County library in Sutter to close 'temporarily'

Jan. 18—Due to a recent retirement and two vacant positions that have not been filled, the Sutter branch of the Sutter County Library system will "temporarily" close starting today, county officials said Wednesday.

While the main building and the majority of its services will be unavailable to the public for the time being, officials with the library are working on a grant proposal to potentially fund a "curbside self-service" option.

"We are seeking grant funds to provide a curbside pickup option and continuing to work with the county on a plan to re-open," Director of Library Services James Ochsner said in a statement.

Ochsner said, however, that the continued operation of the branch just wasn't possible at this time.

"With a recent retirement and two vacant positions unfilled, Sutter County Library is unable to continue to staff the Sutter branch," Ochsner said. "The hours at the Sutter branch had already been reduced to just two days a week. Unfortunately, with new vacancies a regular schedule for hours at the branch is no longer feasible."

Sutter County has been faced with severe financial challenges in recent years because of the growth of surrounding counties and jurisdictions and its inability to keep up with those areas.

"The natural features that lend to the pleasant aspects of the countryside and country life we enjoy come at a cost. They severely restrict the ability of the county to attract economic development and generate revenue for county services," Sutter County Administrator Steve Smith previously said. "More than 68% of Sutter County's land mass is in either a federal or state designated flood zone, where the cost of raising buildings to a safe elevation is often too great to encourage development. No other California county is handicapped by federal and state flood plain policy to such an extent. (Yolo County, the county with the next highest percentage of its land in a flood zone, is at about half of Sutter County's percentage)."

In order to make up for a lack of revenue and an increased need to properly fund services such as the library and vital public safety departments to retain and attract potential employees, Sutter County proposed a one cent sales tax that would have been in effect for a period of nine years. That proposal, Measure A, was rejected by Sutter County voters in the November 2022 general election with 51.61% voting against it.

If passed, Measure A would have raised about $19 million a year in revenue for the county — which officials said could have been shared with jurisdictions such as Live Oak and Yuba City. Currently, most surrounding cities and counties have a higher sales tax than Sutter County, which allows those jurisdictions to pay staff in various departments more. That reality has caused challenges for the county in retaining staff and attracting new talent.

Smith previously suggested that if Measure A didn't pass, then the county would be prevented from filling vacant positions until it was financially able to.

"We have a mid-year budget review coming up," Smith previously said. "We'll go into our budget review cycle in January. I don't anticipate immediate service cuts. With vacant positions that come up, we'll likely hold those positions. There could be service cuts based on the number of vacancies. ... We may have to shift people."

In fact, months later, service cuts did occur.

Earlier this month during a Sutter County Board of Supervisors meeting, Sutter County Fire Chief John Shalowitz informed the board and public of significant, but possibly temporary, changes that would be occurring at one of its fire stations due to decreased staffing levels.

"Sutter County Fire Service Area F will be reducing services at the Sutter fire station in January due to the staffing shortage," Shalowitz said on Jan. 3.

At the meeting, Shalowitz described exactly what reduced services would mean for the public.

"Reduced services mean that starting on Jan. 5, Sutter County Fire Station 6 will not be staffed as normal for all shifts during this period. During those times when there is not sufficient staff, the station will be staffed by the county fire chief and his battalion chiefs and also will be relied on volunteer staff who can respond to fire or medical calls," Shalowitz said. "We may also have to use mutual aid. We were hoping to have little impact on those mutual aid agencies. This reduced coverage won't happen every day, and it's also important to note that the Sutter County fire station will remain staffed with all fire admin during school hours to protect the schools and make sure we have fast response."

Smith, at the time, said the fire station located in Sutter is one of three fire stations serving County Service Area F. The station covers the entire Yuba City basin, excluding the city of Yuba City, he said.

"There are two public school campuses in Sutter — Brittan Elementary School and Sutter Union High School," Smith said on Jan. 4. "There will be professional firefighters at the station from 7 to 5 daily, which is typically when school is in session. After hours medical coverage will be provided by trained volunteers and fire administrative staff. Delays in school responses are unlikely."

While the county was able to address staffing needs at the fire station, the time it takes to train new firefighters led to the temporary changes at the Sutter station.

"Sutter County CSAF has had turnover in positions for years, but lately vacancies have increased. To address growing staffing issues, earlier this year (2022) this board increased salaries to retain existing firefighters and recruit new ones to fill vacant positions," Shalowitz previously said. "However, this process takes time. We're playing catch up. Meanwhile, our firefighters have been working extensive mandatory hours and overtimes. As a result, fire personnel have been working nearly double their normal work hours and in some cases our firefighters are working 10-15 days straight and they're away from their families. Our firefighters cannot ensure your safety if we cannot ensure their safety. This is physically, operationally and financially unstable."

Sutter County Public Information Officer Chuck Smith said the Sutter County Library system has more than 40,000 library card holders.

While the Sutter branch will be closed temporarily, the main Sutter County Library campus in Yuba City will remain open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The Barber Branch in Live Oak also is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Smith said the Sutter branch is the least busy of the three branches and said that Ochsner hopes the closure of the Sutter branch is only temporary.