Santa Cruz Local newsletter briefs for the week of July 8:

1. Scotts Valley city staff were mistakenly overpaid, report states
2. Your thoughts on the county’s future and public transit

SCOTTS VALLEY CITY COUNCIL

City staff were mistakenly overpaid

Scotts Valley City Manager Mali LaGoe in June. (Marcello Hutchinson-Trujillo — Santa Cruz Local) 

10 a.m. Wednesday, July 10 / Online and at 1 Civic Center Drive, Scotts Valley

Scotts Valley mistakenly overpaid some city employees from 2020 to 2023, according to a city staff report for the July 9 Scotts Valley City Council meeting. The council is expected to consider settlement agreements that would give the employees up to $300 for each year of overpayment to recoup tax refiling expenses. It’s not clear how many employees received overpayments.

The settlements could cost the city up to $72,500, city staff reported. The California retirement fund CalPers is expected to return excess retirement contributions to the city and the city would keep it. Under the agreement, the city would not require employees to return the extra pay.

The council is also expected to consider: 

• Participation in a statewide settlement from retailer The Kroger Co. for opioid distribution. California is set to receive $122 million, and Scotts Valley could receive about $11,000 over 11 years.
• An end to health care benefits for council members elected after Nov. 1, 2024 Council members could still receive insurance but would pay the premiums, saving the city at an annual total of $200,000 or more. Council members earn a stipend of $489 per month, according to a city staff report.

—Jesse Kathan

To participate: Join on Zoom or call 669-900-9128, meeting ID 816 6451 3049. To give written comments, email [email protected] by 5 p.m. July 10. The meeting will be streamed on YouTube.

Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the expected opioid settlement amount for California.

YOUR THOUGHTS

Your thoughts on the county’s future and public transit

A rendering shows a bus-on-shoulder design included in Highway 1 fixes through Santa Cruz County. (Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission)

At Santa Cruz Local, we love Santa Cruz County and strive to understand it in all of its complexity. We also want to get to know you better.

Last week we asked: What’s your dream for the future of Santa Cruz County? When you close your eyes and imagine a thriving Santa Cruz County in 20 or 50 years, what do you see? 

Some responses:

“High density housing in every neighborhood with corner cafes and retail shops along every corridor. Permanent street closures to allow streets to turn back into a community space rather than space for vehicle storage. —JT Ruppel, Boulder Creek

“A vibrant downtown known for its great food and music. Affordable housing. A great network of biking lanes, public transportation.” —Carolyn Davidson, Santa Cruz

“I imagine a beautiful town with no high rises, no gangs, no homelessness, no traffic, a diverse population and clean.” —Kim Catanzaro, Santa Cruz

“More people living in all the spaces of the county. More diversity of income levels and everything else. Keep the conservation lines while adding more affordable, multifamily housing units near transit.” —Jim Goodrich, Santa Cruz 

Today we ask: Imagine a public transit system in Santa Cruz County that you would use often. What kind of transit would it be? Where would it take you? What would it be like to ride?

Share your thoughts

—Jay Leedy

Questions or comments? Email [email protected]. Santa Cruz Local is supported by members, major donors, sponsors and grants for the general support of our newsroom. Our news judgments are made independently and not on the basis of donor support. Learn more about Santa Cruz Local and how we are funded.