The meeting will begin at 6 p.m. in the council chambers at Lakeport City Hall, 225 Park St.

On March 24, the council held a lengthy hearing on its draft general plan, which has been several years in the making. However, Councilman Jim Irwin was absent from the discussion, which prompted the council to put off a decision on the document until all members could be present.

The general plan is an important planning document for the city, which lays out priorities and guidelines for growth and development over a 20-year window.

The council also is set to take up another hot topic, that of the use of safe and sane fireworks, and review its fireworks ordinance.

At the March 24 meeting, the council denied applications from four local nonprofits – that have been allowed each year to sell the fireworks as a fundraiser – based on Lakeport Fire Chief Ken Wells' concerns about fire danger in a drought year.

However, city staff said at the council's April 7 meeting that they want direction from the council about the future of the ordinance, which allows the fireworks to be sold.

The council also will consider a request from the Lakeport Regional Chamber of Commerce to enter

into contract for the July 4 fireworks display.

Another item of special community concern will be the request from Kevin Burke, the city's interim city manager and police chief, to grant an exemption from the city's hiring freeze to allow Burke to hire a part-time investigator.

As Lake County News report on Friday, Burke is seeking to bring in a retired homicide investigator to take over handling the Barbara LaForge murder case. LaForge's murder on an October morning in 2002 in downtown Lakeport remains unsolved. Burke has not yet named the investigator he wishes to hire at a cost of $35,104 for one year.

In other council business, the council will consider and adopt a resolution establishing the “golden handshake” early retirement program. The resolution will allow the city to go forward with offering early retirement, with two years additional services credit, to employees over age 50 who are eligible. The measure is meant to help avoid layoffs and save the city money.

The council also will review Measure I Committee applications and appoint members to the committee, approve a redevelopment agency loan agreement for housing pre-development loan for Avalon Cottages LLC., and consider applications for the June Hope Fellowship for Youth/Children Outreach and the Cinco De Mayo celebration.

Following the open portion of the meting, the council also will hold a closed session to discuss existing litigation, City of Lakeport v. Vincent, and a performance evaluation of the city manager.

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The discussion that arose surrounding Mitchell's request revealed issues relating to differing viewpoints about use of force and the weapons themselves, the use of which is becoming more common for law enforcement.

The board first approved Tasers for the Lake County Sheriff's Office in April of 2005, when Mitchell received unanimous support to buy 76 of the X26 models at a cost of just of approximately $80,567.97, according to board records.

This past week, Mitchell was asking to purchase 45 more of the same Taser model from Taser International for a total cost of $42,356. The weapons fire two probes, attached to wires, that transmit up to 50,000 volts on contact.

Mitchell said in a 24 month period his department staff had deployed Tasers 21 times in the jail, and had 79 deployments during the same period on patrol.

During his discussion with the board, Mitchell further explained that Tasers are used in the jail when inmates are becoming dangerous or destructive. Rather than sending in numerous correctional staff to try to manually restrain an inmate, Tasers are used to minimize injuries to everyone.

Mitchell said Tasers often become a deterrent, with inmates backing down because they don't want to “ride the lightning.”

In the field, external influences like drugs and alcohol are leading to more encounters where the outcome is Taser usage. “That's what we're encountering in dynamic situations in the field,” said Mitchell.

Supervisor Anthony Farrington asked about the number of complaints and fatalities resulting from the Lake County Sheriff's Office using Tasers. Mitchell said there have been no allegations of fatalities for his agency, and he's only had a few complaints lodged about Taser usage. Each complaint launches an internal affairs investigation, but he said such complaints are rare and it's been some time since one was lodged.

Board Chair Denise Rushing tried to redirect the discussion, saying they were drifting toward an examination of a use of force policy rather than the agenda item itself.

Supervisor Jim Comstock said he considered the Taser a wonderful tool that precludes the use of deadly force. He questioned Mitchell on how long the weapons last, and if they required maintenance.

Mitchell said they do need maintenance, and added, “It is not as rugged as we would like.”

In about 24 months the sheriff's office may be looking at another company with a different technology, said Mitchell. He also noted the cartridges for the Tasers are expensive.

Rushing said the more than $45,000 Mitchell was seeking was a lot of money for equipment, although she recognized it was coming out of asset forfeiture money.

She asked if he had negotiated the best price, and asked what would happen if the board didn't approve the full amount. Mitchell replied that he would purchase fewer of the units.

Lucerne resident Lenny Matthews said she had no idea that Tasers were used in the jail. She said she had worked in the Sonoma County Jail for several years and couldn't imagine Tasers being used in a jail setting. “I'm appalled.”

“This is a good example of the use of force debate issue,” replied Mitchell.

He said Tasers are being used by many agencies. “To suggest the use of force in a custody setting in Lake County is different or more barbaric than somebody's experience in Sonoma County is naïve in the least,” Mitchell added.

Rushing cut off the continued discussion between Matthews and Mitchell, and said the board would discuss the use of force policy at another time.

Supervisor Rob Brown had briefly stepped out of the room during the exchange, and returned to say he had confirmed with a contact in the Sonoma County Jail that Tasers are used there.

Mitchell told the board that all of his patrol staff are issued Tasers, with several dozen currently in use.

Brown said he appreciated that Rushing wanted a cost analysis of the Tasers, but added, “There are some things that common sense will dictate.”

He said it's rare that deputies have to use the weapons. “It's a tool for public safety.”

Brown moved to approve three motions – one to approve the purchase, the second to determine the competitive bidding process would produce no economic benefit to the county and the third to authorize Mitchell and the assistant purchasing agent to sign the purchase order. The vote on each of the motions was 4-1, with Rushing the lone no vote.

Taser usage subject of controversy

In recent years, controversy has arisen about Taser usage based on the number of deaths that have resulted, and the debate over whether the weapons really result in less use of firearms.

One of the groups that has spoken out about Tasers is Amnesty International, which raised concerns about the weapons being deployed both on the streets and in jails. An Amnesty International report stated that those who died from Taser usage were subjected to repeated or prolonged shocks.

Lake County has had one death that followed Taser usage. In November 2004, Keith Drum was shot with a Taser during an early-morning struggle with Clearlake Police officers. Drum, who was on methamphetamine, also was pepper sprayed and restrained before he stopped breathing, according to a report that was issued by the District Attorney's Office.

Amnesty International listed the X26 Taser as model of particular concern. The X26 is a commonly used law enforcement model which is already in use in local agencies, including the Lakeport and Clearlake Police departments, and the Lake County Sheriff's Office. Sheriff Rod Mitchell on Tuesday asked the board to approve his request to buy 45 X26 Tasers.

During his Tuesday presentation to the Board of Supervisors, Mitchell reported usage statistics for his department in a 24-month period – 21 deployments in the jail, 79 on patrol, or an average of less than one Taser deployment per month in the jail and 1.6 deployments per month on the street.

Mitchell told Lake County News that during that same 24-month period deputies had only had one use of a firearm, which was during a confrontation with a man on Cobb. The firearm's use resulted in no one being hit.

He said they currently have no staff out on work-related injuries due to fighting with subjects who are resisting arrest.

Neighboring counties also use Tasers.

Capt. Rich Williams of the Yolo County Sheriff's Office confirmed that his agency has used Tasers for the past five years, and also use them in jail settings.

Capt. Timothy Pearce of the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office said Tasers have been used about seven years there. In the jails, only supervisors carry them.

Taser usage also is reportedly growing in Europe, including Great Britain, where police officers have not traditionally carried firearms.

Mitchell added that the Taser assists law enforcement, but no one – including himself – believes it to be a “be all, end all” solution.

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On Wednesday, Lisa P. Jackson, administrator of the federal Environmental Protection Agency, announced $600 million in new funding new funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for Superfund cleanups around the nation. The money is meant to cleanup hazardous waste sites and create jobs.

In Lake County, up to $5 million will be allocated to work on remediation that's already under way at the Sulphur Bank mercury mine Superfund site near Clearlake Oaks. It's one of 50 sites that will see new or expanded cleanup actions due to the allocation of recovery funds.

“EPA has an answer to these challenging economic times,” said Jackson. “Under the Recovery Act, we're getting harmful pollutants and dangerous chemicals out of these communities and putting jobs and investment back in.”

Laura Yoshii, the EPA’s acting regional administrator for the Pacific Southwest, said in a written statement that the money will create dozens of jobs for tribal members and the community.

County Supervisor Jeff Smith called the report of the funds “great news,” adding that the effort to deal with the site has been going on a long time. He said the funds for this project will be “another piece in the puzzle.”

The federal government created the Superfund program in 1980 to clean up uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. Since then, the program has cleaned up more than 1,060 of the 1,596 sites placed on the National Priorities List.

The 150-acre Sulphur Bank mercury mine was placed on the National Priorities List in August of 1980, according to EPA records.

Kathleen Salyer, assistant director of the EPA's Superfund division, told Lake County News that the funds will be used to finish work on BIA 120, the road that is the main access into the Elem Indian Colony of Pomo Indians.

In the 1970s, the Bureau of Indian Affairs built the road using mercury-laden tailings from the mine, said Salyer.

In 2006, the EPA conducted a lengthy cleanup effort at the rancheria, which late last year became the focus of a complaint to the EPA's Office of the Inspector General.

Dr. John Parker, an archaeologist based in Lucerne who has studied the Elem culture for many years, submitted a complaint to the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) alleging the EPA violated the National Historic Preservation Act and destroyed hundreds of artifacts totaling more than $50 million in its 2006 cleanup.

PEER, in turn, submitted the complaint to the EPA's Office of the Inspector General, which told Lake County News that the issue was forwarded to the EPA Office of the Inspector General's Office of Program Evaluation in January.

In 2008 the agency did another, smaller cleanup to remove mine waste from residential areas along Sulphur Bank Mine Road and Ward Road, and areas to the south and west of the mine, as Lake County News has reported.

In its previous work in the area, the EPA hadn't had the money to complete the work of removing all the mine tailings from the access road into the colony, said Salyer.

She said the Superfund projects received the money because they met the recovery bill's criteria to be “shovel-ready.” Such projects are meant to stimulate the economy and provide jobs quickly.

Salyer said EPA doesn't know yet if it will receive a full $5 million to do the roadwork on BIA 120, which is expected to cost more than $5 million. Part of the work will involve moving underground utility lines. The EPA will make up the difference between the stimulus funds and the full project amount, she said.

The full road project itself isn't likely to get under way until next spring, said Salyer. In the mean time, they can begin building a temporary access road and doing other prep work.

Over the summer, the EPA will coordinate with the Elem Colony to provide it with temporary water and sewer service, and access for residents during the cleanup work, officials reported.

Much more work still to be done

The EPA is still working on the main part of the mine site, said Salyer. That includes looking at how to address the Herman impoundment pit – which has been been sitting open since the mine was abandoned in 1957 – plus mine tailings and discharges of mercury into the lake. A record of decision and plan is expected to be released in 2010, at which time public comment will be welcomed on a the plans.

Rick Sugarek, project manager for the Superfund site, told Lake County News in an interview earlier this year that until there is a record of decision, projects don't make it onto the priority list, and competition for funding has been tough.

He said the EPA has been working with the state on a cleanup plan that everyone can endorse, but a main sticking point has been the need to run a treatment plant to deal with the water in the Herman Pit, which flows through a waste rock dam and out into the lake, contaminating the sediment with mercury.

“We need to stop that flow, and that's why we need the treatment plant,” he said.

The question, he said, is where should the water from the pit be discharged?

There is no good answer to that, he said. One of the options – with Smith said he had supported early on – was piping the water to The Geysers for injection. Sugarek said there are legal and technical problems with that plan.

There's also the need to remove 3.5 million cubic yards of mine waste – laced with arsenic and mercury from the mine grounds.

Sugarek said they're not too far away from being able to propose a cleanup plan, but getting a plan in place would be five to 10 years out.

He estimated that the total cost to build a treatment plant and remove all of the mine waste could run between $30 million and $40 million.

The announcement about the new stimulus funds came a day after University of California, Davis researchers made a presentation at the Board of Supervisors about mercury levels in Clear Lake.

Salyer said cleaning up the lake's sediment is another project for the EPA, which may have a record of decision in 2012 that will be opened up for public comment.

She said cutting off the pathway between the mine and the lake is the ultimate goal – but it's complicated.

“We're a few year away from deciding what the best approach there is,” she said.

EPA is studying 15 years' worth of data, some of it from UC Davis, said Salyer.

There are two alternatives, said Salyer – dredging the lake or capping the contaminated sediments with clean materials.

Dr. Tom Suchanek of UC Davis told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that he and his fellow researchers didn't support dredging the lake, because it would disturb sediments and reintroduce more mercury into the lake. Dr. John Zebelean, a local proponent of dredging the lake, argued against Suchanek's assertion, saying new dredging technologies would cause little disturbance.

Salyer said they're not sure they know how the lake's chemistry would be impacted.

“I think that's what's incredibly complicated,” she said. “We're still trying to evaluate what would be best for Clear Lake.”

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Dr. Tom Suchanek of the University of California, Davis, presented the findings – compiled over the last two decades – of a group of UC Davis researchers who have looked closely at mercury cycling and bioaccumulation in Clear Lake.

The studies, which were published in the journal Ecological Applications, have undergone significant peer review by other scientists, said Suchanek.

Clear Lake is significant in a number of ways, said Suchanek, noting that a lot of positive things in and around the lake are happening.

He said the group of researchers did a complete ecosystem study, which was funded by several sources, including the federal Environmental Protection Agency Superfund, UC Davis and the US Geological Survey.

To put Clear Lake's mercury issues in perspective, Suchanek reported that there are 300 abandoned mercury mines and prospects in California's Coastal Range alone. Mercury was used in gold and silver mining.

The main mine impacting the lake in the Sulphur Bank mercury mine, first mined for sulfur but changed over to mercury mining in 1873, he said. Mercury mining continued there until 1957.

Suchanek said the Sulphur Bank mine is responsible for 100 metric tons of mercury in Clear Lake's ecosystem.

The mine's tailings and waste rock piles contributed, as did the open pit mining that began on the site in 1927.

Suchanek said the year 1927 is important in understanding how mercury got into the lake in a specific way – through the introduction of open pit mining.

He said the Herman Pit, a large pond on the mine site, has a pH value of 3, compared to the lake's pH value of 8.

Researchers are most concerned about the interface between the lake and the pit, which are separated by a small area of land. Suchanek said the Herman Pit's acidic water leaches through the ground to enter the lake. It's that method of entry that scientists believe is responsible for the “significant inputs” of mercury into Clear Lake.

In 1992, an emergency remediation was done on a steep slope of pilings near the lake, Suchanek said. The work was meant to prevent erosion and sediments from reaching the lake.

The inorganic mercury that enters the lake from the mine isn't very toxic, and is less of a concern than methylmercury, a highly toxic organic material that results when bacteria acts on the mercury, said Suchanek.

Methylmercury is ingested by various levels of the food chain, eventually reaching eagles and osprey. Suchanek said it also moves up the planktonic pathway.

He said researchers did a “mass balance” of mercury in an effort to estimate how much is coming from the atmosphere and how much is going from the lake and evaporating up into the atmosphere. They also did a simplified food web for Clear Lake.

The only amount of mercury they couldn't measure was that which is coming from the mercury mine into the lake. However, they were able to estimate that the mine is responsible for between 320 and 330 kilograms per year, even after the 1992 remediation.

The predominant northwest winds that blow along the axis of the lake – Suchanek said 80 percent of the winds in the area come from the northwest – cause mercury to revolatilize, or pass into vapor.

He said mercury mining was in its heyday between the 1920s and 1940s. Wooden storage tanks were used, and the mercury – derived primarily from cinnabar – was cooked down to quicksilver.

The inorganic variety of mercury is relatively insoluble, and Suchanek. Researchers don't fully understand how bacteria converts it to methylmercury.

Though the mine is a factor in introducing mercury into the lake, Suchanek said the inorganic variety of mercury is found in very low concentrations throughout the lake. It's very soluble and goes easily into organisms, where it bioaccumulates easily and becomes the very toxic methylmercury, the kind of mercury that's of most concern.

Before the advent of open pit mining, there was no evidence of an increase of mercury in the lake, said Suchanek. However, after open pit mining was introduced, the presence of mercury began to increase.

As far as dealing with the mercury in the lake, Suchanek said the scientists were against the dredging option. “We believe that would be a real mistake. We shouldn't dredge the lake.”

Suchanek said 95 percent of the methylmercury in fish is found in the muscle tissue that people eat. Once it's in the body, mercury doesn't leave, he said. “The older the fish, the more mercury it's going to have.”

The Oaks arm of the the lake has a higher concentration of mercury in bass than other areas, Suchanek noted. Government health guidelines warn against eating fish with more than 0.3 parts per million of mercury.

One of the most significant organisms in the lake that controls the movement of mercury is the threadfin shad, said Suchanek. The small, invasive fish – which every few years dies off in massive numbers – has a “disproportionate influence” on Clear Lake's mercury.

Suchanek said researchers noted dramatic fluctuations in mercury in young bass that correlated with the rise of threadfin shad numbers.

In 1985, the threadfin shad appeared and the mercury in bass rose, Suchanek said. Then, in 1990, the threadfin shad disappeared, and the mercury bioaccumulation in bass dropped. The threadfin shad reappeared again in 2000.

Scientists believe the reason for the fluctuations is that threadfin shad outcompete bass for plankton, which forces bass to have to dive down deeper into the lake and eat from a part of the food chain with higher mercury concentrations.

However, one year – 1995 – showed an anomaly, with bass juvenile largemouth bass showing high mercury concentrations despite the threadfin shad not being present.

Suchanek said they believed the anomaly was due to 1995 being an El Nino year. That year, there was flooding, with the Herman Pit overflowing in January and March.

The lake's grebes show a general trend of having less mercury bioaccumulation, but those levels rose along with mercury concentrations in juvenile bass. Concentrations declined dramatically in 1998 but were up again in a 2003 sampling.

“This increase in mercury is reverberating through the whole system,” up through the highest parts in the food chain, he said.

Suchanek told the board that county, state and federal regulations are standing in the way of finding an optimal solution to the lake's mercury issues. “Somebody needs to think outside the box here.”

Supervisor Jeff Smith said he wants to see the Herman Pit addressed. “I'd love to see something done because it affects everyone in Lake County.”

Supervisor Anthony Farrington said methylmercury in the lake is lower than some other water bodies. The entire issue impacts tourism and economic development.

“There has been a debate about whether to dredge the lake for various reasons,” he said, raising concerns about the mercury-laden soils.

Suchanek said if the lake were dredged it would move around sediments and mercury, which will reintroduce more mercury into the system.

Farrington asked about the affect of restoring wetlands, particularly as part of the Middle Creek Restoration Project.

“That's a question that's been asked many times,” said Suchanek.

He said no study has been completed of Middle Creek with relation to mercury and methylmercury. However, he said wetlands produce higher levels of methylmercury than other areas, based on studies of the Bay Delta.

“It will stimulate and promote the production of methylmercury,” he said.

But how much it will produce will have to be measured to be specific. Wetlands tend to be stagnant and produce low concentrations of oxygen, said Suchanek.

However, at the same time, they will remove some of the nutrients loading the lake by restoring the wetlands, he said.

Clear Lake, added Suchanek, has mercury levels in fish comparable to about 14 other lakes with mercury advisories.

During public comment, Dr. John Zebelean said there is a remedy to solve the mercury mine problem, but it requires money.

“It's not simple but it's not complicated at all,” he said.

Zebelean, a proponent of dredging Clear Lake, said new technology will not disturb the sediments, and will capture between 95 and 97 percent of the mercury.

He said five to 10 years from now Clear Lake's water won't be allowed into the Bay Delta or the Bay Area because of the high mercury levels, which will contaminate the ocean an violate international law.

Suchanek said there may be newer dredging technologies, but they don't solve the problem that arises from a deeper lake, which produces more methylmercury.

Zebelean was prepared to offer more comments, but Board Chair Denise Rushing suggested he and Suchanek speak after the meeting.

Supervisor Jeff Smith said the board should ask the federal Environmental Protection Agency to come and update the board after a May meeting on the mercury issues.

The reports Suchanek discussed can be found at www.esajournals.org/toc/ecap/18/sp8.

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Kelly told the board during the meeting that she was looking at laying off as many as seven of the 66 full-time employees her department currently has, in addition to eliminating eight unfilled positions and a case manager slot.

Accompanying Kelly to the Tuesday meeting by Charles Fernandez, her financial officer, who has analyzed the department's fiscal situation and business practices and is assisting her in creating a longterm, sustainable business model. She said that analysis arose while preparing the 2009-10 budget.

“We have some longstanding issues that you've been aware of,” Kelly told the board, with those issues including state audits that found the department needed to reimburse millions of dollars in overpayments.

Fernandez gave a PowerPoint presentation, explaining to the board that the state audited the Mental Health Department from June 30, 1999, through June 30, 2006, and found $5.6 million in overpayments to the county. Of that amount, $4.6 million had been repaid.

He said billing for non-Medi-Cal costs, overreporting service units, and data entry and clerical errors were among the issues that led to the claims being too large. They also didn't get the audit information back from the state for several years.

“We were repeating those errors and those mistakes because we didn't have the results of the audit for a number of years after the year end,” he said.

There also were problems with the department's information technology system, with a consultant who wasn't authorized making changes in the system, which resulted in errors, Fernandez said. A new system is now being implemented.

Fernandez said the department is talking with the state Department of Mental Health about a five-year payment plan for the remaining $1 million, and are in a formal appeal process over $737,000 that the state says the county owes for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2003. He said they've made several visits to Sacramento in recent months over that appeal.

The department has $2.1 million in outstanding bills to contractors, Fernandez said.

Board Chair Denise Rushing asked if a loan from the general fund – which County Administrative Officer Kelly Cox said was for $1.6 million – was included in that $2.1 million total. It wasn't, said Fernandez. Kelly said the budget numbers assume use of realignment reserve monies.

Cox said they'll propose to the board that they transfer realignment funds from the county's Social Services Department to the Mental Health Department to help repay the general fund loan.

Fernandez said the department's 2009-10 budget shows $8.2 million in revenues and $9.3 million in expenses, for a $1.1 million deficit. Those revenue estimates didn't include audit exceptions or the five-year repayment plan to the state.

“What we are requesting is the authorization to pursue staff reductions in concept to address the fiscal shortage,” said Fernandez.

The department's new business model includes evaluating if clients have access to other care providers, focusing on case management versus longterm therapy, exploring new revenue possibilities, and setting productivity goals and standards for providers and staff, said Fernandez. Kelly added that their target population are Medi-Cal patients and indigents.

Fernandez said they're adding internal controls, getting a better handle on their information technology system, analyzing and evaluating their business model, and looking at their policies and procedures for access to care and care standards.

Rushing asked about consumer access to care. Kelly explained that they need to focus on people with the most acute need. Those who aren't seriously mentally ill and are simply using county services because they don't want to travel to find psychiatric services are “going to have to make that trip,” said Kelly, emphasizing the need to focus resources.

Kelly said when people call the agency they're screened and then, if it's determined they have other resources, they're referred to the private sector. She said they're reorienting the department to focus on people at risk of incarceration, institutionalization or hospitalization.

Fernandez said their cost reduction plans include leaving a rented building in Clearlake in April of 2010 to save more than $91,000 a year, and reducing contracts by about $460,000. They also cut eight unfilled positions and won't fill a managed care manager position after that staff retires at month's end. Fernandez, said Kelly, will inherit that person's duties.

Fernandez said the department is under formal appeal for fiscal year 2002-03 and have submitted a corrected cost report for 2005-06. “There could be a positive cost adjustment to what we owe the Department of Mental Health,” he said.

Kelly added, “There's dollars that we have out there that could be coming back to us.”

Rushing asked for a time frame for making decisions about cost cutting, and if that will include laying off active employees. “We'd like to be able to explore that,” said Kelly.

She said they're looking at a $1 million shortfall for the coming fiscal year, and looking at ending this fiscal year on a negative number. Kelly said they plan to cut half that amount through salary reductions.

Fernandez said they currently have 66 full-time employees. Cox said the budget currently includes 78 full-time slots.

Rushing asked about the department's total annual budget, which Cox said is $8.9 million.

“Basically, what you're suggesting is decimating Mental Health to pay the bills,” said Rushing.

Cox said the situation won't improve if they don't reduce staff. “This department increased its staffing significantly in recent years and obviously we should not have let that happen.”

He said the number of staff in that department has been as high as 100. “This isn't something that's going to be corrected in a few months. This is a longterm structural deficit in their budget.”

Supervisor Rob Brown asked how many positions they're looking at cutting. Kelly said about seven.

Cox said Social Service Director Carol Huchingson had contacted him earlier in the day to say that she could pick up some of those employees to fill vacancies in her department.

He also raised concerns over the $2.1 million in unpaid bills, which could cause local vendors to have to do their own layoffs. “The county pays its bills in a timely manner – except for the Mental Health Department right now.”

Kelly said they had made a priority of keeping staff in place and making payroll. “We've reached the limit of our ability to do that.”

Rushing said she supported giving Kelly the go ahead to explore all options, but she wanted to include in that a look at department structure and supervision. She added that she would like Kelly to come back to the board with options and ideas.

Supervisor Jeff Smith suggested tough cuts may be necessary. “The way things have gone and the way things are heading, I really think we need to overcut rather than undercut at this point,” he said.

Rushing suggested calling local legislators to see if they can offer assistance.

Supervisor Anthony Farrington asked about the impact on local contractors. Kelly said they met with those organizations, such as the Lake Family Resource Center, to tell them they would have to cut their contracts in half. “They were painful discussions but they agreed,” she said.

Kelly said she hesitated to paint a rosy picture, but explained that the department once again had Medi-Cal dollars flowing into it.

Farrington said residential programs are big ticket items. Can they be curtailed or are certain service levels mandated?

Kelly said that, in some situations, it's just “flat out dangerous” to return some people to the community. People in residential facilities have their lives planned out by counselors, so transitional housing is important.

She said they are cutting back on placement in residential facilities, but added, “There are some circumstances where we just don't have a choice,” because it's unsafe for the community and the client to let the client out of the treatment center.

Cox said some money could be transitioned back from the Social Services Department to Mental Health, which could help pay back the “considerable amount of money” Mental Health owes the general fund.

He said he wanted to explore other options for paying down the department's bills. “This is the worst possible time to be looking at providing additional loans from the general fund,” he said, noting that some vendors are about to begin refusing vital services.

Cox added that he believed Fernandez and Kelly make a good team, and he has more confidence in the department's management than he has in a long time. “I think we've got the right people siting here to pull us out of this.”

Local resident Sarah Shems, a health professional whose daughter sought help from Mental Health, said the agency is spending about $80,000 a month on hospitalization and jail for mental health patients. She said her daughter couldn't get crisis intervention and ended up in jail and then treatment centers.

Shems suggested taking those staff positions being considered for layoff and training them for crisis intervention, which can head off the more expensive options of hospitalization or jail. She added that her daughter waited 16 hours at St. Helena Hospital-Clearlake before a crisis counselor responded, despite calls from both the hospital and the sheriff's office.

The board agreed to give Kelly direction to begin looking at how to cut costs.

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Mental Health Director Kristy Kelly will take the issue to the Board of Supervisors at its Tuesday meeting, with the item scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m.

Kelly told Lake County News she will give the board an update on her department's financial situation and will ask for direction to move forward on how to address the shortfall, including staff reductions.

“We would ask to begin explorations right away,” said Kelly.

Kelly told Lake County News that they have to cut about $460,000 in the 2009-10 fiscal year. Her report to the board includes actions already taken, such as terminating a lease in Clearlake for an annual savings of $91,404, and the elimination of eight unfilled full-time positions plus a managed care manager slot.

Layoffs may be a part of that picture, but Kelly said she wasn't prepared to speak publicly about that yet.

However, the Mental Health Department's management team reportedly met with local clinics to inform them of the severity of the situation and plans for staff layoffs.

An April 1 memo from Kelly to all Mental Health and Alcohol and Other Drug Services (AODS) staff, obtained by Lake County News, said that 10 percent of the department's personnel costs have to be cut in the upcoming fiscal year in order to balance the budget.

The document said achieving savings through staff furloughs was determined to be unworkable because the current memorandum of understanding between the Lake County Employees Association and the county doesn't provide for that option.

“The layoff process is the only existing mechanism to reduce staffing, and is well-defined in the MOU,” Kelly's memo stated. “Layoffs are anticipated for both clinical and support staff.”

The AODS budget is balanced and no AODS classifications are targeted for layoffs, although AODS staff could be affected by Mental Health Department staff exercising seniority rights, the memo said.

Once the board approves the budget review plan, Kelly's memo to her staff said a meet and confer process between the county and the union will begin.

Mike Minton, the union representative for Lake County Employees Association, criticized the county for its handling of staffing issues.

“I have absolutely no faith and no trust in the county,” he said, accusing them of manipulating figures “and everything else” to suit their needs. Disputes over previous negotiations led the union to file a complaint against the county with the Public Employee Relations Board earlier this year.

He said everyone is talking about layoffs these days. Employees are asking about how to save their jobs and have even been willing to forgo pay raises, but he added that the county has not offered to discuss furloughs. Minton said the union wanted to set up a meet and confer to explore the issue.

State audits, repayments hit department hard

The estimated 2009-10 budget for the Mental Health Department shows a deficit of more than $1 million, which will include $2.1 million in unpaid bills that the county will have by June 30, according to Kelly's report.

“We've had a series of very difficult audit findings,” Kelly said.

Those audits were conducted by the state, and found that the county received funds that it shouldn't have. “This has been going on for a while,” said Kelly.

Her report to the board explains that the state found it was due $5.63 million for overpayments to the county. So far, $4.64 million has been repaid, leaving an outstanding balance of $994,000.

The state is withholding what the county owes from current reimbursement requests, Kelly said.

Her Tuesday board report will discuss the county's efforts to pay the remainder of the funds, which are now due, and its formal appeal process for the 2002-03 fiscal year, for which the state is seeking $737,000 in return payments.

The cost reporting problems to the state arose from inclusion of non-Medi-Cal costs, overreporting of service units, and data entry and clerical errors, Kelly's report to the board explains. The state communicated the audit findings to the county several years after the fiscal year in question ended.

County Administrative Officer Kelly Cox said the problems the Mental Health Department is suffering preceded Kelly's tenure, which began five years ago.

It's also compounded by the state being slow in paying its bills, Cox said.

“There is not enough ongoing revenue to support the level of staffing that they currently have in their operation,” said Cox.

He said the department added staff when they thought they had more money. Then it was discovered they had overclaimed on their reimbursements.

“If we had known they were overclaiming we would never have allowed them to expand,” said Cox.

There are also economic impacts due to realignment funds from the state and federal government that are tied to the economy

Cox said the county doesn't have the money to put into making up the department's shortfall.

He said the department's budget estimates change daily. “It's a really bad situation.”

Now the state is withholding the money the department should receive to make up for the previous overpayments, which is compounding the issue. Cox said he thinks the state is becoming more aggressive about pursuing recover of the funds due to the economy.

Changes to the department's information technology system is meant to help avoid future problems. The new system is expected to be fully implemented by Dec. 31, Kelly's report explains. The department also has created other internal controls.

Kelly said the Mental Health Department has a number extra help positions they'll be looking at when it comes to exploring savings.

“We are going to minimize the impact on clients as much as possible,” said Kelly, with a strong focus being placed on clients with the most serious mental illness.

Part of that will be accomplished by redirecting people who have other health care resources to different providers, including primary care physicians. She said they've discovered that many people are using their services because there are few psychiatrists in the area.

“We have to be very careful with our resources at this point,” she said.

She said she hasn't yet talked to the union about the situation.

Minton said he has yet to see any budget figures from the county.

“They need to show us what their deficit is, they need to show us what their saving is going to be when they start laying people off,” he said.

He's also concerned layoffs will cost the county more in the long run.

He said Mental Health Department employees are now so overworked they can't keep up with the workload, and the department is “disciplining people right and left.”

“How the work going to get done?” he asked.

Kelly hopes the board will give her permission to move forward quickly when it comes to seeking solutions. She said the situation is a tough one.

“I'm sure they'll take it quite seriously,” she said.

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