Jeff Pelline's Sierra Foothills Report

Here’s the Friday memo from County Executive Officer Rich Haffey. Also, I did not know Alison Lehman was a fellow Cal alum (albeit from a more recent class than mine . Things are starting to shape up around here!

State Responsibility Area (SRA) Fire Prevention Benefit Fee

The County was recently notified that over 29,000 residents will be notified by mail, that they will be receiving a bill from Cal Fire under the State Responsibility Area (SRA) Fire Prevention Benefit Fee. The fee was enacted following the signing of Assembly Bill X1 29 in July 2011. The law approved the new annual Fire Prevention Fee to pay for fire prevention service within the SRA. The fee is applied to all habitable structures within the SRA.

The fee is levied at the rate of $150 per habitable structure, which is defined as a building that can be occupied for residential use. Owners of habitable structures who are also within the boundaries of a local fire protection agency will receive a reduction of $35 per habitable structure.

This fee will fund a variety of important fire prevention services within the SRA including brush clearance and activities to improve forest health so the forest can better withstand wildfire.

The State Responsibility Area (SRA) is the area of the state where the State of California is financially responsible for the prevention and suppression of wildfires. SRA does not include lands within city boundaries or in federal ownership. To see if a parcel is within the SRA enter in the parcel address in the BOF’s State Responsibility Area Viewer. Click Here. If you have questions regarding the SRA Fire Prevention Benefit Fee, go to http://www.firepreventionfee.org/sra_contacts_links.php# for more information as well as the contact information for the Fire Prevention Fee Service Center.

Assistant County Executive Officer Appointment

It is with great pleasure that I am able to announce the appointment of Alison Lehman as Assistant County Executive Officer effective Monday July 30th. As you well know, she has very successfully completed 2 tours of duty as the interim ACEO. In addition, she surpassed 3 other candidates who, in their own right, not only met the qualifications, but also interviewed very well for the position.

Alison previously served from 2006 until this year as the Director of the Department of Social Services in our Health and Human Services Agency, where she was responsible for delivery of public assistance, workforce development, veterans, children and adult welfare programs. She began her career with Nevada County in 2001 and has previously held leadership positions such as Interim Public Health Director as well as Program Manager for the Health and Human Services Agency Truckee Satellite Office. She has a commitment to administering strong programs that enhance the quality of life for families and continues to focus on meeting the challenges of service delivery in rural communities.

Prior to joining Nevada County she was the Executive Director of a children’s non-profit in Yolo County, which provides advocacy services for youth in the Juvenile Justice System. With a B.A. in Political Science from University of California, Berkeley, Alison has more than seventeen years of experience in government and community nonprofit settings. She currently resides in Grass Valley, California with her husband and two children. One very interesting anecdote I found out about her during the interview was that her very first presentation before a Board of Supervisors was at the ripe old age of 10 in Marin County.

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