Supervisors Struggle with Dysfunctional Salary Schedule

by Roger Gitlin

October 29, 2025 - 5th District Del Norte County Supervisor Dean Wilson pulled five items off the Consent Agenda — a rare solar eclipse moment when the Board fails to approve the Consent Calendar, especially unanimously.

This bold move by Wilson to discuss the pulled items stood alone.

All five items shared the same request: to hire new employees at Level C instead of Level A. Three of the requests came from Health and Human Services, and one came from Risk Management.

The Board was in a quandary:

• By hiring at Level C, with a higher salary, the Salary Schedule becomes meaningless.
• Employee morale is compromised when a veteran Level A or B employee is supervising a higher-paid entry-level C.

The fix seems clear — raise the Salary Schedule for Level A so no one feels slighted at the water cooler.

When the awaited motion to approve failed to happen, the five items disappeared. Instead of a 5–0 vote, the Board decided with no motion — 0–5.

In other business, Supervisors provided direction to County Administration on proposed revisions to the policy for maintaining non-maintained county roads for emergency vehicle access. They also included a homeless camp cleanup ordinance and directed staff to prepare final amendments to the Administrative Manual.

The Board introduced the Del Norte Public Notice Alternative Procedure Ordinance and set a public hearing for November 12, 2025. Supervisors approved and adopted a Resolution establishing alternate locations for posting public notices, identical to the recently passed City posting ordinance. The Resolution designates the Flynn Center on H Street, the Library on Price Mall, and the Del Norte County website as alternate posting sites.

The Resolution would take effect only if the newspaper of record were unable to publish. The publisher of the local paper objected to the Ordinance but failed to persuade the Supervisors to change their votes.

County Engineer Jonathan Olson delivered a report on the progress of General Fund allocations for roads not part of the county-maintained system. The policy is intended to guide the Board in spending funds for periodic interventions that address urgent road repairs. Emergency responders will also provide the Board with a list of roads in dire need of attention.

The Board of Supervisors will meet on a rare Wednesday, November 12, at the Flynn Center, in observance of Veterans Day on Tuesday, November 11.