Chairman Vanderpool says Tulare County "strong," highlights hiring, infrastructure and digital upgrades in 2025 State of the County

Pete Vanderpool, chairman of the Tulare County Board of Supervisors, delivered the board's 2025 State of the County address on Feb. 25, citing stronger revenues, debt reduction and investments in public safety, roads and digital services.

"It is a privilege and an honor to serve as your board of supervisors chairman and share the state of the county of Tulare address," Vanderpool said at the opening of his remarks. He described the county as "strong," noting steps the board took to preserve fiscal discipline while preparing for uncertainties at the state level.

Vanderpool told the board the county's property tax assessment roll reached nearly $50,000,000,000, an 8.4% increase over the prior year. He said the board paid off more than $22 million in debt through retirement of Millennium bond funds.

The chairman emphasized public-safety investments. He said the county put seven new pieces of fire apparatus into service with a full fleet completion expected in spring 2025, and that the county has expanded firefighter recruitment, hiring 38 extra-help firefighters and reclassifying 15 positions to strengthen 24/7 coverage at several stations. Vanderpool also cited the sheriff's planned construction of an 8,000-square-foot, $5 million forensic facility to house digital forensics equipment and toxicology capabilities.

Agriculture, he said, remains a foundation of the local economy: Vanderpool recounted a gross agricultural production value of more than $7,900,000,000 and said the county is among the nation's top producers. He highlighted an equipment- and materials-recycling event organized by weights and measures that diverted 32,900 pounds of pesticide containers from landfills.

On infrastructure, Vanderpool said the Resource Management Agency secured a $5.3 million federal grant for flood-mitigation improvements on Avenue 56 in the Alpa area. He said the county completed about 75 miles of chip seal and 4.5 miles of overlays in 2024 to preserve roadways. The parks division added picnic tables, grills and arbors across county parks, he said, and library renovations at Cutler and Alpa branches are planned for completion in 2025.

Vanderpool also described digital and process improvements: a new county website planned for May, migration to a cloud-based human capital management system, a new records-management system that he said has improved service times for marriage licenses and birth certificates, and an assessor office application to automate property-assessment data entry.

On social services, Vanderpool noted the county's mobile crisis unit expansion for mental-health and substance-use outreach, and he said a $100,000 grant will reduce adoption and spay/neuter fees to support animal welfare.

Why it matters: Vanderpool framed these items as part of a broader effort to maintain services while modernizing county operations. "We are committed to serving our residents with effectiveness, efficiency and a focus on innovation," he said.

Vanderpool closed by thanking county employees and board colleagues, and by urging continued focus on modernization and fiscal stewardship.

Ending: The board moved on to the rest of the agenda after the address. Vanderpool and department leaders will present individual project updates and budget items to the board in coming weeks as the county proceeds with the initiatives he described.