Shasta County expected to name new CEO at May 16 meeting
Shasta County’s nearly year-long saga to hire a permanent executive officer is expected to come to an end later this month.
Supervisors came out of closed session Tuesday to report they have directed staff to put on the board’s May 16 agenda for approval an employment contract for a County Executive Officer.
The vote to do that was unanimous, County Counsel James Ross said.
Supervisor Tim Garman told the Record Searchlight that he also expects the new CEO to be identified at the May 16 meeting, which will start at 5:30 p.m.
Garman would only say the person has been through the background check “and all that and it’s good.”
Supervisor Patrick Jones, who chairs the board, couldn’t be reached for comment on Wednesday.
The May 16 meeting will take place a little over a month after supervisors on April 6 rescinded the job offer to Chriss Street and had made an offer to another candidate.
Supervisors did not say why the offer was taken off the table, but it came nine days after they announced they were waiting for Street to respond to a background report that was done on him.
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The decision to move on from Street capped a month of emotionally-charged board meetings and public debate on social media on the merits of Street, whose position as vice president of New California State drew criticism. New California is a group that wants to leave California and form its own state.
He is also the former Orange County treasurer-tax collector who in 2010 was ordered to pay more than $7 million in damages for allegedly mismanaging a bankruptcy trust. That same year, Street decided not to run for reelection for treasurer-tax collector.
Street has twice shown up at Shasta County supervisors meetings since his job offer was rescinded.
At the April 11 meeting, Street got up during the public comment period and alleged serious illegal budget maneuvering by the county.
Supervisors anticipated Street’s presentation, so they called on county Auditor-Controller Nolda Short to provide a report rebutting Street’s claims.
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Shasta County has been without an executive officer since Matt Pontes abruptly resigned last June after a political battle between him and Supervisor Jones that played out in an April 19, 2022, closed-door job evaluation of Pontes. Supervisors spent two hours in closed session at the time before giving Pontes a 4-1 vote of confidence. Jones cast the lone dissenting vote.
Since Pontes’ resignation, the county has had two acting CEOs Patrick Minturn, who did the job from June through January, and Mary Williams, who succeeded Minturn on Feb. 1 and continues to be the acting CEO.
David Benda covers business, development and anything else that comes up for the USA TODAY Network in Redding. He also writes the weekly "Buzz on the Street" column. He’s part of a team of dedicated reporters that investigate wrongdoing, cover breaking news and tell other stories about your community. Reach him on Twitter @DavidBenda_RS or by phone at 1-530-338-8323. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Shasta County expected to name new CEO at May 16 meeting
