Supervisors appoint nine to 2020 Census Complete Count Steering Committee
By Daniel Borsuk
At their meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019, the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors appointed nine persons to serve in At-Large seats on the 2020 Census County Complete Count Steering Committee, a committee designed to set goals and objectives to identify community areas or a population group that might be difficult to count.
Appointed to the committee are Fran Biderman of Kensington, Alvaro Fuentes of Richmond, Samuel Houston of Concord, Melody Howe Weintraub of Lafayette, Terry Koehne of San Ramon, Mark Orcutt of Walnut Creek, Andres Orozco of Brentwood and Ali Saidi of Pinole.
District 3 Supervisors Diane Burgis of Brentwood chairs the committee.
Formation of the 2020 Census Complete county Steering Committee will aid the county is securing up to $362,605 in state aid to support the Complete Count campaign.
Supervisors Support Creation of Statewide Commission on Recycling Markets
On a consent action, supervisors called on Gov. Gavin Newsom to create a statewide commission on recycling markets citing the severity of environmental impacts triggered by China’s National Sword, that nation’s strict mixed paper and plastic contamination policy.
Upon noting that China has recently enacted strict mixed paper and plastic contamination limits and import bans, that are commonly called “National Sword,” China has declared its intent to ban all recyclable materials by 2020.
The board’s resolution states:
“Whereas, local governments across California will soon have to comply with additional state regulations for organic waste diversion and processing, SB 1383 (Chapters 395, 2016) establishes targets to achieve a 50 percent reduction in the level of the statewide disposal of organic waste from the 2014 level by 2020 and a 75 percent reduction by 2025. Infrastructure required to implement these regulations is expected to cost billions of dollars; and
“Whereas, these increased diversion requirements added to recent changes to international policies and a declining global market value for recyclables, has resulted in an issue of statewide concern for the resource recovery industry, local governments, and Californians;
“NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Count of Contra Costa calls for the Governor to establish a statewide Commission to address these significant challenges to our recycling markets.”
Victim/Witness Program Post Approved
District Attorney Diana Becton won supervisors’ consent approval to hire a full-time Victim/Witness Assistance Program Specialist in the Human Trafficking unit. The position will be responsible for advocacy and direct services for victims of human trafficking. The position’s salary will be $3,992 to $4,853 per month.
Approve $149,869 Payment to Bay Area Stormwater Management Agencies Association
Supervisors also approved the payment of $149,869 to the Bay Area Stormwater Management Agencies Association (BASMAA) for services provided to the Contra Costa Clean Water Program during the period July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2018. Program funding is provided by the county and 19 cities and towns within Contra Costa County. Contra Costa County’s share is about $22,500.
