Tehama County contract negotiations turn ugly, again

The battle between Tehama County administration and the sheriff’s office concerning contract negotiations has once again raised its ugly head.

Mudslinging, accusations and even a vote-of-no-confidence has turned the current contract process into an all too familiar war of words – mirroring the same such circumstances as 2020-2022.

During the May 21 Board of Supervisors meeting’s public comment period Tehama County Deputy Sheriff’s Association President Zachary Backus, on behalf of the association, declared a vote-of-no-confidence against Chief County Administrator Gabriel Hydrick., county Personnel Director Coral Ferrin and county Attorney Che Johnson.

This statement was followed by Sheriff Dave Kain publicly pledging his support of the declaration.

In addition to the vote-of-no-confidence, Backus said the TCDSA has filed a complaint against Hydrick, Ferrin and Johnson with the California Public Employment Relations Board.

He claims the county’s inability to negotiate in good faith is a “slap in the face” to members of the TCDSA.

These same contentions were heard back in 2020-2022 during county and TCDSA contract negotiations. The contentious debate at that time resulted in an outsourced Total Compensation Study Report, which stated in comparison to the market median, Tehama County sheriff’s deputies were being paid 13 percent below the market in salary, and 12.4 percent in total compensation.

This led the county in November 2022 to negotiate a range of 1.7 percent to 24 percent salary increases based on how far below the median certain job classifications fell.

Kain has said repeatedly, the Tehama County Sheriff’s Office has lost valuable personnel to several other law enforcement agencies in the Northstate due to non-competitive pay.

In addition to Backus’ statement, Heather McFall of General Teamsters Local 137, an affiliate with the Tehama County Law Enforcement Management Association, said the lack of communication from Ferrin concerning negotiation proposals and meetings led to Local 137 having to enlist the efforts of its legal department to press the subject. This, according to McFall, has resulted in the two parties agreeing to come back to the table this summer.

Hydrick said in a prepared statement, "Again, the Sheriff says their budget was cut, this is fundamentally not accurate. Their budget was increased by about $1 million.”

According to Kain, that $1 million added to the budget was not enough to cover salary increases, medical insurance, workers compensation insurance, retirement increases and inflation – which amounts to a $3.5 million increase in operating costs.

“The problem is we cannot meet their (sheriff’s department) desires that are millions above what the county can afford,” Hydrick added. “The Sheriff department has received unwavering support for their desired programs and personnel changes."

He noted additional financial benefits to the sheriff’s office over the past two years through general budget or grant funding, such as the helicopter program, 20 new vehicles, new office furniture and carpet, improvements to parking lot, jail expansion, new heating and air-conditioning, office lighting, solar arrays, landscaping, morgue expansion and coroner equipment, and more.

In response, Kain claims the new furniture, new parking lot, new carpet, landscaping, morgue expansion, and coroner equipment were paid for with AB443 Rural Sheriff’s discretionary funds, separate from the county’s general budget or grants.

According to Tehama County Auditor-Controller Krista Peterson, Kain is correct in his statement concerning AB443 funding the following items – parking lot, carpet, furniture and landscaping.

The 20 new vehicles were purchased utilizing a combination of general budget, American Rescue Plan Act funding and AB443, she said.

The solar and HVAC Improvements at the sheriff’s office are part of the AIRCON project, paid for by general budget funds over the course of time through debt services.

Peterson said Kain has promised to pay for all helicopter program related expenses from sources to include, but not limited to, AB443, Tehama County Major Crimes Unit and Asset Forfeiture.

AB443 is a state

In previous years the sheriff’s office has used AB443 funds to help pay for salaries at the jail, but in recent years pulled that funding from the jail use as discretionary funds to pay for expenditures and the fore-mentioned improvements.

The difference made by this budgetary action on the sheriff’s part requires an increase in general fund contributions.

AB443 provides specified funding for local law enforcement through the Local Public Safety Fund and local supplemental law enforcement services funds. AB443 appropriates $18,500,000 annually from the state’s general fund to the state controller for allocation to specified rural and small county sheriffs' departments, of which Tehama County is one, to enhance law enforcement efforts.