Oh, the joys of governing. Pretty well any Board of Supervisors meeting will convince any casual observer their time would be better spent at some other chore.

There is rarely anything sexy. About as good as it gets only happens when a citizen becomes irate at some governor or official, generally based on misinformation or misunderstanding. Thick skin becomes a job prerequisite. While such temper tantrums generally say sufficient about the complainant, it is still entertaining for the aforementioned casual observer.

And thus was Tuesday’s supervisors meeting in Downieville. The agenda was heavy, the workload tedious; another day in the office, doing the dreary work of keeping the lights on, ensuring government functions, paying the bills, dotting the I’s of the feds, crossing the T’s of the State.

One of the supes’ more dubious joys is the necessity of riding herd on the clutter of cats, elected and appointed, that complete our experiment in self-governance. Lately, as we begin a generational change in that clutter, the resultant mini-power vacuum sparked some unexpected appearance of vitriol. This is of considerable concern to our supervisors, and may come to a rather ugly assertion of power and responsibility. Watch this space.

Sheriff Mike Fisher addressed the Board with a litany of issues his department faces. In the recent shuffling of changes, Fisher inherited the local Office of Emergency Services. As ever, attracting competent help remains a problem: given the growing expectations of police behavior, fewer are interested in going into the business of law enforcement, a national situation. Sierra County is currently paying for the training of a couple of potential deputy sheriffs.

Fisher was recognized at the supes meeting for the recent honor bestowed on him from Washington, D.C. A recently installed US congressman, whose dubious electioneering veracity drew national attention, nevertheless honored Fisher by placing him in a Police Honor Roll.

Fisher, the congressman noted, always knew where crashed mountain bikers would end up. Perhaps more importantly, that worthy continued, “he is an avid fly fisherman and knows all the great spots for fishing.”

“For his dedication to Sierra County, organizational leadership, and selflessness in helping his neighbors, I am honored to include Sheriff Mike Fisher of the Sierra County Sheriff’s Office in the Third District of California’s Police Honor Roll,” the congressman concluded.

Graciously accepting the accolades from Supes Chair Sharon Dryden, Fisher blamed his staff and Sierra County citizens for his success.

As close to controversy facing the supes came from a request of Downieville Downhill race organizers for help clearing snow from a Forest Service road. The county did a similar favor in 2011 in the name of economic development. At the time, now-supervisor Paul Roen did the work, charging only for fuel. Roen, now a government official, can no longer personally offer such help.

There are those who believe such help would be, essentially, a gift of public funds to directly subsidize just a couple of businesses. Others, noting the dismal beginning of this economic season, believe all Sierra City and Downieville businesses will benefit from an influx of visitors.

In 2011, the assistance cost the county ten grand. A petition in support of the proposition (not, contrary to rumors, circulated by Supervisor Lee Adams), was signed by several local merchants.

All involved are hoping and praying natural snow melt will remove the problem. Supervisor Lila Heuer showed an interest in assisting the race organizers. Supervisor Adams would prefer Forest Service involvement, fearing any potential liability. It appeared that most of our governors would like to help, but final decisions will not be made until mother nature, the Forest Service, and any potential do-gooder have weighed in.

One of the gargantuan tasks for Sierra County governors is deciding the budget, who gets what, and for what, of the some $60 million the county is tasked to spend. That’s the big picture. The supes must also oversee each department’s budget. Naturally, everybody wants more. The supes’ finance committee has done a splendid job over the years keeping us in the black, and smoothing all the inevitable ruffled feathers, if a clutter of cats had feathers.

This week, the supes were presented a preliminary budget by Van Maddox, the County Auditor. Many, many changes will be made to this document before it is finalized, but the annual first step has been taken. We expect to have a much more comprehensive accounting as the money gets shuffled around and the budget gets finalized. Maddox does not yet know what local effect recent State legislation putting a 15% tax on Bed and Breakfast institutions will have.

Newly installed Planning Director Brandon Pangman will soon learn, if he hasn’t already that part of his job description is to be occasionally described as a really rotten human being, as a citizen averred at the previous board meeting. Be that as it may, Pangman is in the process of finding a building director, as current inspector Danny Zavala is in the process of retiring. Apparently, certified inspectors are hard to find. Zavala has promised to delay his departure through this building season.

Public Works Director Bryan Davey reported Gold Lake Road is now open. A couple of bridge projects in the Lakes Basin have been delayed by the interminable winter weather.

The Forest Service told the supes that lightning strikes in the east side started a smattering of small fires. A potential grant to the FireSafe council is hoped to mitigate this usual phenomena. The supes preferred FireSafe to ride herd on this money and resultant work, rather than involving the County.

In a continuence of an ongoing nuisance, the State proposes more one-size-fits-all legislation. The state proposes to change how our local juvenile justice commission gets its money. The current proposal would gut the program. The supes promised to send a letter In opposition, and county organizations oppose the measure. Stay tuned.

In a continual smirk, this writer reminds readers that through the history of Sierra County, documents were easily and permanently recorded with a quill pen. A misdirected, if well meaning bureaucrat, and you know who, erstwhile Treasurer Cindy Ellsmore, introduced computers to complicate our lives.

Henry Ford was happily convinced his Model T was the ultimate, universal forever machine. His son destroyed that world view.

And thus with computers: a new system requires each department head to now safely rerecord and elsewhere save documents both handy and state-mandated for retention. Labor saving devices, my gazitsa. Quill pens, anyone?