The Humboldt County grand jury just released the results of an investigation into the county’s beleaguered Aviation Division and the six airports it manages. As you may recall, the Aviation Division is in dire financial straits, expected to end this fiscal year nearly $1 million in the hole and with an ongoing structural deficit in […]
budget
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UPDATE: EPD’s “Streamlined” Budget
UPDATE: Chief Mills released a summary of his budget proposal on the Eureka Police Department’s blog. Citing the need to make the department more “streamlined and efficient to fill the vacuum created by laying off PSOs and annuitants”, the workload currently carried by police services officers will be redistributed between officers, technical support and citizens. […]
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Airport Updater: Loans, Z rejection, Portland, and a bigger jet
The county’s Aviation Division is likely to receive some temporary financial relief in the form of an intra-county loan, should the division’s dwindling trust funds be unable to support an ongoing structural deficit. As the Journal reported in March, the division was facing a fiscal year-end deficit of more than $800,000. The aviation enterprise fund […]
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State Water Restrictions May Dry Eureka’s Budget
Eureka’s tough budget year may go from bad to worse. News broke this past week that — despite voters’ approving a sales tax extension in November that’s supposed to keep more $4 million coming into city coffers annually — the city is looking to erase a $2.3 million deficit, which equates to about 10 percent […]
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UPDATED: Supes Consider Post-Consolidation Pay Bump for Sheriff
UPDATE: The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors, after less than 15 minutes of discussion, voted unanimously to approve the pay increase requested for Sheriff Mike Downey to compensate him for the extra duties he’s taking on in the wake of his office consolidating that of the coroner-public administrator. Each member of the board stressed before […]
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#Communityengagement #entrapment?
Two government agencies dove into the Twitterverse this past week, one looking to gather public input 140 characters at a time and the other seeking to increase traffic safety by doling out messages commonly read on handheld portable devices. First, the county of Humboldt, with a community meeting planned for Thursday to identify priorities as the Board […]
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Supes to Gather Public Input on Budget
Looking to cut a projected $2 million in spending next fiscal year, the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors will hold a simultaneous meeting at five locations throughout the county next month to gather input from constituents. The board will hold a meeting in each supervisorial district at 6 p.m. on March, with each of the […]
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County projecting large budget deficit
It looks like the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors will have some tough decisions to make in the coming months. The board is slated to receive its mid-year budget update Tuesday, and the news is pretty grim. According to the staff report, County Administrative Officer Phillip Smith-Hanes is expected to tell the board that the […]
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Fortuna Facing Big Budget Cuts
The City of Fortuna is facing a $435,669 shortfall this coming fiscal year and will have to make what a news release from the city today calls “significant cuts to the City budget”: “The City Council is resolute about addressing this financial situation at the earliest possible opportunity and is prepared to make tough decisions […]
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C.R. faces the music [now with official P.R.]
There will be a lot less music in the future at College of the Redwoods if the college administration follows through with plans for reductions in class offerings in its music department. Earlier today the Journal received a leaked copy of a memo sent by C.R.’s music department head Ed Macan to C.R. students and […]
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A Place in the Woods
It was overcast that August morning, and cool enough for a campfire. Theresa Aubuchon sat by the fire reading a book. Like a lot of Fortuna families, the Aubuchons treated this campground like an outdoor home away from home for a couple of weeks each summer. On this midweek morning, the rest of her family […]
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Supervisor Mark Lovelace – running for re-election
Third District Supervisor Mark Lovelace gathered supporters on the Arcata Plaza Thursday afternoon to announce that he’s running for re-election (see text of speech below), then discussed challenges ahead, among them holding onto the county’s tax money, rural school busing, marijuana policy and smart meters. The last 3 years have been very busy. I’ve […]