Sonora, CA — With a 3-1-1 vote, the Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors is moving the Office of Emergency Services from under the umbrella of the County Administrator’s Office over to the Sheriff’s Office.
The majority of the board members felt it is logistically a better fit for the emergency response operations to be housed under the sheriff’s office. Another option considered was to place OES under the board of supervisors, but there were concerns that the move could make the position too politicized.
The transition to the sheriff’s office was opposed by the current Assistant OES Director Dore Bietz, who has announced that she will leave the role at the end of May (in response). She stressed that her opposition is related to structural and logistical reasons, and not a reflection on the sheriff. District Five Supervisor Jaron Brandon was the lone vote in opposition yesterday. He praised Bietz, and stated, “She updated our multi-jurisdictional hazard plan, brought in tens of millions of dollars, and I think did not only everything we asked, but went above and beyond. So, that is a huge loss.”
Board Chair Steve Griefer commented, “Let’s not focus on the individual, let’s focus on the department.”
He noted, “This isn’t a Dore issue. Everyone is making this a Dore issue. Dore is an invaluable member of this community, an invaluable member of this staff, and an invaluable expert in her field.”
Griefer detailed reasons he feels the new setup is a better fit and stated that neighboring counties also have OES under the sheriff’s office.
After several community members spoke in opposition, Supervisor Anaiah Kirk argued that the vote is being overly politicized. Adding, “I can’t for the life of me understand why there has been such a resistance for this one department that we are trying to improve. I can’t figure it out. Maybe we’ll figure it out in the future. My main concern is getting stuff off Roger’s (CAO Root’s) plate and getting him to focus back on the health of the organization. We’re doing that, we are in motion right now, and things are looking up.”
Supervisor Mike Holland was also in support of the change, and Ryan Campbell did not vote because he was absent from the meeting. Campbell had earlier expressed opposition to the proposal. It was noted at Tuesday’s meeting that Campbell was away helping with a student field trip related to government.
