Board creates emergency communications fund after public raises 911 and Brown Act concerns

The Trinity County Board of Supervisors voted on Jan. 6 to establish a dedicated special fund for an emergency communications system and approved a FY25''26 budget adjustment to accept a state grant and seed local work to repair aging radio and repeater infrastructure.

County Administrative Officer Brent Tuthill told the board staff have contracted an initial assessment of the full emergency-communications system and that a team will begin that evaluation next week. Sheriff Tim Saxon reiterated that the county's 911 and radio paging system is tied to the statewide OES structure and described intermittently failing repeaters and paging equipment.

Auditor-controller Christine Gaffney and CAO Tuthill stated the county received roughly $188,000 via a state allocation (attachments reference Senate Bill 105) and recommended establishing a special fund so those dollars are traceable and not buried in the general fund. The board approved the fund (consent item E-1) and then approved a related budget adjustment (E-4) to increase revenues by $180,000 and add salary and services to manage the project; both were adopted unanimously.

Public comment before the vote featured multiple speakers urging immediate action. Several residents described gaps in 911 dispatch and a downed Lewiston repeater that they said has reduced fire and medical paging reliability. One speaker urged repeated public updates until the repeater issue is fixed.

Other public speakers raised governance concerns: calls for Brown Act compliance, more complete minutes and consistent Public Records Act responses; one commenter alleged that a department director made disparaging on-record remarks about a supervisor at the December meeting and requested the matter be placed on a future agenda for public discussion and possible censure.

The board responded by acknowledging the public's concerns, explaining the legal standards for minutes and closed-session report-outs, and noting the funding and hiring action to accelerate emergency-communications work. CAO Tuthill said the special fund will make it easier for the public to track dollars spent on the communications project.

Why it matters: Reliable 911 dispatch and radio paging are core emergency services; both the public and county staff said the system requires immediate assessment and investment. Setting up a dedicated fund provides transparency on how grant dollars are used.

Next steps: The county will begin the system assessment, hire a part-time manager for the project through June 30, 2026, and provide updates. Board members and public speakers asked for repeated status briefings until Lewiston and other identified gaps are resolved.