Vets Relocation & The Brown Act

Now’s the time to talk about the great Veterans Office Relocation/Eviction fiasco in its simplest terms, for the simple reason that there’s nothing complicated or difficult about understanding it. 

It’s that simple.

So taking it by the numbers, this is what we have.

1. Last June, prodded by a just barely balanced budget, a special team of staffers mostly from the Executive Office, were tasked to find additional cost-savings and/or revenue enhancements and report their findings back to the Board. In early December, the team, designated as the Golden Gate Bridge Initiative (similar to the ongoing task of painting and maintaining San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge from end to end continuously), reportedly produced a package of 70-plus items totaling approximately $10 million in mostly cost reductions. Included in those savings was the cancellation of an increased rent-lease agreement for the Ukiah building (that housed the Mendocino County Air Quality Management District (AQMD). It should be noted that the County has yet to publicly release the $10 million list of cost-savings/revenue enhancements. 

2. A few days ago, Supes John Haschak and Glenn McGourty, who serve on the Board’s General Government Committee, sent out a letter providing background and activities surrounding the Vets relocation decision. Here are excerpts from their statement:

“The move was precipitated by the Board’s directive to staff to downsize the number of county buildings and reduce costs. The Veterans Services house on Observatory Ave. in Ukiah had a homey feel. Veterans and staff felt comfortable in that setting. Yet there were some issues such as parking, public safety and space. 

“Recently, the rent being paid for Air Quality’s present building increased dramatically. The decision by staff was to get out from under the high rents. There existed unutilized space in the Public Health building which was sufficient for the Veterans Services staff but not enough for Air Quality. On that basis, the decision was made to move Air Quality and its employees to the Observatory Ave. space and move Veterans’ Services to a wing of the Public Health building.

“Supervisors learned about this from constituent outrage. Concerns have been raised about the move and we are trying to address these concerns as best we can. Some will say that we should just move the Veterans’ Services Office back to the house on Observatory. With the domino effect of the moves and considering that the new facility has some advantages, our perspective is that let’s make this new space the best it can be and that it be a space welcoming to veterans while fulfilling the needs of staff and veterans alike.

“Supervisors and staff have been in communication since. Supervisor Haschak led a tour of veterans and staff of the new facilities. Veterans did not like the sterile feel of the reception area and office space. They had suggestions for ‘owning’ the area.

“Working with staff, we have come up with accommodations to make a more comfortable and welcoming Veterans’ space. The entry will have a Veterans sign to replace the Public Health sign. Dedicated Purple Heart and Veterans only parking spaces will be assigned. The doorway will have automatic entry feature for wheelchairs. The glass enclosure for the receptionist desk will be removed. A couch and coffee machine will be installed in and a mural and/or artwork will adorn the waiting area. Doorways and privacy screens are being installed in the hallway. We will be asking veterans about what they want in the outdoor quad area to make it a social environment. The planter boxes that were at Observatory will be moved to the quad.

“Again, we express our apologies for how this move was communicated to veterans but also feel that working together, we can make this a better place for our veterans and staff.”

3. As the Supervisors readily admit, their constituents are outraged over this issue. Easily, 80 percent of county residents are opposed to evicting the Vets from their long-time location, and relinquishing it to the Mendocino County Air Quality Management District. The optics of the reality of evicting the Vets Services Office from its long-time headquarters to makeshift space in the old Public Health Building was completely lost on the staffers who didn’t bother to provide the Vets or the Supes with any advance notice of their decision.

Staffers are bureaucrats who, among other things, are suppose to provide their bosses, i.e., the Board of Supervisors, with the information needed to make decisions. Staffers work for the Supervisors, and not the other way around. There’s not supposed to be any tail wagging the dog.

The Supervisors have yet to make a decision on what is currently merely a staff recommendation regarding the relocation of the Vets Services Office, yet many people are acting as if this is a done deal. It is not.

4. To the best of my knowledge, the $10 million package of budgetary cost-savings, which incudes the Vets relocation, has never been made public or approved by the Board of Supervisors. There very well may be other items in that document that are of public interest and concern.

This issue is purported to be a $10 million budgetary matter with unknown details and related consequences. Under state law, the public has the right to know about such things. Under state law the Board of Supervisors, as fiduciaries, have legal obligations to know about such things. Yet, the Supervisors admit the document detailing the $10 million package has never been made public.

The Brown Act requires at minimum for this matter to be agendized at a public meeting for discussion, public comment, and possible action by the Supervisors.

The public needs to be officially heard on the subject in a public meeting, where their elected representatives can make a decision instead of the unelected staffers who took action behind the scenes. 

Not only is this the legal thing to do, it is also the right thing to do.

(Jim Shields is the Mendocino County Observer’s editor and publisher, observer@pacific.net, the long-time district manager of the Laytonville County Water District, and is also chairman of the Laytonville Area Municipal Advisory Council. Listen to his radio program “This and That” every Saturday at 12 noon on KPFN 105.1 FM, also streamed live: http://www.kpfn.org)