Fort Bragg City Council Hears Annual Reports on Crime Statistics, Homeless Programs, and Stray Animals 

The April 14th City Council meeting was lightly attended. It's not clear if an error on the agenda itself was partially to blame.  The Zoom meeting link was missing the passcode, making remote participation impossible, although streaming was available.  Emails to the city clerk were responded to with the correct link.   

Two annual reports, one from the Fort Bragg Police Department and one from the Mendocino Coast Humane Society, provided insights into crime rates and the number of stray animals.

Chief Cervenka provided crime statistics for 2024. The police responded to over 15000 calls, which resulted in 1166 reports, 514 arrests, and 315 traffic citations.  They seized 8.75 pounds of illegal drugs and 26 firearms.  There were 106 vehicle collisions, of which 8 were due to DUIs.   In general, crime decreased locally except for domestic violence, which increased by 53%.  Chief Cervenka said the increase was due to better training of his officers, who are making more arrests, and the victims’ access to post-pandemic assistance.

Chief Cervenka also provided an update on the extreme weather shelter for this past winter.  The extreme weather shelter is run by the police department through their Crisis Response Unit (CRU) program, which facilitates helping houseless individuals off the street and into housing.  The extreme weather shelter operates from November 15th to March 31st and is opened based on precipitation and temperature as predicted by the National Weather Service.  The shelter operated 83 out of the possible 136 operational days, provided beds 644 times for 107 individuals.  The emergency shelter handles overflow from the hospitality house, which maintains 25 beds.  Although there was an increased need for beds this past winter, there was a 15% drop in individuals needing help.  Cervenka attributed that to the police department's homeless housing program, or CRU.  

Judy Martin, the Executive Director for the Mendocino Coast Humane Society provided an annual report on the animals in their care.  They currently have 97 animals, of which 44 are available for adoption.  In 2024, they took in 631 animals and adopted out 504.  According to Martin, the coast shelter takes in animals from Leggett to Gualala, provides basic veterinary care to low-income families, and works with Fort Bragg police on impounds.

The City of Fort Bragg provides the Humane Society with $60,000 in funds and leases property to them for the shelter.  The Humane Society is primarily funded by sales at the Arc Thrift Store, donations, and grants. 

The City declared May 1st through 7th as Rhododendron week to recognize the many hybrids developed in Fort Bragg.  The 46th annual John Druecker Memorial Rhododendron Show is scheduled for May 3rd and 4th.  It is held adjacent to the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens and is open to the public. Admission to the Rhododendron show is free.

Under consent, the council approved updates to the purchasing, bidding, and signatory requirements, affording City Manager Isaac Whippy the authority to sign off on purchases of up to $60,000.  All contracts over $5000 require a minimum of three bids.  Contracts over $60,000 require council approval.  The council also adopted changes to the municipal code, reducing parking and altering parking lot landscaping requirements for multi-family housing developments, and approved a four-year lease with Toshiba for printers and copiers.  

Earlier on the meeting agenda, the council honored Jason Balassi for his thirty years of service in the public works department, received a presentation from the Fort Bragg Library, and honored volunteers during National Volunteer Week, which is April 20 – 26 this year.

Under, items from the council, Councilmember Lindy Peters provided a report on the FBFD financials.  According to Peters, the Fort Bragg Fire Department is in good shape financially.  It currently has approximately $954,000 in the bank and expects additional funding from Mendocino County soon.  Lindy thanked the staff and many volunteers who keep the fire department operational.  

Mendocino County’s Chief Executive Darcy Antle held the first of several listening sessions on next year’s budget in Fort Bragg on Tuesday. The goal of the session was for the public to provide feedback on budget priorities — what they want funded as well as what they are willing to cut. Among the priorities mentioned were two dangerously deteriorated roads, as well as need for the coast to get its fair share of funding for spay and neuter. Regarding cuts, residents said it was too late to trim the spending they believed was most wasteful — an expensive criminal prosecution of an elected official who ended up being fully vindicated. They called for accountability from the people they believed were responsible: the district attorney and the county’s chief executive.

A new rule requiring all non-citizens who have been in the United States for 30 days or more to register went into effect on Friday.  What does this mean for non-citizens who have been here for years, who may own cars, homes, and businesses? KZYX News spoke with Julia Gelatt, the associate director of the U.S. Program at the Migration Policy Institute.

In local news today, the United States Army Core of Engineers will undertake a study addressing increased water storage in the Russian River watershed and farmers have asked President Trump to intervene in the Potter Valley decommissioning project. So far the president has not responded. 

 the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors has voted three to two to allow cannabis farms to expand mature canopy from 10,000 square feet to 20,000 square feet in appropriately zoned areas.

Mendocino County Supervisors voted 4 to 1 on Tuesday to include an additional one million dollars on road repairs in a proposed budget for the coming fiscal year.  Supervisors Ted Williams and Madeline Cline brought the motion forward to shine a spotlight on the continuing and deplorable condition of county roads.  "Taxpayers expect us to give roads focus, and by focus, I mean funding," Supervisor Williams said.

As Mendocino County begins the often challenging process of planning next year’s budget, a projected $17 million deficit is casting a long shadow. he combination of stagnant revenue and increasing salaries and benefits for county employees is a key driver of the deficit. This combination of stagnant revenues and rising personnel costs is a key driver of the deficit. Adding to the pressure, Pierce noted the discontinuation of several federal public health grants and rural schools funding, further impacting the county's bottom line. However, these made up just a few hundred thousand dollars.

California is facing a $6.2 billion budget gap thanks to an ambitious expansion of Medicaid, which in California we call Medi-cal. The shortfall comes a year after California decided to provide free health care to all low-income adults in the California regardless of their legal immigration status. Undocumented adults aged adults aged 26 to 49, were allowed to apply for Medi-Cal starting Jan. 1, 2024. The cost turned out to be far more than the state projected and the expansion is having a  ripple effect in Mendocino County. KZYX News interviewed Natasha Adams, senior program manager of In Home Supportive Services. Adams said there’s not enough social workers to process everyone who is seeking in home care. 

On Friday night in Ukiah, more than four hundred people put democracy to the test, packing an auditorium at Mendocino College for a town hall. The next day thousands of people across the county joined millions in nationwide  protests against the Trump administration’s policy with large gatherings in Fort Bragg and Ukiah and relatively large gathering in Willits and Point Arena. 

More than 400 constituents gathered at Mendocino College on Thursday to engage U.S. Representative Jared Huffman and State Assemblymember Chris Rogers on a variety of concerns ranging from water supply to health care, civil rights and foreign policy.