Amador County – The Ione City Council last week accepted a donation of $650 from an Ione resident for the purchase of a bullet-proof police dog vest, for the city’s K9 officer.

The City Council accepted the donation from Ione resident Michelle Wagner to purchase a K9 Ballistic Vest, and also authorized staff to make the purchase of the vest with the donated funds. City Manager Kim Kerr said the donation would leave no cost to the city to make the purchase.

Mayor David Plank said it was unusual in this economic climate for a person to donate that amount of money. He said he was sure that Wagner “is a pet lover.” The vest will be used by the city K9 police dog, named “Pras.” Pras is a newly acquired German Shepard, which is now working as a patrol dog and will soon be trained to detect drugs, and will then do dual duty as the city’s drug dog, according to a recent report by Ione Police Chief Michael L. Johnson.

In a letter with her donation, Wagner said she believed Ione “will benefit greatly from the presence of this K9,” and she wanted “to ensure that the dog is as well protected from harm as his human partner.”

The City Council directed that a letter of thanks be written and sent to Wagner for her donation.

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Amador County – The Amador County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 Tuesday to pass a resolution in support of limiting immigration into the country, borrowing wording from a similar resolution Supervisors approved in 1994.

Wendell Peart introduced the draft resolution in early February, and this week said that people who support immigration control are called racists and xenophobes. He said people who are pro-immigration try to “create a sense of guilt” in opponents. Peart said there are “$200 billion in suppressed wages caused by illegal aliens.”

The resolution supported reducing “total legal immigration to 300,000 per year,” similarly approved in the 1994 resolution.

In public comment, Leroy Carlin said he agreed with most of Peart’s resolution, and the Mexican border is “out of control.” Supervisor Brian Oneto agreed, saying he had seen a DVD showing a sign in Arizona, 8 miles from the border, in U.S. territory. The sign warned people to keep away from the area, due to high speed vehicles, drugs and guns.

Oneto said he called a phone number on the sign, and the Department of the Interior answered, and a woman verified that the sign was serious, saying: “we have major issues down here.”

Supervisor Richard Forster said the resolution was pretty much on target, but he believed the original language was better regarding water issues. Peart’s wording noted the “ongoing struggle for more water from Mountain Counties to supply water to the Bay Delta.” Forster said he liked more broad terms. The former resolution’s wording was used, saying that the California “population growth has already outstripped the state’s finite water resources.”

Forster said he was “leery” of supporting a “$1,000 fine a day to the employer for every illegal alien found to be employed.” He said some people think they have hired legal workers, only to find that they had been given forged credentials. Supervisor Brian Oneto said the fine is subjective. He also moved to strike a reference to a “temporary nine month guest worker program.” The program reference was removed, and the $1,000 fine was changed to a “reasonable financial penalty,” wording suggested by Supervisor Louis Boitano.

It was also moved to remove verbiage supporting the securing of “U.S. borders by the employment of all branches of the military in cooperation with the Border Control and all other agencies in said enforcement of the law.” Boitano suggested it be replaced with “whatever means necessary.” Instead, it was replaced with the 1994 resolution wording, which supported securing U.S. borders “through legislative authorization.”

Supervisor Ted Novelli disagreed, saying he is “not a big fan of taking power away from the Governor,” which controls the state’s military Reserves.

Forster, Boitano and Oneto voted in the affirmative, and Novelli and Chairman John Plasse dissented. Plasse said he voted no because he “would like to see the military clause in there.”

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Amador County – The Ione City Council last Tuesday discussed a request by staff to get an estimate from the Amador County Sheriff’s Office for policing the city, then looked at an extensive scope of services prepared by staff.

The Council looked at a request for Amador County Sheriff Martin Ryan to give the city an estimate of the cost to provide law enforcement services in Ione. City Manager Kim Kerr provided a letter that she sent to the Sheriff making the request. Kerr said Undersheriff Jim Wegner “notified staff that it will be a few weeks before they are able to issue a proposal due to workload issues at the Amador County Sheriff’s Office.”

Kerr said “Wegner also indicated there would be no bill for the preparation of the proposal.” She said “there is no direct cost to the city from the Sheriff’s Office,” but “both the Sheriff’s Office and the city will incur costs for preparing the proposal and reviewing the Sheriff’s proposal.”

Kerr said Ione Police Chief Michael L. Johnson helped draft the scope of service, and she sent the letter March 25th. She said it took time to make sure all of the needs were covered.

The letter sought an estimate for the minimum of one patrol officer 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and included covering sick days. Councilman Ron Smylie said he liked the areas Kerr “zoned in on,” and the description was “very complete.” Mayor David Plank said “it looks very well done.”

Kerr said she had heard back from Undersheriff Wegner, who said he would be preparing the proposal.

The letter, in part, said the city was seeking the provision of “complete Police Department services” and “not as a Sheriff’s Office beat.” It would be staffed with a Lieutenant or higher officer that was “mutually agreeable” to the city for “this management assignment. In the event of a vacancy, the Sheriff will provide a list of eligible candidates to the City Manager who will fill the position.”

The letter noted that the Sheriff’s office would enforce state statutes and “such municipal police ordinances” as are the “same type or nature as ordinances of the county, which the sheriff’s office enforces in the unincorporated territory of the county.” It also sought information on whether animal control services could be included, or if they would need to be separately contracted.

Kerr said duties of traffic control for Ione Elementary and Junior High schools are handled by the city, and it would need to be decided whether to include that in the contract. She said options may include a substation in the city, and she would like to see if the contracting could incorporate the city’s own equipment and personnel.

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Amador County – Multiple residents questioned the Amador County Board of Supervisors at its meeting Tuesday, asking about its contract with the Public Health Officer, eventually causing staff to caution against violating the Brown Act.

Speaking during “Public matters not on the agenda,” a public comment period, many of the speakers addressed the contract extension approval of Dr. Robert Hartmann, and asked about a “Request For Proposals” for his Public Health Officer position.

Supervisor Chairman John Plasse said the position of Health Officer is one of several types of “professional services” for which county policy requires they go out for a Request For Proposals (RFP) every three years. Plasse said Hartmann has been working on 1-year contracts, renewed annually, for the last 12 years, and no RFPs have been made.

The latest contract sought a 37.5 percent raise for Hartmann, and Supervisors compromised, and approved an 18.5 percent raise for Hartmann. They approved the contract through the end of this fiscal year, ending in June. Plasse said it was hard for Supervisors to justify a nearly 40 percent raise when the rest of the county’s employees were being asked to take pay decreases.

One man asked when Hartmann was notified about the preparation of a Request For Proposals were going out.

County Administrative Officer Chuck Iley said the RFPs are not going out. He said he notified Hartmann a week previously that “we have been putting together an RFP” but they are not negotiating yet with Hartmann. He said he has regular contact with Hartmann.

Plasse said: “There’s been a lot of publicity and that has not been our doing.”

One man asked if Hartmann was “going to be given the first right of refusal before you go out for RFPs.” Plasse said Hartmann would get first right of refusal. He also said Requests For Proposals for professional services were not the same as a taking bids. The county would not be obligated to take the lowest bidder but could choose the proposal it considered best for the county.

County Counsel Martha J. Shaver said the discussion was “getting beyond the limits of the Brown Act,” and advised that proper discussion would be a “brief comment,” because the matter was not listed on the agenda.

Supervisor Brian Oneto, answering comments, said he had received no correspondence from Hartmann. He also repeated his reason for a “motion to reconsider” on Hartmann’s initial contract approval, saying: “I did not want my name on a 37 percent increase.”

Former Jackson Mayor Rosalie Pryor Escamilla said she did not think the Health Officer position was “on par with paving or construction,” and “an item this important needs to be placed on an agenda.”

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Amador County – Multiple residents questioned the Amador County Board of Supervisors at its meeting Tuesday, asking about its contract with the Public Health Officer, eventually causing staff to caution against violating the Brown Act.

Speaking during “Public matters not on the agenda,” a public comment period, many of the speakers addressed the contract extension approval of Dr. Robert Hartmann, and asked about a “Request For Proposals” for his Public Health Officer position.

Supervisor Chairman John Plasse said the position of Health Officer is one of several types of “professional services” for which county policy requires they go out for a Request For Proposals (RFP) every three years. Plasse said Hartmann has been working on 1-year contracts, renewed annually, for the last 12 years, and no RFPs have been made.

The latest contract sought a 37.5 percent raise for Hartmann, and Supervisors compromised, and approved an 18.5 percent raise for Hartmann. They approved the contract through the end of this fiscal year, ending in June. Plasse said it was hard for Supervisors to justify a nearly 40 percent raise when the rest of the county’s employees were being asked to take pay decreases.

One man asked when Hartmann was notified about the preparation of a Request For Proposals were going out.

County Administrative Officer Chuck Iley said the RFPs are not going out. He said he notified Hartmann a week previously that “we have been putting together an RFP” but they are not negotiating yet with Hartmann. He said he has regular contact with Hartmann.

Plasse said: “There’s been a lot of publicity and that has not been our doing.”

One man asked if Hartmann was “going to be given the first right of refusal before you go out for RFPs.” Plasse said Hartmann would get first right of refusal. He also said Requests For Proposals for professional services were not the same as a taking bids. The county would not be obligated to take the lowest bidder but could choose the proposal it considered best for the county.

County Counsel Martha J. Shaver said the discussion was “getting beyond the limits of the Brown Act,” and advised that proper discussion would be a “brief comment,” because the matter was not listed on the agenda.

Supervisor Brian Oneto, answering comments, said he had received no correspondence from Hartmann. He also repeated his reason for a “motion to reconsider” on Hartmann’s initial contract approval, saying: “I did not want my name on a 37 percent increase.”

Former Jackson Mayor Rosalie Pryor Escamilla said she did not think the Health Officer position was “on par with paving or construction,” and “an item this important needs to be placed on an agenda.”

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Amador County – The Ione City Council last Tuesday discussed a request by staff to get an estimate from the Amador County Sheriff’s Office for policing the city, then looked at an extensive scope of services prepared by staff.

The Council looked at a request for Amador County Sheriff Martin Ryan to give the city an estimate of the cost to provide law enforcement services in Ione. City Manager Kim Kerr provided a letter that she sent to the Sheriff making the request. Kerr said Undersheriff Jim Wegner “notified staff that it will be a few weeks before they are able to issue a proposal due to workload issues at the Amador County Sheriff’s Office.”

Kerr said “Wegner also indicated there would be no bill for the preparation of the proposal.” She said “there is no direct cost to the city from the Sheriff’s Office,” but “both the Sheriff’s Office and the city will incur costs for preparing the proposal and reviewing the Sheriff’s proposal.”

Kerr said Ione Police Chief Michael L. Johnson helped draft the scope of service, and she sent the letter March 25th. She said it took time to make sure all of the needs were covered.

The letter sought an estimate for the minimum of one patrol officer 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and included covering sick days. Councilman Ron Smylie said he liked the areas Kerr “zoned in on,” and the description was “very complete.” Mayor David Plank said “it looks very well done.”

Kerr said she had heard back from Undersheriff Wegner, who said he would be preparing the proposal.

The letter, in part, said the city was seeking the provision of “complete Police Department services” and “not as a Sheriff’s Office beat.” It would be staffed with a Lieutenant or higher officer that was “mutually agreeable” to the city for “this management assignment. In the event of a vacancy, the Sheriff will provide a list of eligible candidates to the City Manager who will fill the position.”

The letter noted that the Sheriff’s office would enforce state statutes and “such municipal police ordinances” as are the “same type or nature as ordinances of the county, which the sheriff’s office enforces in the unincorporated territory of the county.” It also sought information on whether animal control services could be included, or if they would need to be separately contracted.

Kerr said duties of traffic control for Ione Elementary and Junior High schools are handled by the city, and it would need to be decided whether to include that in the contract. She said options may include a substation in the city, and she would like to see if the contracting could incorporate the city’s own equipment and personnel.

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.