LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Faced with a termination action by the Board of Supervisors, Lake County’s Health Services director resigned on Thursday.
In a statement released by the county on Thursday night, Board Chair Bruno Sabatier said the supervisors accepted the resignation of Denise Pomeroy — whose department has played a key role in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and health emergency — earlier that day.
“Out of respect and appreciation for her service to Lake County residents and the Health Services Department for many years, we will not publicly announce the reasons that prompted this leadership change; it is a confidential personnel matter,” Sabatier said.
In May 2016, the board initially appointed Pomeroy — then the Health Services fiscal officer — as the department’s interim director. The board followed up in November 2016 by voting unanimously to officially make her Health Services director.
As Health Services director, Pomeroy had overseen not just the Public Health branch but also Environmental Health, which handles a wide range of services involving food safety, home kitchen operations, temporary food events, and a land program that covers services for wastewater treatment and disposal systems and water wells.
Sabatier said the County Administrative Office’s Human Resources Division has already begun efforts to recruit the county’s next Health Services director, “and we are poised to move efficiently through the process. It is important to not only attract quality applicants, but fill the position with a long-term director.”
By Thursday night, the Health Services director job had already been posted on the county’s website under “Job opportunities.” The closing date for applications is Oct. 20.
The Health Services director position’s pay range is $10,469 to $12,724 monthly, a five-step pay range the Board of Supervisors increased in late September when it voted to update all county job classifications and implement millions of dollars in raises for the second year in a row.
While the recruitment is taking place, Sabatier said County Administrative Officer Carol Huchingson will also serve as interim Health Services director.
He said Huchingson has been involved with and led Public Health-focused efforts as incident commander for the COVID-19 health emergency.
“CAO Huchingson looks forward to collaborating with the many members of the Health Services team to ensure the continuity of each area of the scope of this key county department,” Sabatier said.
The board has previously placed Huchingson in other interim department head positions, including for Community Development and the Registrar of Voters Office.
Termination action scheduled during evaluations
The events leading up to the board’s decision to terminate Pomeroy — which led to Pomeroy’s resignation — appeared to have coalesced quickly early this week.
On Tuesday, at the start of its regular meeting, the board added an extra item for a closed session evaluation of the Health Services director at the request of Huchingson, who said the necessity of it had arisen since the agenda was posted, which was on Friday.
Other extra items also added to the board agenda that day at Huchingson’s request included reestablishment of the deputy Health Services director as a county classification, consideration of the appointment of Jennifer Baker to interim Deputy Health Services director effective Tuesday and consideration of appointing Huchingson as the interim Health Services director.
Baker formerly served as staff services analyst in the Health Services Administration and had most recently been serving as risk coordinator in the County Counsel’s Office.
However, those items were not added at the start of the meeting when the other extras were approved.
In reviewing the available meeting video, it is not clear if the extra items regarding Baker’s appointment or making Huchingson interim Health Services director were actually announced during the public session.
The board sat in open session for several hours before going into the closed session shortly before 1 p.m. to discuss Pomeroy’s evaluation. When the board reconvened in public at 2:15 p.m., no announcement of action was made and the rest of the existing agenda items were discussed.
The board finished its public discussion items and went back into closed session to continue to discuss Pomeroy’s evaluation as well as that of the Community Development Department director.
No report on a closed session action was made following the Tuesday meeting, as has become the recent practice by the County Administrative Office.
In September, the board had scheduled a special meeting for Thursday afternoon as part of a new process for conducting employee evaluations of department heads in the fall, ahead of beginning the budget process early next year.
When the county released the special meeting agenda on Wednesday morning, it included closed session evaluations for the directors of air quality control, information technology, animal control and the county administrative officer.
Less than an hour after that agenda was released, an addendum was issued titled “Employee Evaluation/Termination: Title: Director: Health Services Director.” That item also was to be conducted behind closed doors.
Late on Thursday afternoon, Johanna DeLong, assistant clerk of the Board of Supervisors, issued to Lake County News a report about the closed session during the special meeting.
“The Health Services Director has tendered her resignation. Therefore, previous action to terminate is rescinded, and her resignation is accepted,” DeLong reported in an email.
She said Supervisor EJ Crandell moved to approve Pomeroy’s resignation, which was seconded by Supervisor Jessica Pyska and approved in a 5-0 vote.
Challenges and staff changes
During Pomeroy’s tenure, the county has struggled to keep a Public Health officer, a position the state requires counties to have in order to enforce local health orders and ordinances, and state public health regulations and statutes.
Since 2017, there have been three, including Dr. Gary Pace, who also has done several stints as an interim Public Health office for the county. Recently, the county also has had Dr. Evan Bloom and Dr. Charlie Evans assist with temporarily filling that job.
In February of this year, during a board discussion about recruiting a new Public Health officer after Pace announced he was stepping down from the full-time position, Pomeroy said she had been on leave for a few months before returning to work on a part-time basis.
Sabatier said Thursday that county leaders are grateful that Pace has remained Lake County’s Public Health officer of record, despite having left the job on a full-time basis in the spring in order to return to private practice. Pace continues to serve as interim Health Officer under contract.
“Dr. Pace’s insight and leadership throughout the pandemic have been invaluable, and he will remain a key figure in ensuring the Health Services Department’s efforts are effectively oriented, moving forward,” Sabatier said.
Sabatier said Eileen VanCleave recently was appointed director of nursing “and has brought a tremendous skill set and quality leadership,” while Jennifer Baker has stepped up and is serving as interim Deputy Health Services director.
“These latest additions and changes will ensure our Health Services Department remains focused on the ongoing pandemic and the health of our community through its various programs,” Sabatier said.
He added, “The past 19 months have demonstrated the resilience and many great strengths of our tireless Public Health staff. We truly appreciate and value the sacrifices they have made to keep Lake County residents safe.”
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
Health Services director resigns; county administrative officer appointed as agency’s interim head
- Elizabeth Larson