Tulare County · issues
Civic issues
Topics getting the most attention in Tulare County public meetings, ranked by how frequently they come up.
AB 109 criminal justice realignment funding, FY 2026/27
Nearly $29.5 million distributed among inmate healthcare, pretrial court, Sheriff, Probation, and Community Corrections reserves.
Sheriff-DEA task force and dispatch agreements
The sheriff's office locked in a five-year DEA task force deal and Lindsay signed on for county emergency dispatching through 2031.
Public Health Linkage During Homeless Counts
The count found 20 people reporting HIV/AIDS, up from 12 last year, prompting discussion about getting public health nurses and resource materials to outreach teams and navigation centers.
Behavioral health urgent care and wellness campus progress
The behavioral health urgent care center on the Tulare CARES campus is nearing construction with an operator RFP coming, and the Walnut Wellness Campus — 136 beds across three facilities — aims to start construction early next year.
Grand Jury Food Cart Report Response
The county is drafting tougher rules to license mobile vendors and fine repeat offenders who set up in public rights-of-way near established businesses and outside normal hours. Enforcement now depends on the chief building official working nights with the sheriff and environmental health.
Rural health and re-entry grants
The county is chasing up to $3 million in rural health transformation funding and ratified more than $10 million in grant requests plus $600,000 in accepted awards for re-entry services for people leaving jail or prison.
Sheriff fleet replacement
The county is spending up to $2.36 million to replace 40 aging Sheriff vehicles, using an internal borrowing program from the General Fund rather than outside financing.
Pinon civil rights lawsuit defense
In closed session, the Board directed county lawyers to defend the County and named employees in two lawsuits — a federal civil rights case and a wrongful termination case.
Jail-based mental health treatment
The county's program treats people found incompetent to stand trial locally with better results than the state average — 90% restoration versus 76% statewide — and stays under its state-imposed cap.
Fourth of July Fireworks Safety
Fire Chief Charlie Norman urged residents to use safe-and-sane fireworks and attend public shows, noting the county runs about 100 nuisance-fire calls the night of July 4th.
Strathmore substandard housing and code enforcement complaint
A resident reported a disputed housing inspection at a Strathmore apartment complex, alleging a missing smoke/carbon monoxide detector, a reversed inspection finding, and unsafe conditions for a dialysis-dependent neighbor. The board can't act on non-agenda comments but the concern is on the record.
Probation department performance and recruitment
Chief Kelly Vernon reported the department's lowest vacancy rate since 2023 (21.1%), 34 new hires, joint operations that seized 50+ illegal guns, and school-based prevention programs in eight districts.
School resource officer services for Cutler-Orosi schools
The Sheriff's Office will keep providing officers at four school districts — Porterville Unified, Kings River Union, Buena Vista Elementary, and Tulare Joint Union High — through the 2026-27 school year.
LGBTQ proclamation walkout controversy
Two residents blasted Supervisors Townsend and Vander Poel for walking out during a Pride proclamation presentation, saying county rules say proclamations aren't endorsements. The supervisors have defended their walkout publicly.
Task force bylaws and membership changes
Two seats sit effectively empty — one member retired without resigning, another has stopped attending. The newly adopted bylaws let the commission declare vacancies after three missed meetings, speeding up replacements.
Sheriff's Office equipment and grants
The county closed out the $5.9 million Sheriff Morgue project, ratified a $900,000 federal street-safety grant, and bought patrol jet skis and a side scan sonar system.
Human trafficking collaboration MOU
The county signed an MOU with the Central California Family Crisis Center to build a coordinated framework on human trafficking response through October 2029.
Closure of Agricultural Commissioner's Lindsay satellite office
The Lindsay District Satellite Office at 240 E Honolulu Street will close May 1, 2026. Residents in the Lindsay area who rely on in-person ag services will need to travel to another office.
Nonprofit equestrian ranch permit and code compliance
A&JM Ranch, a 501(c)(3) horse program north of Visalia, got the use permit it needed to operate legally — clearing an existing county violation in the process. The ranch plans five full-time and three part-time jobs and 50 parking spaces.
Task Force on Homelessness appointments
Seven members were seated on the Tulare County Task Force on Homelessness through December 31, 2028, including one correction — Erica Lutterbein was a new appointment to the affordable housing developer seat, not a reappointment.
Health Care Program for Children in Foster Care funding
The Board accepted up to $1,341,315 in state funding to continue the health care program for children in foster care through June 30, 2026, keeping health services for kids in the county's foster system running.