Calaveras Moving Its OES Back To Sheriff’s Office

San Andreas, CA — Concerns were raised at this week’s Calaveras County Board of Supervisors meeting about the operations and lack of oversight carried out by the Office of Emergency Services.

OES was moved from the Sheriff’s Office to a separate division under the County Administration umbrella in 2017 following the Butte Fire. Back then, the move was partly in response to concerns about how the Sheriff’s Office handled OES operations during that incident.

However, at Tuesday’s meeting, it was noted that there have been five OES Directors in the past eight years, and the most recent head, Erik Holt, resigned in December.

CEO Teresa Hitchcock, and other county staff, recommended moving OES back to the Sheriff’s Office. She said it would improve the safety, stability, and financial health of the county.

Hitchcock raised concerns about issues taking place behind the scenes with OES. She said, “Over the past several years, OES has repeatedly put the county at significant risk through late, incomplete, or inadequate reporting across multiple grants.”

Further elaborating on some of the specifics, she added, “Because of years of inadequate reporting and poor record keeping, Calaveras County is now facing the possibility of a $13 million de-obligation (for earlier money received). That is not a theoretical number, it is a real, documented risk. Since the administrative office was notified by CAL OES in June of this year regarding potential de-obligation, and after their repeated concerns had largely gone unaddressed by OES, the administrative office worked closely with the Auditor’s office and has been working tirelessly to reduce this exposure. This is an exposure created under multiple OES Directors over multiple years. Even with our intensive effort, the risk remains.”

The switch back to the sheriff’s office is designed to create more stable staffing, improve grant management/compliance, and ensure 24/7 readiness to emergencies.

The vote was 5-0 in favor of beginning the transition of OES back over to the sheriff’s office.