Announcements regarding hearings, grants, and public comment notices of importance to California's rural counties.
CalPERS Leadership Forums
Last week, RCRC staff and member county representatives from Tuolumne and Lassen counties participated in the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) Local Elected Officials forum in Oakland. This session provided elected officials the opportunity to have an open dialog on top issues related to pension and health care benefits for public employers.
Materials from the forum can be accessed here. CalPERS has also announced details of their Employer Leadership Dialogues which will take place throughout 2020. CalPERS is offering employer leaders and decision-makers the opportunity to engage with CalPERS senior leadership to discuss important topics in small venues. Pension costs, strategies for pay down of Unfunded Accrued Unfunded Liabilities and health care costs are anticipated agenda items. Details and registration information can be accessed here.
CalPERS Executives and Board members continue to provide RCRC member counties with opportunities to connect with senior leaders on important matters.
100M Available for Disadvantaged Communities and High Fire Threat Districts Through Self-Generation Incentive Program
The Self Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) started as a program for incentivizing natural gas fired Co-Generation installations, and was modified to include Energy Storage a few years ago. When the program was modified, the California Public Utilities Commission also added an Equity Budget. The Equity Budget is to ensure that economically disadvantaged ratepayer groups have a chance to access some of the funds by setting up a separate allocation.
The Equity Budget now has $110M in available funding, including $100M available for one of two uses: Energy Storage in Disadvantaged Communities; and, Energy Storage for Critical Resilience purposes in High Fire Threat Districts (HFTD), primarily in public sector applications.
The program is anticipated to start accepting applications beginning April 1, 2020, and the funds are expected to move extremely quickly. Local governments that are interested in applying for these funds should plan to have completed applications ready for submission by late March 2020.
On Wednesday, RCRC hosted a webinar to provide further information, and assist counties with understanding the tasks that need to be completed for an application, and the options available to help with application preparation. A recorded version of the webinar can be accessed here. For additional questions, please contact Michael Day at (916) 577-1114.
Siskiyou County Seeks County Administrator
The ideal candidate is an experienced county administrator/executive, or senior level executive from a comparable public sector organization; some relevant private sector experience may be helpful.
Details on the County Administrator position can be accessed here.
Shasta County Seeks County Executive Officer
Located at the northern end of the Sacramento Valley, nestled between Mt. Shasta and Mt. Lassen, Shasta County covers over 3,800+ square miles of rivers, lakes, mountains, State Parks, and National Forests. Easily one of the most picturesque counties in all of California, Shasta County, population 180,000, has an economy based on agriculture, tourism, timber, medical services, and retail businesses. Shasta County has a wealth of resources in a business friendly atmosphere promoting thriving industries.
Shasta County offers all of the amenities of the big city while retaining a comfortable small town atmosphere. With its natural beauty, diversified culture, affordable housing, excellent educational system, abundance of recreational opportunities, and excellent quality of life, Shasta County is a great place to live, work, and raise a family.
Details on the County Executive Officer position can be accessed here.