Humboldt Supervisors Approve 7.5% Travel Reimbursement Increase, First Since 2016

The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 on March 17 to raise each supervisor's annual travel reimbursement by 7.5 percent, boosting the per-supervisor total from $10,300 to $11,072.50 and marking the first such increase in a decade. Fifth District Supervisor Steve Madrone cast the lone dissenting vote. The increases take effect with the fiscal year beginning July 1.

Beyond the across-the-board raise, supervisors representing the First, Second and Fifth Districts will receive up to $5,000 more per year, reflecting the outsized geographic demands of those seats. The board's rationale: Districts 3 and 4, centered on Arcata and Eureka respectively, require far less travel than the sprawling rural districts to the north, south and east.

Board Chair Mike Wilson, whose District 3 covers Arcata and surrounding areas, acknowledged the disparity plainly. "The differential between the districts in terms of travel budget has only grown," he said. "What I mean by that is for two of us, most of our population and the issues we deal with are fairly close to where we live."

Second District Supervisor Michelle Bushnell, who asked that the matter be brought before the board, put the problem in concrete terms. Despite being "very conservative" with her travel plans, she said her expenses go over budget every year, and this year is no exception. The scale of her district gives that claim geographic weight: traveling from the southwestern tip near Whale Gulch to the northeastern reach past Bridgeville can take a couple of hours each way.

The stagnant $10,300 figure had not kept pace with rising state government reimbursement rates. When the county last adjusted the allowance in 2016, the California standard was 57 cents per mile, $89 per night for lodging and $51 per day for meals. Those state benchmarks have since climbed to 72.5 cents per mile, $150 for lodging and $86 for meals, though those increases do not automatically flow to local supervisors. Clerk of the Board Tracy D'Amico, who researched options by consulting counterparts in other small, rural California counties, told the board Humboldt was overdue for an adjustment.

Supervisor Natalie Arroyo vouched for the return on investment, and the motion carried with four votes despite what one account described as alluded-to public "blowback." Under the approved structure, subsequent fiscal years will see additional 2.5 percent increases to the base allowance, according to one account of the meeting, though that escalation language was not confirmed across all coverage of the vote.