Agenda Item
4e) Discussion and Possible Action Including Approval of an Employment Agreement Between the County of Mendocino and Darcie Antle to Serve as Mendocino County's Chief Executive Officer for the Term of March 12, 2024, through July 11, 2026, with Compensation for the Period Commencing March 12, 2024, through the First Full Pay Period Following Ms. Antle's Performance Evaluation in June 2025, being Two Hundred Twenty-Five Thousand Dollars ($225,000) Per Year With a Total Annual Compensation of Three Hundred and Eighty-Two and Thousand Dollars ($382,000), Including Benefits; As Specified in the Employment Agreement, if Certain Conditions Are Met, Ms. Antle's Compensation Commencing the First Full Pay Period Following the June 2025 Performance Evaluation through the End of the Agreement Shall Be Increased to Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000) Per Year With a Total Annual Compensation of Four Hundred and Twenty-Five Thousand Dollars ($425,000), Including Benefits
(Sponsor: Chair Mulheren)
This proposal is ridiculous and should be rejected. Just this morning I learned the state is so concerned about potential malfeasance in Mendocino County leadership that they enacted a special law calling for an audit of the County. Our leadership is so bad that we are being targeted for review as a source of special concern and that is due in large part to the mismanagement we have suffered under. Here is a quote for the AVA this morning citing the language of the relevant law:
THE STATE LAW THAT MANDATES AN AUDIT OF MENDOCINO COUNTY
SB 164 / Government Code Section 8546.11.
(a) The California State Auditor shall conduct an audit of the County of Mendocino by January 1, 2026, which shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following.
(1) Any potential waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement.
(2) The county’s administration of elections in 2024.
(3) Contracting and procurement.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 10231.5, the California State Auditor shall report their findings to the Legislature, including the Assembly Committee on Budget, the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, the Assembly Committee on Local Government, and the Senate Committee on Local Government, by January 1, 2026.
SEC. 60.
The Legislature finds and declares that a special statute is necessary and that a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution because of the unique need to ensure proper oversight and avoid abuse and mismanagement in the County of Mendocino.