Accountability vs. micromanagement: Shasta board debates its role during wide-ranging discussion
Supervisor Matt Plummer was accused of micromanagement for asking for data in response to an assessment of fire services. Meanwhile, Supervisor Kevin Crye spent nearly thirty minutes questioning a decision by the HHSA director with no such accusation sent his way.
One word came up several times during Tuesday’s Shasta County Board of Supervisors meeting: micromanagement.
It was mostly lobbed towards Supervisor Matt Plummer, who unsuccessfully pushed forward motions related to both fire management and substance use amid accusations that he was interfering with staff management.
Supervisor Kevin Crye did not receive the same critique when he spent nearly thirty minutes questioning a decision by Shasta Health and Human Services Agency that was made in collaboration with Deputy CEO Erin Bertain.
Here’s how the incidents played out.
Fire management
Plummer responded to a presentation on long-term fire management by suggesting that the board should direct county leaders to meet with city leaders and elected officials on opportunities for consolidation and collaboration when it comes to wildfire response.
The supervisor also suggested that the board direct Shasta County Fire Chief Sean O’Hara to return with recommendations on what fire stations could be consolidated to reduce costs, and what savings that might produce. And Plummer said he’d like the chief to provide recommendations to the board on how to better track the performance of the Shasta County Fire Department on hard-to-compare metrics moving forward.
Kelstrom responded to the interaction negatively, saying of Plummer’s proposals: “I think this really gets close to micromanagement.” He asked O’Hara if he was already working on the things Plummer had brought up, and O’Hara said yes, “pretty much.”
Then Supervisor Kevin Crye broke in to say that he wouldn’t support any type of micromanaging, to which Supervisor Allen Long responded that Plummer’s approach wasn’t micromanaging, but exploring options. Crye shot back that Plummer’s suggested action items were political theatre.
Plummer’s motion to direct county leaders to meet with the city ultimately failed 2-3, with Kelstrom saying there was “no way he was going to direct the CEO or Chief O’Hara.”
Another vote, asking O’Hara to report back on station consolidation passed, with the chief agreeing to do so before next year’s budget meetings. The board did not vote on Plummer’s motion asking O’Hara to provide direction on how to better track the performance of the fire department because there was no second to the motion.
Hill Country loan forgiveness
Jo Campbell, the director of Hill Country Community Clinic, faced a slew of questions from supervisors when she rose from the audience to present on a proposed agreement for the county to forgive a 15-year, $300,000 loan that was made in 2007.
Deputy CEO Bertain told the board that Campbell herself had brought forward the unaddressed loan back in 2024, asking that the matter be resolved in order to clear her books. The county had two options, to request the funds back or to forgive the loan, the latter of which HHSA Director Christy Coleman said was the original intent of the board when the money was given to Hill Country. The board’s staff report recommended that the loan be forgiven over the next three years of continued services by Hill Country, but Crye took issue with that approach.
“Government’s not supposed to operate like that,” Crye said.
“I’m not going to forgive it,” he added, saying he understands where Hill Country and HHSA are coming from, but things need to change with how the county operates in these situations.
Coleman explained to Crye that the specific kind of loan can by law be forgiven saying she sees doing so as the best use of the funds at this time. Over a thirty-minute debate driven by Crye’s distaste for forgiving the loan, several additional staff rose to address the matter in response to Crye’s concerns, including Auditor Nolda Short and HHSA Administrative Branch Director Erinn Watts.
“I’m just trying to research,” Crye said.
The board eventually voted 4-1, with Crye dissenting, to forgive the loan over a three-year period, just as originally recommended in the staff report.
‘Recovery First’
Late in the meeting, Plummer introduced a resolution regarding what he termed Recovery First, an approach to county substance use programs that he described as “centering recovery” as a way to address Shasta’s high rates of addiction and overdose. The resolution provided to the board was generally vague on specifics, prompting questions.
“The idea behind this is to say that we want people to come off of drugs,” Plummer told his fellow supervisors. “We want our programs to be aimed at helping people get off of drugs, and you know, that will be the explicit intent — and that we’ll seek to kind of measure progress towards that as we implement and continue to run the programs we have.”
Kelstrom asked Plummer the same question a Shasta Scout reporter asked the supervisor yesterday: aren’t we already doing this in Shasta County? In response, Plummer suggested that some programs, such as the county’s safe needle exchange program, could be either eliminated in the future or updated to include education for users in an attempt to discourage drug use.
“Again,” Kelstrom responded with a sigh, “I’m kind of a firm believer in letting our department heads run their departments as they run them. I mean, you know, giving direction if you think they’re doing something wrong or setting up a meeting with them, but I just don’t feel comfortable with a resolution to tell them how to do their jobs.”
CEO David Rickert also weighed in, saying the resolution by its nature would require additional administrative efforts by staff. Plummer responded by saying he felt such additional efforts were worthwhile, noting that accountability often comes with additional costs and emphasizing his belief that the county has to do something differently to have different results.
His motion to pass the resolution failed for a lack of a second.
What came next
After the meeting, Plummer issued a social media post recounting some of the day’s events.
“Accountability is not the same as micromanagement,” Plummer wrote in the caption. “We can value employees while setting clear expectations, measuring outcomes and following up when progress isn’t made.”
Speaking to Shasta Scout by phone afterwards, Kelstrom stood behind his actions during the meeting. When it came to Crye’s interactions on the Hill Country loan, Kelstrom said he didn’t see that as micromanagement because “Crye was just seeking to hold Hill Country accountable.”
But when it came to Plummer, Kelstrom claimed the supervisor “has a habit of telling department heads how to do their jobs.”
In a phone call with a reporter, Plummer shot back saying the board majority “has a habit of taking no action when a problem is presented.”
Citing initiatives he’s pushed for, including a directive to HHSA to reduce its cost by $1 million a month, something the agency has succeeded at doing, Plummer said it’s important to set metrics for staff and then hold them accountable.
“I think there’s a perception that if someone is doing a good job you shouldn’t attach accountability,” Plummer said, “but ultimately people act consistently with the incentive structure that’s attached to them.”
He said he thinks the problem with the government overall is that incentive structures for the public sector are most commonly designed to facilitate compliance and the execution of duties rather than delivering value and solving problems.
“Our responsibility is first to the people of Shasta County and then to the employees,” Plummer added. “You can’t prioritize being a nice guy over delivering results. But I think you can hold people accountable without being mean.”
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Crye, a one-term failed Supervisor, talks about the county fire department heading over a financial cliff because he bankrupted the county in only four years. He is using his last meetings to highlight how he screwed us over with his bad decisions, multiple lawsuits and unnecessary spending, using the MAGA template to govern us into the poor house. He gloats about leaving his duly elected replacement a hot mess to clean up. Proving he is a narcissist, he has never apologized for the Curtis clown show that has hobbled the election office. How long will it take to undo the damage this sore loser has done or get his stench out of the county administration building?
Excellent coverage! I sat through the whole thing and you captured it so well. Shasta
Scout is the only local news that I trust.
Maureen: High praise. Thank you. 🙂
HHSA has the largest budget in the County. Just a few items they are tasked with are the county responses to public health issues, homeless, addiction, mental health services and physical health services. The biggest issues the county has faced for several decades have been these items along with law enforcement/incarceration. It has also been shared, for several years running, that frequent fliers of the court system and those in which the HHSA devotes a disproportionate amount of money and effort are in fact homeless/at risk for homelessness, in need of consistent mental health services, have substance abuse issues and are subjects of many law enforcement calls for service. I would expect no less from an elected Supervisor than take those issues to heart & as a County set expectations, standards and outcomes desired for services being funded & hold county departments accountable to the expectations. If a program is not meeting the expected outcome: Does it need to be modified?, replaced? or back to the drawing board with something entirely different? Too much focus on the associated grants and funds for State, Federal and other revenue sources is being utilized. That leads to others, outside of Shasta County, in determining what the standards, goals and the successes are. We have all seen that when it doesn’t go as planned a tendency to exchange terms, definitions or quantifying data elements in order to diminish any perceived lack of success so the funding can remain. The data on crime stats and homelessness and recidivism change with each “commission, administration, election” in a manner that either supports their past campaign pledges made or to solicit a public condemnation so that more funding can be made available
Thank you Supervisor Plummer for standing up for common sense. Remember Crye, PJ and Kelstrom interfered with the ROV= and elected department head-during Cathy Darling’s elected term. Then went on to put Curtis in causing the mess we have now. Crye was relentless, nasty and bullying. Crye has been ousted, he has no standing. Crye, et.al seem determined to drag Shasta County into the same chaos that trump is causing at the national level. We are better than this.
If the BOS isn’t going to hold department heads accountable, who is? In order to assess performance, the BOS need information. Asking for that info is micromanagement, according to sleepy Frankenstein’s monster. Absurd doesn’t even begin to describe that POV.
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We’ve turned Crye into a petulant lame duck. Almost time to do the same with Kelstrom. When that’s done, Corky will be the lone MAGA knothead on the BOS—a harmless doofus who will continue to “aw shucks” his way through every meeting. Or maybe he’ll pull a Tim Garman, develop an independent streak, and turn his back on the MAGA/MAHA/M4L crowd. Nah. He’s too thick-headed.
A little less than three more months of Crye’s snotty petulance before he exits to his highway of broken dreams. Pillow Guy is a bankrupt laughingstock, no more Anselmo money, all of his accomplices thrown out of office. No run for the Legislature, hoping to become LaMalfa’s political heir.
Selah
I appreciate supervisor Plummer’s efforts to communicate with the people he represents and provide us with information and data that explains issues before the board.I wish my representative, who I’ve never heard from, would do the same. This is not micromanaging. It’s helping us understand issues that affect us.
Just like Crye Baby already is. Cork, you’re next.
Kick the can Kelstrom is a soon to be lame duck.
I absolutely agree with the idea of program evaluation (including cost efficiency studies in terms of desired outcomes) and regular reports from department heads to the BoS. However, I fail to understand why Supervisor Plummer would want to make a decision contrary to his goal of increasing recovery from drug dependence in Shasta County by potentially eliminating Shasta’s syringe exchange program. Evaluations of these programs have found that people who abuse substances are more likely to get connected to drug treatment programs than people who don’t use syringe exchange programs, not to mention getting easier access to naloxone to prevent overdose and a point of contact for providing education about overdose prevention. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK598967/#ch3.s6
Very short sighted to possibly advocate for eliminate Shasta’s program.
Syringe Services Programs (SSPs) are evidence-based public health interventions that help prevent HIV and hepatitis C, reduce overdose risks, support safer syringe disposal, and create opportunities for healthcare engagement and recovery.
These services don’t promote substance use. They recognize that people deserve access to healthcare and support, regardless of where they are in their lives.
In rural communities, access to healthcare is not always as simple as making an appointment. Harm reduction helps us meet people where they are, both geographically and in terms of their individual circumstances. These programs provide another opportunity to reach residents who may otherwise fall through gaps in our healthcare system.
We cannot force someone into meaningful, sustained recovery simply by withholding services until they agree to treatment. What we can do is build trust, maintain connections, provide information, and make sure support is available when they are ready. Sometimes the first step toward recovery is not a treatment appointment. It is a positive interaction with someone who treats you with dignity, listens without judgment, and believes your health and future matter.
When we reduce preventable harm, we help create a healthier, safer, and more connected community for everyone.
Prevention is NOT promotion.
‘ Harm Reduction Saves Lives’
Thank you for your well educated comments. Every human has had a different journey, has different health issues, and has different living circumstances. For most, recovery is a lifelong journey that includes things far beyond substance use. Denying services to people who are suffering is denying hope, and this stands in the way of recovery.
Crye, Curtis, Kelstorm and Corky…
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Crye, an angry blowhard MAGA conspiracy theory nut, like his buddy Clint Curtis, is gone soon to be filed in the annals of the far-right extremist garbage can with little to no prospects of a future in politics. Consequently, like Curtis, he’s flopping around like a fish on a dock, doing whatever he can to seem relevant and wasting taxpayer time, resources, and energy.
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MAGA Kelstorm may very well be looking for a new gig this November. At any rate, he’s done being Chair and will have to sit next to Corky as an irrelevant fly in MAGA’s political ointment.
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MAGA Corky, when he can remember his name and where he is at any given moment, will be reduced to a MAGA lump on the log in a hypervigilant guard, looking for wolves. Oh, sorry; he already is.
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Long, a conservative centrist, will have room to breathe and do the right thing, ensuring much more civility and as much nonpartisan service to the people of Shasta County as possible.
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Plummer, a reasonable Safe and Sane Republican with strong potential for future political advancement and most likely the next Chair, has the intelligence, drive, civility, and desire for common-ground solutions needed to improve service delivery for ALL the people of Shasta County!
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We can’t wait to welcome Erin D. Resner, who far exceeds her predecessor in knowledge and brings years of experience working with people across the social and political spectrum!
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Hopefully, the fish flopping around on the dock can find a way to use their remaining time to seek middle ground and just a little peace… for a change.
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Meanwhile, there are 20 days until November 3, 2026. Make sure you are registered to vote and then do it!
Crye’s actions are predictable and it should be no surprise to anybody that he acted the way he did. It’s part of his same old, worn out routine.
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Harmon has no idea about how he should vote on any issue, and he will just always follow along with Crye and Kelstrom.
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Kelstrom, Crye, and Jones micromanaged the election department into the clown show that we all see today. Kelstrom will learn the meaning of “accountability’ when he is voted out in this election.
Lame duck Crye will pontificate just like PJ and the rest.
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Asking public questions before a public loan is forgiven is theoretically responsible. Telling dept. heads how to network is a smidge micromanagement. Yes, Crye is a gross weirdo– but other things can be true.
Substance ABUSE. You’re losing your grip on reality. Remeber Latin-X and unhoused? You can do it this SS! Dump the dupe. Put it in the style guide.
I don’t think the residents of District 4 realize how left of center Plummer is on most issues. When he ran for office he hid this well.
If Plummer is a leftist, I am Tsar of all the Russias.
Selah
Please do enlighten us on how he is so “left of center”. Give specific examples.
And your facts?
Supervisor Plummer is constantly trying to direct HHSA staff. He does this because he knows the voters and the Board of Supervisors do not want to make funding homeless programs the county’s top priority. Plummer also wanted to put a 200 bed open door drug treatment center in Shasta Lake.
I don’t think Plummer is trying to make homelessness THE top priority in Shasta County. I think he is trying to make progress on an issue that everyone on the BOS have already stated should be a top priority for our county. “From 2019 through 2024, there were 96 methamphetamine overdose deaths, and 30 heroin deaths.”