Humboldt supervisors approve two sheriff’s office hires despite countywide hiring freeze

The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously March 11 to grant the sheriff’s office an exception to the countywide hiring freeze so the department can fill two full-time positions: a public information specialist and a property/evidence technician.

The board’s action follows a presentation from the sheriff’s office describing workloads that officials said exceed current staffing and can create liability risks and service gaps. Sheriff (Humboldt County) told the board the public information specialist “coordinates all of our public records and our FOIA requests” and manages critical incident communications, press releases and the sheriff’s transparency portal. He said the office receives “approximately about 250 public records requests a year” and issues “probably 200 to 300 press releases, social media posts every year.”

Why it matters: Board members pressed department leaders on whether the hires are essential at a time the county is trying to reduce general-fund spending. Supporters argued the positions reduce legal risk and costlier outsourcing; critics warned the county must pare staffing to avoid a looming fiscal cliff.

Sheriff’s case and funding details Sheriff (Humboldt County) said the open public information specialist is a replacement for an existing full‑time position and is distinct from a separate, grant-funded PIO hired under a human‑trafficking grant. He said the departing PIO’s workload — which includes timely responses to public records requests, officer-involved-shooting disclosures, jail-death reporting, and urgent incident communication near schools — requires a dedicated, full-time role.

The sheriff described the property/evidence technician position as largely funded by the county’s Drug Task Force: “We have $56,000 that we get from our Drug Task Force to manage all the Drug Task Force inventory,” the sheriff said, adding that the task force revenues pay most of that job’s cost and that the role is central to maintaining chain of custody for evidence. He said the property unit processes roughly 500 firearms and about 1,200 drug items per year and that meticulous evidence handling is necessary to avoid challenges that could throw out evidence in court.

Board concerns and discussion Supervisor Wilson, who had pulled the item for discussion, said the timing is difficult because the board has a hiring freeze intended to capture savings through attrition and because the county faces “a fiscal cliff” within roughly a year to 18 months. Wilson asked how the PIO roles differ and whether grant-funded staff overlap with the requested hire. The sheriff said the grant-funded PIO is separate and that the requested hire replaces an existing, county-funded PIO who is leaving at month’s end.

County Administrative Officer Regina explained that the positions are budgeted but remain subject to the board’s hiring-freeze policy, which is intended to hold vacant positions open to produce savings. She said the property technician position is mostly covered by Drug Task Force funds and the Measure Z fund previously paid for a second PIO post.

Public comment and outcome Members of the public and the sheriff’s office described operational problems when the county lacks a full-time PIO, including delays in incident information and increased liability on public records requests. After discussion, Supervisor Madrone moved to approve the hiring-freeze exception; the motion passed 5-0.

What the board approved The action authorizes the sheriff’s office to fill two full‑time equivalent (FTE) positions: a public information specialist (county-funded replacement) and a property/evidence technician (predominantly Drug Task Force-funded). The board recorded a 5-0 vote in favor.

Ending note Supervisors and department leaders repeatedly framed the vote as a balance between fiscal constraints and operational necessity; several members said they expect continued, difficult budget choices in the coming year.