Merced County leadership fails tenants as the COVID-19 pandemic rages on

Each hour — each minute, it seems — offers another devastating detail about the ravages of the COVID-19 crisis.

While the number of cases grows across Merced County and the San Joaquin Valley, and the deaths start to mount across the country, we should be able to look to our elected officials for competence, compassion and clarity. Their No. 1 job is to protect the public’s health. When the situation is at its worst, our elected officials need to lead at their best. Crisis reveals character. So what is this pandemic showing us about the Merced County Board of Supervisors? Plenty ... and it’s not pretty.

During the board’s meeting on April 14, the county counsel presented an overview of the laws and executive orders that had been passed since March 16, 2020 and noted that they did “not [want] to bring something like a proposed ordinance that would offer illusory [tenant] protections. In other words, there is nothing else that we felt that it could do that was not already done by the Judicial Council.”

Following the presentation, the board had a long discussion on whether an eviction moratorium was actually needed in Merced. Supervisor (Daron) McDaniel emphasized his concern, not for tenants, but for property owners, stating “I’m not in the mood to move this any further by putting other stipulations on our property owners here in Merced County. We have enough regulations in place. We are not a wealthy county. We cannot pay folks’ rent.”

Supervisor (Scott) Silveira said they would not create “a fund that people could come and use to pay their rents.” However, right before this discussion, the board voted to pass a proclamation that would cancel the property tax penalty for any property owner who missed a payment due to COVID-19. The board decided to help property owners, but would not make any formal declaration to help tenants from being penalized by their landlords for a nonpayment of rent due to the same circumstances. Instead, the board will rely on a few landlords’ words that they will work with tenants facing these hardships.

When it comes to renters, Supervisor Silveira stressed, “Nothing is free, folks. Free died a long time ago. All free means is that somebody else paid for it.” Apparently, if you’re a property owner, you still get some things for free, either paid, waived, forgiven or canceled, by the county. But good luck if you’re a tenant. It’s clear that Supervisor Silveira was more interested in the economic impact of the wealthiest among him and lamented, “Well, the wealthiest among us, their pocket books are hurting right now, too.” By the way, the penalty fee for property taxes is 10 percent for each property owned, which will be canceled because of COVID-19.

It’s clear where the board’s concerns lie, which only sheds light on whom they are most concerned for. Merced County Board of Supervisors chose to ignore renters, even though the majority of public comments came from them; and for the folks that fall through the cracks, McDaniel said he could tell from the submission of public comments by landlords that they’re “already working to help them out.”

Although county counsel and the board believe that Gov. Newsom’s executive order and the Judicial Council ruling are more than enough, it still doesn’t negate the fact that there is nothing being done to stop evictions.

Let’s be clear, the EO delayed an eviction for 60 days, the Judicial Rule temporarily stops eviction proceedings from happening 90 days after the state of emergency is lifted, and even the sheriff won’t forcibly remove you with an unlawful detainer, but there is absolutely nothing in place that stops a landlord from ultimately evicting a tenant. Nothing protects a tenant from eviction once delays and halts to court proceedings expire.

This is the reason tenants are still asking local jurisdictions to adopt an eviction moratorium in Merced County. Our elected leaders must prevent evictions during this crisis, or risk increased homelessness, especially after the state of emergency is lifted since people will not be able to find jobs right away.

Now, we look forward to the Merced City Council showing leadership and taking real action to protect tenants at their next meeting on May 4, because sadly, all we’ve seen from the county is a display of leadership that protected property owners, not tenants. Their failure to protect tenants will have long-lasting consequences on vulnerable populations.

There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long-term risks of comfortable inaction.