Pitchess transfer delayed, poll-worker pay hiked

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One again, the L.A. Board of Supervisors on Tuesday tabled a proposal to allocate $5.6 million to contract out services for 320 mentally ill inmates, and transfer those inmates from the Twin Towers jail in downtown L.A. to the Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic.

This third straight continuation of the matter came at the request of the county’s Director of Health Services, who did not return a phone call on Tuesday.

The reason for the third stay is unknown.

Previous postponements came after an earlier request by the Health Services Department, and a request by the Castaic Area Town Council.

After the Oct. 4 postponement, Dr. Mark Ghaly, the Health Services Department’s deputy director for community health, said there was still “a clear path forward” for the plan, and that the delay was just so his office could clarify staffing matters.

The contract for treatment of the mentally ill inmates would run through November 2018, and would be awarded to Liberty Healthcare. The transfer-and-treatment plan is part of an overall improvement push for mental-health care for county inmates.

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By a vote of 5-0, the supervisors Tuesday passed a proposal to boost Election Day pay for poll workers by $50 for inspectors, $20 for clerks and $15 for attendance at in-person training.

L.A. Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean Logan told the supervisors in a letter, “Currently, Los Angeles County’s poll worker stipend is $100 for an inspector and $80 for a clerk. These rates have been in effect since June 2006, when the Board of Supervisors approved a $25 stipend increase for Inspectors and Clerks.’’

Logan also told the supervisors that the pay increase was to “facilitate the recruitment and retention of poll workers essential to the successful conduct of elections in Los Angeles County.’’

Last week, Mike Sanchez, a spokesman for Logan’s office, told The Signal that about 800 additional poll workers, county-wide, were needed for the Nov. 8 elections.

 

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