopez:The district's budget is underfunded and unsustainable using the current and outdated fee schedule.
Elise Cox:As Lopez explained, the district does not receive money from the county.
Efraim Lopez:The Mendocino County Air Quality Management District is a body corporate and politic and a public agency of the state. Therefore, we're not part of the county and we're not a county department nor do we receive county general fund tax dollars. Rather, the air district is largely funded by the fees in our fee schedule. And this is consistent with the Clean Air Act, stating that all sources of air pollution shall pay for the cost of being regulated.
Elise Cox:The supervisors responded with questions and also concern that if residential fees are too high, people either won't apply for a permit or won't burn yard waste. The current fee for a burn permit is $19.
Ted Williams:When it's a business or restaurant, they don't like it. They may not be able to afford it, but they weigh the consequence of not paying for that permit, and they're going to pay it. But I think when we look at individuals doing fuel reduction in their backyards, if we raise the fees, they simply won't get the permit, which means we don't get the chance to educate them. We make outlaws out of good people who are trying to be responsible and reduce their fuel just to save us from wildfires.
Elise Cox:That's supervisor Ted Williams. Instead of increasing residential fees for individual burn permits, William suggested giving burn permits away.
Ted Williams:What if we were to issue a burn permit for every parcel in the county? Just a blanket approval. We already send mailers out, I don't know, included in the, the property tax. Right, you can probably throw in a small piece of paper in there and not pay any additional postage. That way we take the fee out of it, we take the bureaucracy out of it of having to fill out forms, we tell people these are the rules, We thank you for doing your fuel reduction because it may save us from a mega fire, which has the biggest air quality impact and, you know, real impact to both our budget and the state's budget.
Ted Williams:Is that a possibility that we just blanket issue for every parcel in this county?
Elise Cox:Supervisor Mulheren noted that created an additional cost without addressing the district's budget overrun.
Maureen Mulheren:I think that, that's not agendized and the board can discuss that. Perhaps, mister Lopez, when he brings back the fee discussion, I I know that that there is a dollar amount that's attached to doing that. There's a cost that the department has that is, why we need to update the fees so that those costs are balanced. So I think, perhaps, if that, can come back with that item, that might be helpful for the board to consider at that time.
Elise Cox:William's suggestion also seemed to contradict the Clean Air Act that the sources of air pollution pay for the cost of being regulated. Williams did not respond to a request for comment from KZYX and no action was taken on his proposal. Separately, supervisor Dan Gjerde pulled an item from the consent calendar that would have allowed the Mendocino County Tourism Commission to increase taxes by forming a separate business improvement district.
Dan Gjerde:This would be nearly $80,000 of additional funds, for the purpose of shifting the Mendocino County Tourism Commission from one Government code to the other, and the other Government code that it was shifted to, allows the tourism commission to raise the tax that they collect. And my concern is I do not believe the cities are going to agree to that going from 1% to 2%. We don't have evidence that the city councils support that.
Elise Cox:Supervisor Gjerde proposed item be tabled until the commission provides letters from each of the 4 city councils indicating their position. The motion carried with supervisors Mulherin and McGourty dissenting.
Maureen Mulheren:So I I I'll just make a comment and and I'm not gonna vote in favor of that motion. The board has been discussing this for close to 2 years now, and I think that if the city councils were against, this, then they certainly have had a lot of opportunities to come forward.
Elise Cox:The supervisors did approve a series of appointments. Anthony Baroza and Jennifer Estevo to the behavioral health board, Patty Brill to the in home supportive services advisory committee, Sonia Pio to the Redwood Valley Municipal Advisory Council, and Ran Bush to the Laytonville Municipal Council. For KzyX news, I'm Elise Cox. For all our local stories with photos and more, visit kzyx.org.