Tulare County · issues
Civic issues
Topics getting the most attention in Tulare County public meetings, ranked by how frequently they come up.
Election Guide
It’s Election Day in California, and the Visalia Times-Delta has a guide to what’s on your 2026 ballot and what each measure actually means. If you’re voting in Tulare County, this is your quick cheat sheet before you head to the polls.
Caldwell 99 interchange groundbreaking
Caltrans' interchange project is now expected to start in October 2026 and take about three years, affecting the Sequoia Gateway commercial area. Value engineering may shorten the northbound off-ramp closure to as little as a month instead of the full construction period.
City Council Election
Tulare voters are deciding three city council seats, with three candidates in the running. The results matter because the new council could change how the city votes on local issues and budget priorities. If you live in Tulare, this is the local race that shapes day-to-day decisions.
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.
Seville Community Park Push
The Board authorized seeking up to $8.5 million in Statewide Park Development Round 5 grant funds for improvements to the Goshen community park.
Forcum-Mackey construction contract increases
Two big county building projects cost more than planned: the Goshen Fire Station grew by about $536,000 and the Assessor relocation by about $40,000 due to unforeseen conditions.
SJV Biodiesel assessment appeal settlement
California Dairies settled more than a billion dollars of assessed value across seven appeal calendars by agreement with the Assessor, avoiding contested hearings. Stipulated values lock in the taxable base for those years.
Strathmore flooding at Friant-Kern Canal crossing
A new calibrated study found the Strathmore storm drain system is dramatically undersized where the creek crosses the Friant-Kern Canal, recommending upsized pipes, expanded ponding basins, and possibly more Success Lake capacity. Cost estimates are the next step.
Highway Safety Improvement Program Grant Applications
Supervisor Micari issued a blunt public safety warning about speeding and collisions on Highway 190, urging drivers to slow down and supporting CHP motor enforcement.
Tipton Well No. 6A Completion Project
No bids came in for the Tipton well project, so the county awarded the construction contract to Travioli Construction for up to $750,570 using American Rescue Plan Act funds.
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.
Red Ribbon Week drug prevention
The county proclaimed October 23-31 as Red Ribbon Week, with a free family event at Mooney Grove Park on October 24 and prevention programs reaching an estimated 100,000 students.
Three Rivers road acceptance
The board vacated unused Canyon Drive and Quail Run Drive rights-of-way in South Fork Estates Unit 2, a subdivision approved in 1985 whose third unit was never built. Owners must consolidate lots and prove legal, physically viable access by December 31, 2029. A property owner described a private fire-access road to the cemetery as an escape route.
Drought conditions and well permits
California is officially out of drought for the first time in recent memory, but 142 Tulare County households still get hauled water and about 1,600 rely on bottled water deliveries.
Countywide road completions and slurry seal
The board formally accepted five finished road and bridge projects and launched the 2026 Slurry Seal Program to resurface streets at locations across the county, plus a new stop sign near Dinuba.
Contractor's storage yard near Tulare
A landscaping business won permission to build a shop and store 12 trucks and 12 trailers on Avenue 228 in an ag zone. A neighbor complained about noise, the property-line fence, and traffic, so the county added noise mitigation limiting loud work near sunrise and sunset.
Springville subdivision stuck on water service
Sierra Ridge Estates' 54-lot map got a five-year extension because Del Oro Water Company can't yet provide adequate water service — the final map can't be approved until utilities confirm service.
Dollar Tree assessment appeals denied
This meeting decided the fate of dozens of property tax assessment appeals — some postponed, some withdrawn, one denied for no-show, and twenty dismissed as duplicates. Property owners with pending appeals should note that missing your hearing means automatic denial.
2027 Assessment Appeals Calendar
The board set the hearing schedule for property assessment appeals next year, with minor changes. These are the dates residents and businesses can contest their property valuations.
Kern County Homeless Response System
Kern County shared how it funds and runs its homeless programs — tiny homes, a navigation center, and a self-governing safe camping site — while facing hard choices as ARPA funds run out and the state demands proof programs move people into housing.
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.
State legislative developments affecting the county
The commission is tracking five bills, including one that would speed up environmental review for recharge projects and another that could let small communities fix their systems instead of paying state penalties.
County 457 deferred compensation plan oversight
With Leanne Malison retiring March 31, the Board set her successor's salary at $186,258.80 plus standard benefits — a required step before the retirement board appoints the new administrator.
RMA technology modernization and Tulare County Connect app
The county's Resource Management Agency is rolling out a suite of tools: a mobile app (Tulare County Connect) for reporting potholes, code issues and service requests with photos and automatic routing, a modernized lobby check-in to cut wait times, pre-application permit screening, and a new GIS zoning webpage showing zoning, permits and code cases. The app is live on the App Store and via QR code.
Dissolution of the Tulare County Museum Board
A state law, SB 707, made running a volunteer advisory board so burdensome that the county is dissolving it and giving museum oversight to the GSA Director. The Museum Board advocated for the Mooney Grove Park museum for years — now decisions go through county administration instead.
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.
Board meeting video streaming
The board decided to keep audio-only meeting broadcasts rather than turn on the video equipment installed five years ago, on a 3-2 vote. Supporters of video said constituents — including homebound and rural residents — deserve to see their government; the majority cited existing audio access and meeting locations.
Kit fox habitat protections at Road 166 site
Neighbors produced trail-camera videos claiming kit foxes — a protected species — live in the White River/Wachumna Ditch area; staff concluded the animals look like common gray foxes but added conditions halting construction if a kit fox is ever confirmed.
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.
Hartland church camp noise and traffic complaints
A cabin owner told the board the church camp near Hartland is blasting amplified sound over 110 decibels, clogging Dry Creek Road with parking and bus traffic, and expanding — he asked the county to review its conditional use permit.
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.
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.
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.
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.
County job vacancies and recruitment
The county's annual workforce report shows vacancies down to 11.7% from 13.6%, with faster hiring and more applicants, but three bargaining units still top 20% vacancy rates.
Millennium Capital Project Fund performance
The county's $63.8 million long-term building fund, fed by tobacco settlement money, returned 3% over the past year and beat its benchmark. It funds $2.5–4.5 million a year in capital projects — the money behind much of the county's construction program.
Delinquent water and sewer fees placed on tax roll
Residents of County Service Areas 1 and 2, East Orosi CSD, and Terra Bella who haven't paid water and sewer bills by July 31 will see the charges, penalties, and auditor fees added to their 2026/2027 property tax bills. About 198 accounts totaling roughly $93,000 are delinquent across CSA 1 and 2, and East Orosi runs a 15-16% delinquency rate.
2026-27 Assessment Roll Grows 4% to $55 Billion
Tulare County's property tax roll is up about $2 billion to $55.08 billion, with residential values leading growth at nearly 7%. At roughly 1% under Prop 13, that's about $550 million in countywide tax revenue — and it affects what every property owner's assessment looks like.
Woodlake growth and Antelope Creek maintenance responsibility
The district pays Woodlake $27,000 a year to maintain a channel that mostly benefits the city, while collecting only $7,500 in taxes. Commissioners want the growing city to take on responsibility as it annexes county land.
Golden mussel invasion risk
Invasive golden mussels have infested the lower 30 miles of the Friant-Kern Canal and aren't going away. Control will cost at least $3 million next year, and costs flow to water districts and ultimately growers.
Fiscal Year 2027 audit plan selections
The county's internal audit office is fully staffed again and will spend about 3,330 hours on audits this year. The committee picked the District Attorney's payroll and Solid Waste cash receipts for in-depth audits based on the annual risk assessment. Cash handling at solid waste sites has had shortages and overages, which drove that pick.
Updated Internal Audit Charter under new global standards
The committee accepted hiring Michael Edmonds to perform the required five-year external quality assessment of the audit division at a cost of $15,000, running roughly October through December 2026.
Bringing four Dinuba-area residences into compliance
New owners of a 3.31-acre parcel west of Dinuba are cleaning up code violations inherited from the previous owner, including substandard housing once used for employee housing. The approved permit lets four residences stay while building permits bring them to code.
Illegal Dumping Reporting Access
A Lindsay resident urged the county to build a mobile app for reporting illegal dumping, saying the current website system is hard for older and Spanish-speaking residents to use. The chair noted the county is already working on an app with IT.
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.
Tourism and Film Economic Development
Tourism brought nearly $640 million in visitor spending and 60,500 jobs last year; the board approved the work programs and heard a pitch for a new tourism/film commissioner (about $150,000 annually) plus a dedicated van for outreach events.
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.
Active Transportation Program grants for Cutler-Orosi, Earlimart, and Strathmore
The county will apply for state grants worth about $49.4 million in projects to make walking and biking safer in three rural communities.
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.