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Written by: LAKE COUNTY NEWS REPORTS

Published: 26 June 2025

Members of Congress this week heard from former commissioners of the Internal Revenue Service as well as tax experts about their concerns about the president’s efforts to undermine the agency.

Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures Rep. Mike Thompson co-led a briefing with Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government Rep. Steny H. Hoyer and Ranking Member of the Ways and Means Committee Rep. Richard E. Neal. 

They were also joined by Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee Rep. Rosa DeLauro (CT-03). 

The members highlighted the Trump Administration’s continued attacks on the Internal Revenue Service. 

They heard testimony from Former IRS Commissioners John Koskinen, Fred Goldberg, Danny Werfel, as well as Natasha Sarin, president of the Yale Budget Lab, and Nina E. Olson, executive director of the Center for Taxpayer Rights, as they discussed the consequences that IRS cuts have on law enforcement and America's fiscal responsibility. 
 
“The president’s decision to underfund the IRS is no accident. This administration is ensuring that the IRS can’t carry out audits of corporations and high-income earners, handing a free pass to their wealthy donors and guaranteeing billions of dollars lost in unpaid taxes. Meanwhile, the services ordinary Americans rely on will be worse. My constituents, and all Americans, deserve a government that works for them, not one that caters to the wealthy and the well-connected," said Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-04).

"For years, the IRS has been desperately underfunded and understaffed, leading hundreds of billions of dollars in legally owed taxes to go uncollected each year," Ranking Member Hoyer said. "An attack on the IRS is an attack on America's fiscal health."

“The Trump Administration’s relentless effort to gut the IRS is nothing short of sabotage,” said Ranking Member Neal. “When the IRS works, America works, but Republicans are intent on tearing it down to protect the wealthy few. Their cuts mean fewer audits for millionaires, more burdens for honest taxpayers, and billions in lost revenue that could be invested in workers and families.”

"I spent 20 years in the private sector helping to turn around large, failed enterprises.  And it never occurred to us to starve the accounts receivable operations of any company to see how they did.  The goal was to protect revenues, not lose them.  I think it is nonsensical to maintain, on the one hand, that you’re concerned about the size of the deficit and, on the other hand, to undermine the agency charged with collecting taxes owed," said former IRS Commissioner John Koskinen (Obama Administration, Trump Administration). 

"Any executive — whether they are from a public company, a large of small private company, or from the government — will tell you that there is no way to effectively run an enterprise when each year's budget is completely unknown and unknowable in advance. Good management and strategic direction requires forward planning. You simply cannot do that if you do not have any idea what the budget outlook will be from year to year," said former IRS Commissioner Fred T. Goldberg, Jr. (H.W. Bush Administration).

"This is a critical time for the tax agency — and the nation. While the brave men and women of our armed services stand in harm's way across the globe and members of both parties have concerns about the deficit, there should be no political disagreement that the success of the IRS is vital to the short-term and long-term success of our country, whether it’s serving taxpayers or collecting revenue critical to the health and safety of the United States and our citizens," said former IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel (Biden Administration).

"The combination of staffing cuts, seriously damaged employee morale, technology starts and stops, replacement of human intervention with digital tools and decision-making, and erosion of the confidentiality of tax return and taxpayer return information — none of this bodes well for US taxpayers and the protection of their fundamental rights under the Taxpayer Bill of Rights," said Nina E. Olson, executive director, Center for Taxpayer Rights.

"The IRS interacts with every household and every business, and its dedicated civil servants take that responsibility seriously. Its workforce must grow and evolve, not indiscriminately be ransacked. It is unfortunate that the IRS has found itself under siege and without the tools its employees need to do the work they care so deeply about. I hope the testimony today, from a group of bipartisan tax experts across the ideological spectrum, can help to encourage course correction. If the IRS is not adequately funded we will be leaving significant revenue on the table and eroding our democracy," said Natasha Sarin, president, Yale Budget Lab.

A recording of the full meeting is available here. Witnesses' prepared remarks can be found here.

Thompson represents California’s Fourth Congressional District, which includes all or part of Lake, Napa, Solano, Sonoma and Yolo counties. 

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Written by: LAKE COUNTY NEWS REPORTS

Published: 26 June 2025

California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Wednesday released the 2024 Hate Crime in California Report and highlighted information and resources to support ongoing efforts across the state to combat hate. 

Reported hate crime events in California have increased by 2.7% from 1,970 in 2023 to 2,023 in 2024. 

In particular, reported hate crimes against our LGBTQ+ and Jewish communities have increased, and too many communities continue to be unacceptably targeted by hate. 

Amidst this increase in reported hate crime offenses and events, Attorney General Bonta urges local partners and law enforcement to review the resources highlighted today and to recommit themselves to taking action.

“There is absolutely no place for hate in California. Transparent and accessible data is a critical part of understanding where we are and how we can end hate crimes in our communities,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Everyone has a part to play as we continue to fight intolerance in California, and I urge leaders up and down the state to review the data and resources available and recommit to standing united against hate. The California Department of Justice remains steadfast in our commitment to continue working with law enforcement, elected leaders, and community organizations across California to keep our communities safe.” 

The California Department of Justice has collected statewide data on hate crimes since 1995. Under California law, a hate crime is a criminal act committed in whole or in part because of a victim’s actual or perceived disability, gender, nationality, race or ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or association with someone with one or more of these characteristics. 

If you believe you or someone you know has been the victim of a hate crime, notify local law enforcement and consider taking the following steps:  

• If you are in immediate danger, call 911 and if needed, seek medical attention.
• Write down the exact words that were used and take note of any other relevant facts.
• If safe to do so, save all evidence and take photos.
• Get contact information for other victims and witnesses.
• Reach out to community organizations in your area that deal with hate crimes or incidents.

Hate crimes are distinct from hate incidents, which are actions or behaviors motivated by hate that may be protected by the First Amendment right to freedom of expression. 

Examples of hate incidents include name-calling, insults and distributing hate material in public places. If a hate incident starts to threaten a person or property, it may become a hate crime. 

Hate crimes can be reported to the California Civil Rights Department's CA v. Hate online portal at any time in 15 languages or by calling the CA v. Hate hotline at 833-866-4283 or 833-8-NO-HATE, Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and talking to a trained civil rights agent in over 200 languages. 

Outside of those hours, people can leave a voicemail or call 211 to report a hate incident and seek support from a professional trained in culturally competent communication and trauma-informed practices. 

Historically, hate crime data has generally been underreported and the California Department of Justice recognizes that the data presented in its reports may not adequately reflect the actual number of hate crime events that have occurred in the state. 

Caution should be used when comparing 2024 hate crimes data to prior years, as not all agencies were able to submit a full year of data for 2024. For more information, please reference the “Understanding the Data, Characteristics and Known Limitations” section in the report. 

Some of the key findings from the 2024 Hate Crime in California Report include: 

• Reported hate crime events increased 2.7% from 1,970 in 2023 to 2,023 in 2024.
• Hate crime offenses increased 8.9% from 2,359 in 2023 to 2,568 in 2024.
• The number of victims of reported hate crimes increased 8.2% from 2,303 in 2023 to 2,491 in 2024. 
• Reported hate crime events involving a racial bias decreased 0.6% from 1,017 in 2023 to 1,011 in 2024. 
• Anti-Black bias events remained the most prevalent, despite a 4.6% decrease from 518 in 2023 to 494 in 2024. 
• Anti-Asian bias events decreased 4.8% from 125 in 2023 to 119 in 2024. 
• Reported hate crime events involving a religious bias increased 3% from 394 in 2023 to 406 in 2024. 
• Anti-Jewish bias events rose from 289 in 2023 to 310 in 2024, an increase of 7.3%.
• Anti-Islamic (Muslim) bias events fell from 40 in 2023 to 24 in 2024. 
• Between 2023 and 2024, hate crime events motivated by sexual orientation bias increased by 12.3% from 405 in 2023 to 455 in 2024, anti-transgender bias events increased by 12.3% from 65 in 2023 to 73 in 2024, and anti-LGBTQ+ bias events increased by 13.9% from 2023.
• From 2023 to 2024, the number of hate crimes referred for prosecution increased from 679 in 2023 to 818 in 2024. Of the 818 hate crimes that were referred for prosecution, 506 cases were filed by district attorneys and elected city attorneys for prosecution. Of the 506 cases that were filed for prosecution, 327 were filed as hate crimes and 179 were filed as non-bias motivated crimes.

In California, it is considered a hate crime if you are targeted because of your actual or perceived nationality, including your immigration or citizenship status. 

Earlier this year, Attorney General Bonta released updated guidance and resources on hate crimes for law enforcement, prosecutors, and the victims of these crimes in preparation for a potential increase in violence against immigrants as a result of President Trump’s xenophobic rhetoric. 

These resources include an updated law enforcement bulletin on laws prohibiting hate crimes, a hate crimes rapid response protocol for the deployment of DOJ resources, guidance to prosecutors to help strengthen hate crimes prosecution enforcement, and a fact sheet to help Californians understand their rights and protections under hate crime laws. These, and other resources can be found on oag.ca.gov/HATECRIMES.  

Attorney General Bonta launched the Racial Justice Bureau, which, among other things, supports the California Department of Justice’s broader mandate to advance the civil rights of all Californians by assisting with new and ongoing efforts to combat hate and bias. Beginning in 2021, the Attorney General began proactively engaging with local city leaders in the biggest cities in California through roundtables in San Francisco, Oakland, Sacramento, San Diego, Riverside, Long Beach, Santa Ana, San Jose, Stockton, Anaheim, Bakersfield, Fresno, and Irvine. 

More broadly, the Attorney General is deeply committed to responding to the needs of historically marginalized and underrepresented communities and, in July 2021, also launched the Office of Community Awareness, Response, and Engagement to work directly with community organizations and members of the public as part of the effort to advance justice for all Californians.

DOJ's Office of Community Awareness, Response, and Engagement will host a virtual Community Briefing on Wednesday, July 30, 1 p.m. to share highlights and findings from the report. 

People interested can register here. 

Members of the public can further explore the most recent hate crime data on OpenJustice.

The 2024 Hate Crime in California Report can be found here. 

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Written by: Elizabeth Larson

Published: 25 June 2025

LAKEPORT, Calif. — The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday held the first day of hearings with county departments as part of the process to finalize the budget for the new fiscal year. 

The hearings, which will continue on Wednesday, are the prelude to a summer of budget fine-tuning, with the final budget hearing set for Sept. 23.

The cities of Clearlake and Lakeport, by law, are required to finalize and adopt their new fiscal year budget by June 30.

The county, however, has latitude to wait until the fall to finalize its budget.

Under state law, the Board of Supervisors must approve a recommended budget by June 30 and then the final budget must be adopted by Oct. 2.

The hearings began on Tuesday morning in the board chambers, where numerous department heads and staff gathered to hear the budget overview from the County Administrative Office and wait to present their own budget to the board.

Deputy County Administrative Officer Casey Moreno presented the overview to the board.

Moreno’s presentation went over the recommended appropriations, totaling $418,634,111 for all funds, up from $397,175,387 in the 2024-25 fiscal year. 

The county’s primary source of funding by far is the state, which in this year’s budget will provide $143,405,086, or 52%, of the county’s revenue. 

The other revenue sources Moreno outlined in her report are taxes, $45,803,102 or 17% of overall revenue; the federal government, $41,340,384 or 15%; charges for service, $12,199,244 or 4%; other government, $8,674,051 or 3%; operating transfers, $8,231,852 or 3%; interest and rent, $7,885,474 or 3%; licenses and permits, $4,000,039 or 1%; miscellaneous, $1,895,799 or 1%; and fines and penalties, $1,315,358 or 1%.

On the appropriations side, services and supplies amounts to 36% of spending at $158,486,321, followed by salaries and benefits, $127,925,992 or 29%; construction in
progress, $68,505,517 or 16%; other charges, $51,968,824 or 12%; capital assets, $16,115,160 or 4%; and contingencies, $4,696,860 or 1%.

In the general fund, totaling a proposed $99,735,475 for 2025-25, revenues come primarily from taxes, $40,421,110 or 45.57%, with the state providing $22,079,705 or 24.89%, with numerous other smaller revenue sources — including the federal and other government sources, charges for services, interest, rent, concessions, fines, forfeitures, licenses, permits and penalties.

Over half of general fund spending, $58,430,017 or 52.69%, is for salaries and benefits, followed by services and supplies at $34,346,328 or 30.97%, and other expenses including construction in process, capital assets, contingencies and other charges.

Moreno said the budget calls for removing nine general fund positions — from the auditor-controller, information technology, district, attorney, sheriff, probation and planning departments — as part of union negotiations that recently wrapped up and led to a series of raises approved last week. 

She said the county is doing better regarding its employment vacancy rate thanks to removing vacant positions and more aggressive hiring practices. That has reduced the vacancy rate to 13.6% for the general fund and 16% for non general fund positions.

When the county began its series of major salary increases in 2020 and 2021, totaling $21 million, the county’s vacancy rate was around 21 percent. At that time, the County Administrative Office said it was aiming for a vacancy rate of 10% or below.

During her presentation, Moreno had spoken about the goal of having a “structurally balanced’ budget, which means no use of one-time revenue for ongoing expenses.

She also called the recommended 2025-26 budget “perfectly balanced.”

However, during the initial board discussion on the budget overview, District 2 Supervisor Bruno Sabatier pointed out that while staff said the budget was balanced, that did not take into account the board’s votes at its June 17 meeting to approve four-year contracts with nine employee groups, resulting in approximately $5,278,704 in raises. 

Sabatier was the lone dissenting vote on each of those nine votes.

He said that as a result of those raises, the budget won’t be balanced as of July 1, when those raises take effect, meaning the county already is $5 million in the hole as the new fiscal year starts.

Sabatier said the county has to figure out how to tighten budgets to be more realistic, noting they have been “fluffed.”

While the county took out nine positions, he said he’s still seeing as many as 15 positions being added, and the situation is not sustainable in the long run.

Sabatier raised concern about budget figures that he said showed $418 million in spending with only $341 million in revenues. 

Assistant County Administrative Officer Stephen Carter said what balances the budget is an $86 million carryover from the prior year’s budget, which also helps front load the Social Services Department’s budget, which is necessary on an annual basis.

Sabatier also voiced concern about what he said was “a rather large carryover number.”

Updates to proposed department budgets

As the day progressed, the board worked its way through the majority of departments with mostly unanimous votes. 

Departments where budget adjustments are being sought include the Registrar of Voters Office, seeking reclassification of one position and inclusion of a half-time position. Over the last few months Registrar Maria Valadez has been asking the board for additional budget support but so far has not received approval. 

During his presentation, Public Services Director Lars Ewing made what he said were “extraordinary requests” for additional funds for a project at Hammond Park in Nice. That project was estimated at $2.3 million but an additional $300,000 is needed to reach the amount of the lowest bidding contractor. 

The board approved the additional funds for Hammond Park, which Ewing requested come from the parks capital reserve fund, and $100,000 for the design of an enclosure to make the Middletown Pool available year-round. 

The board will continue its hearings on Wednesday at 9 a.m.

Still to be considered are the budget presentations for the Public Works Department, Lake County Sheriff’s Office, the Assessor-Recorder’s Office, and the Board of Supervisors and County Administrative Office, which also covers the civil grand jury and the Public Defender’s Office.

The‌ ‌meeting‌ ‌can‌ ‌be‌ ‌watched‌ ‌live‌ ‌on‌ ‌Channel‌ ‌8, ‌online‌ ‌at‌ ‌https://countyoflake.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx‌‌ and‌ ‌on‌ ‌the‌ ‌county’s‌ ‌Facebook‌ ‌page. ‌Accompanying‌ ‌board‌ ‌documents, ‌the‌ ‌agenda‌ ‌and‌ ‌archived‌ ‌board‌ ‌meeting‌ ‌videos‌ ‌also‌ ‌are‌ ‌available‌ ‌at‌ ‌that‌ ‌link. ‌ ‌

To‌ ‌participate‌ ‌in‌ ‌real-time, ‌join‌ ‌the‌ ‌Zoom‌ ‌meeting‌ ‌by‌ ‌clicking‌ ‌this‌ ‌link‌. ‌ ‌

The‌ ‌meeting‌ ‌ID‌ ‌is‌ 865 3354 4962, ‌pass code 726865.‌ ‌The meeting also can be accessed via one tap mobile at +16694449171,,86533544962#,,,,*726865#. The meeting can also be accessed via phone at 669 900 6833.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, and on Bluesky, @erlarson.bsky.social. Find Lake County News on the following platforms: Facebook, @LakeCoNews; X, @LakeCoNews; Threads, @lakeconews, and on Bluesky, @lakeconews.bsky.social.