Plumas County has a fulltime county counsel for the first time in nearly two years. At its May 20 meeting, the Plumas County Board of Supervisors appointed Joshua Brechtel to a four-year term at an annual salary of $154,440, or $12,870.00 per month.
Brechtel began working in the counsel’s office in March 2021 after serving several years in the Plumas County District Attorney’s office. He was appointed interim county counsel in January 2024.
Moving forward to fill vacancies
Since then, the open position has been advertised throughout the state. Brechtel was the only applicant, said Supervisor Kevin Goss, chair of the board of supervisors.
The board’s interest in his candidacy has apparently fluctuated. At the supervisors’ Dec. 10, 2024 meeting, Brechtel announced that he would “not be becoming the permanent county counsel.” The supervisors “decided to farm out the position,” Brechtel said.
At the May 20 meeting, Linda Judge, a Blairsden attorney, questioned why Brechtel was offered the job now and not in December. “I am wondering what has changed and why the board has now decided to hire Mr. Brechtel when they did not do so less than six months ago,” Judge said.
Hall responded that Brechtel was not rejected for the job. She blamed county processes that were not timely in developing a contract for the open county counsel position.
“Josh has applied for this position multiple times,” Hall said, but the appointment has been held up by the county’s own bureaucracy.
The supervisors were “mostly blind” to the short staffing in the county counsel’s office, Hall said. With a human resources department also severely understaffed, “so much was languishing” that the supervisors did not realize the full extent of the shortages, she said.
Appointment delayed
Brechtel’s appointment was scheduled for action May 13 but delayed after members of the public noted that the agenda packet provided no information to accompany the proposed resolution, a potential Brown Act violation.
The backup materials for May 20 included a two-page memorandum from Goss and Hall as well as a nine-page employment agreement outlining terms that cover salary, benefits and performance evaluations. It specifies that Brechtel’s appointment is for four years.
Judge, who mentioned “a lot of in-fighting” in the county, noted that the backup materials did not include a job description. She also questioned the agreement’s clause specifying that Brechtel can only be terminated “for cause,” with specific grounds and procedures required for removal from office.
“We’re trying to move forward quickly to fill remaining vacancies,” Hall said. She thanked Brechtel for his patience and for “sticking with the county.”
Plumas County Auditor Martee Graham echoed Hall, emphasizing the progress the county has made in recent months. Relationships among county departments are improving, she said.
“We are able to achieve things we were not able to achieve… We are having positive outcomes in the last few months that have been exceptional to anyone who works in this county,” Graham said.
The county counsel’s office has weathered “two years of very very difficult times,” said Sara James, deputy county counsel who served as acting county counsel following Stuhr’s resignation.
Department head vacancies down to two
Plumas County now has just two vacancies among its department heads. That’s down dramatically from 2022, when 19 of 26 department heads resigned over a three-year period. The remaining vacancies are the human resources director and the county administrative officer, said Goss.
The CAO position will be advertised within the next few weeks, Goss said. “Then we’ll get the HR position filled,” he added.
“We are really doing some good work in the county. Employees seem to be happy, which makes me happy. Constituents are getting what they need in terms of customer service and professionalism,” Goss said.
Several department heads are approaching retirement age, so the county may see several vacancies in the near future, said Goss.