Lake County supervisors authorize staff time to pilot youth internship program

Vice Chair Rasmussen and the Lake County Board of Supervisors on an undisclosed date voted to authorize staff in the administration, human resources and public services departments to spend more than eight hours developing a pilot internship program for fiscal years 2024–25 and 2025–26.

The approval aims to increase youth involvement in county government and to expose students to public-service careers. "One of my goals is working with youth and increasing youth involvement in the government," Vice Chair Rasmussen said. "I'm willing to, you know, spend some of my discretionary money to hire 2 interns if the, you know, the board will support having staff spend the time necessary to make this happen."

Board members and staff said the program would initially focus on placements in museums, parks and public services divisions but could expand if the pilot succeeds. "At the museum level, funding is very tight. So, I would gratefully appreciate the funding," Public Services Director Lars Ewing said, citing museums as among the most budget-constrained placements. Ewing also identified parks and recreation as a possible placement but said current budgets do not include dedicated intern funding.

Board members discussed potential funding sources and partnerships. Supervisor Sabati suggested pursuing grants or training funds through Workforce Alliance of North Bay and asked staff to connect with Bruce Wilson, executive director, to explore whether program design could match available training dollars. "They'll pay 50% of salaries for those that are being trained," Supervisor Sabati said about Workforce Alliance funding, adding that the last program used about seven slots that might be available for county interns.

Human resources cautioned about program rules and legal limits. "Most of our extra help would not meet the guidelines of interns, at least the way we're currently using them, but we could definitely look into that," the HR director said, adding that students under 18 would be limited by child labor laws and that some existing extra-help positions may not qualify as internships.

The board took formal action after discussion. Vice Chair Rasmussen moved "to authorize staff in the administration, human resources and public services departments to invest more than 8 hours of time to implement an intern program in fiscal years 24–25, extending to next fiscal year 25–26." Supervisor Robin seconded the motion. When the chair called for the vote, an affirmative response was recorded and the chair stated, "Motion carries." The motion authorizes staff time to develop the pilot; it does not appropriate operating or salary funds beyond the discretionary offer noted on the record.

Supervisors said the pilot would be open to high school and college students, including local residents attending four-year universities, and that departments would be asked to commit to providing meaningful work and supervision. Board members also discussed exploring whether some extra-help positions could be converted to internship assignments and whether certificate- or license-track trainees could be included alongside traditional college students.

Next steps identified during the discussion include staff outreach to Workforce Alliance of North Bay and internal coordination among the CAO's office, human resources and public services to draft a program proposal. The motion instructs staff to spend the authorized time developing the pilot; any hiring or budget changes beyond that will require separate approvals.

The board did not reference any specific ordinance or statute when authorizing the staff work, and no dollar appropriation beyond the vice chair's discretionary offer was adopted during the meeting.