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ECONOMIC & GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
COUNTY UPDATE - SUPERVISOR JONES
ECONOMIC & GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
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On May 24th the Board of Supervisors made history by approving the first-ever countywide Placer County Parks and Trails Master Plan, which could double the amount of recreation acreage by 2040 and triple the amount of trail miles. The plan provides a 20-year-and-beyond vision for the development and operation of parks, recreation opportunities, open space, and trail networks in the county. It also includes future improvements and maintenance for existing parks and trails. With a final plan now in place, the county can adjust and update the plan to respond to changing trends and opportunities in a timely manner. It allows residents and decision makers to focus specifically on parks, trails, and open space needs as part of the planning process and align those needs with current standards and funding and operational considerations.
On May 10th, the Board of Supervisors heard a report from MIG, Inc. a recognized leader in community social policy and planning, detailing potential strategies on a regional effort to address homelessness. MIG facilitated the regional discussions and presented the Placer Homelessness Response Emerging Strategies Phase 1 Report. The report identifies over a dozen potential strategies to mitigate homelessness impacts. Strategies are all well and good, but a time comes for action and my interactions with the public are telling me that time has come. We have been kicking the can for a generation now because implementation of effective solutions to the many causes of homelessness will involve making bold decisions that carry great political risk. And that is…how shall I put it…difficult. At any rate, the process moves forward. One bright spot in the “progress made” category is the recent state grant of $23.5 million to convert the Hampton Inn and Suites in Roseville into 82 units of permanent supportive housing (not temporary shelter) for people who would otherwise be homeless in Placer County. This brings the total inventory to 683 beds in the county’s housing continuum of care, ranging from emergency shelter to permanent housing.
By now you are probably aware that the County Leadership is in a transitional phase due to the recent dismissal of County Executive Officer Todd Leopold. The action is unrelated to the tragic March 19th accident in Rocklin that resulted in the death of Anthony Williams. On June 3, the Board designated Assistant County Executive Officer Jane Christenson to serve as our Acting CEO. The As is often the case with change, an opportunity for introspection arises and as part of the process to select a replacement CEO, I am proposing an in-depth assessment of the “state of the organization” and taking inventory, if you will, of potentially unrecognized talent at home within the organization to complement a potentially nationwide recruitment. Be assured that my fellow Board members and I are committed to doing whatever it takes to make the decision that is best for the organization and the County at large.
One commitment I made when elected was to be accessible to those I represent, and I thank the Chamber for this opportunity to inform my fellow members. I always welcome your comments and questions, and I welcome the opportunity to speak to you individually or to address your Neighborhood Association or Community Organization. Call my office at 916-787-8960 or drop a note to my District Director Michael Spelis: Michaelspelis@placer.ca.gov or to me at Suzannejones@placer.ca.gov.
COUNTY UPDATE - SUPERVISOR GORE
ECONOMIC & GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
Hardly a week goes by lately that Roseville isn’t making more news for the high quality of life we enjoy. We’re again this year among the top relocation destinations in the nation, according to U-Haul data reported this month by Roseville Today. And U.S. News & World Report just named Placer County one of America’s top 50 healthiest communities – thanks in large part to the strength of the health care sector in south Placer.
Both mean good things for the future of our community. And yet our growth comes with challenges, too. We want the benefits of more housing, job and education opportunities. But we need to be smart about that growth, and harness it in a way that helps solve problems like traffic congestion, housing unaffordability and homelessness rather than worsening them. The key is smart planning, and our successes in recent years building the framework for sustainable growth are now bearing fruit.
Our long-standing vision for creating more higher education offerings is being realized with the new Sacramento State campus at the heart of the approved Placer Ranch development. And tentative plans for a new Hillsdale College campus are already being reviewed by our Community Development Resource Agency.
And strong master planning for residential development means tens of thousands of homes are already approved for construction in the coming decades to help address our housing affordability crisis. We want a strong housing market. We want property values to grow. Yet when prices soar beyond the reach of so many, it doesn’t just hurt the people who can’t afford them. It hurts businesses that struggle to attract new employees.
It also contributes to homelessness. The first phase report of Regional Homelessness Action Plan has been presented now to all the local jurisdictions in West Placer, helping identify emerging solutions where we hope to be able to move forward collaboratively. The next step will be to engage our community members about these possible solutions, and we look forward to that in the coming months. All told, county investments to address homelessness – ranging from prevention services; to case management programs; to operating costs for emergency shelter, interim and permanent housing – totaled approximately $20 million in the last year. We extend our thanks to all of you already working on these solutions and invite everyone to join us in the progress still to come.
These successes belong to all of us, and it’s because of our collaboration that our future continues to shine so brightly.
ADVOCACY UPDATE
ECONOMIC & GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
The July 7th primary election resulted in competitive and exciting match ups for the November general. The Roseville Area Business PAC (RABPAC) endorsed five qualified pro-business local candidates that all either advanced to the general election or won their race. Wayne Woo won his race for Placer County Sheriff. Matthew Maynard and Ryan Ronco both garnered a majority of votes for Placer County Assessor and Clerk-Recorder-Registrar respectively. For the State Senate 6th District, we will see RABPAC endorsed Roger Niello campaign against Paula Villescaz. And for State Assembly District 5, RABPAC endorsed Joe Patterson will face off against Rebecca Chenoweth. We wish all of these candidates good luck in the coming election!
With the California Legislator beginning their summer recess on July 1st, the Chamber is taking time to focus our efforts on legislation that is still working its way through both houses. A few that we are keeping a close eye on are:
• AB 257 creates the Fast Food Sector Council, who has the ability to set their own standards for minimum health, safety, wage, working hours, and employment standards. • SB 1044, will allow employees to leave work or refuse to show up if there is a State of Emergency or if they feel unsafe. • AB 99 is a bill that will create a Cradle-to-Career Data system to link student-level information from early childhood to the workforce.
There have been many successes during this legislative session. AB 1001, which would make housing development more difficult, was pulled from committee. AB 2932, to require overtime to begin at 32 hours, and AB 1771, to tax 25% on profits from a house resold within three years after its purchased, will not be moving forward as they both failed to pass out of their house of origin by the deadline.
-Marlo Bourland, Public Policy Coordinator
BIZ CORNER
As you know, inflation has run rampant in the last 12 months and it’s about to impact the CA minimum wage beyond what we expected. The minimum wage law (SB 3) signed by then-Gov. Jerry Brown in 2016 requires that any inflation growth above 7% triggers an even higher state minimum wage. The current minimum wage is $15 an hour for employers with 25 or more employees and $14 an hour for employers with fewer than 25 employees.
The CA Dept. of Finance announced that projected inflation will be 7.6% higher than the year before, triggering the minimum wage increase. Governor Newsom has announced that if these inflation projections are correct, all CA employers will be required, regardless of size, to pay the new minimum wage of $15.50 an hour, effective January 1, 2023. This also increases the minimum salary for most exempt (salaried) employees to $64,480 annually.
But wait – there’s more. There is a ballot initiative to raise the CA minimum wage to $18 an hour. If it makes it to the ballot and is passed, the wage increases would gradually reach $18/hr on January 1, 2028
-Kim Silvers, Silvers HR, LLC
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