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Residents pressed the board on consent-agenda transparency, county hiring practices, caregiver pay and an alleged after-dark elk hunt
Summary
During general public comment residents criticized the use of the consent agenda for potentially controversial items, urged better pay for caregivers, and one resident asked the board to place an elk-hunting incident on a future agenda after describing alleged after-dark hunting on private property that was referred for criminal prosecution.
Multiple members of the public used the meeting’s public-comment periods to raise concerns spanning county governance, labor and public safety.
A frequent public commenter criticized placing multiple items on the consent agenda, saying it limits public scrutiny and that some matters labeled 'noncontroversial' have later revealed policy defects. The critic urged the board to move more items into general business to allow fuller public comment.
Barbara Moran, a chapter delegate for the caregivers’ union, thanked the board and urged pay increases to address severe caregiver shortages, describing heavy workloads and the difficulty hiring enough caregivers.
A resident recounted an incident on Dec. 6 in which deputies arrived at his yard and returned hunters who had wounded an elk; he said the hunters admitted they were on private property, the elk later died and the matter was written up for criminal prosecution. The resident asked the board to place the hunting issue on a future agenda for fuller public discussion and raised safety concerns.
Norma Williams, outgoing chapter president of SEIU Del Norte County, delivered a lengthy statement urging continued collaboration between the county and the union, stressing representation and membership engagement in future bargaining and policy work.
Board members acknowledged the public comments. No board action was taken on these remarks at the meeting; the elk-hunting request was made as a public-comment ask for future agenda consideration.
