Merced County supervisors thank emergency teams for efforts to assist amid flooding

The Merced County Board of Supervisors agreed Tuesday to spend $20,000 to help cover expenses related to ongoing flooding and commended local response teams for their efforts to mitigate damage and ensure that residents are kept safe.

The board heard from public safety authorities who described their work to repair levees, clear debris from channels and warn people living near the Merced River to be ready for possible evacuations.

Battalion Chief Jeremy Rahn of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection offered his appreciation on behalf of the county’s emergency response teams.

“Your Merced County staff has been so superb, we’re overwhelmed,” Rahn told the board. “Your staff has worked the last two holiday weekends in a row in the Merced County emergency operations center.”

He noted that a visit by District 3 Supervisor Daron McDaniel to the center on Monday came just as he had released workers to take a break.

“Unfortunately, I had just kicked everybody out,” Rahn said. “We told them to go home for a couple of hours and spend some time there because we’re not done with this yet.”

Jim Andersen, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Hanford, told the board “the main rains” of this set of storms have ended and there will be dry skies between Thursday afternoon and Saturday.

“That should definitely help with the effort,” he said.

Authorities urged residents to go to the county’s website to sign up for the emergency notification system and to follow the county’s handle on Twitter, @MercedCounty.

Commission change postponed

A motion by District 1 Supervisor Rodrigo Espinoza to change members on the county planning commission failed to draw a second motion to put the matter to a full vote. Espinoza, who took office in December, wished to remove current commission Chair Greg Thompson and appoint Fernando Aguilera, a Merced businessman and president of the Merced Soccer Academy.

Espinoza said it was in his authority to have District 1 represented by the person of his choice. Other supervisors, however, said removing the current chair would be disruptive to the commission. Thompson, who manages real estate for Joseph Gallo Farms, according to his LinkedIn profile, was appointed in 2010 and will see his current term expire next year. Supervisor Jerry O’Banion suggested the item be set aside until then.

Wage dispute at impasse

The board voted 5-0 to impose terms of the county’s last, best and final offer to the United Public Employees Unit 3 to end an impasse over wages and policies. The unit has insisted on a 4 percent wage increase for approximately 300 county clerical employees, said Angel Barajas, business agent for the union. The county has offered a 2 percent increase.

Barajas said salaries are low enough that some workers who are single parents qualify for government aid. “We believe we’re being reasonable,” he said.

Shelline Bennett, an attorney representing the county in negotiations, said the unit received four annual 3 percent raises during the recession while other bargaining units went without. A survey comparing salaries to similar positions in other counties showed Merced County’s workers were on par with their peers.

This story was originally published February 21, 2017 at 6:32 PM with the headline "Merced County supervisors thank emergency teams for efforts to assist amid flooding."