photo credit: Sonoma County

Sonoma County government's pension system covers 12,000 current, former and retired employees and their families, according to the county administrator's office.

This week county officials voted unanimously to make it a top priority to get a bill written in the state Legislature that would raise what are referred to as COLAs, cost of living adjustments.

“This proposal would seek to allow for targeted relief to be provided—-with excess earnings or some flexible funding—to some county retirees; key word, I think we heard from the dais, was targeted,” said Sonoma County legislative analyst Will Tesconi.

COLAs are annual increases to things like pensions or social security, intended to counteract the effects of inflation.

Here in Sonoma County, county government retirees haven't seen a COLA for several years, and dozens of county retirees showed up to Tuesday's board of supervisors meeting, wearing green shirts, to urge the county to pursue state legislation increasing their pensions through cost of living adjustments.

“I just wanted to support getting a COLA for retirees. I retired in 2004. I still make—to the penny—the same pension that I got in 2004. There's never been an adjustment for 21 years,” said Rich Homer.* “And things have gone up! And they continue to go up with the tariffs.”

“I am really happy to see that #1 one on the list is the COLA legislation, because we've been talking to you about that for a long time,” said one unidentified public speaker. “And you know how disadvantaged a lot of retirees are.”

“This introduces us to the use of the word targeted, to pick certain people on the basis of fairness and logical considerations, as opposed to some of the just the rigid formulae that we now have to live under,” said Bob Winifson,* a Mark West resident. “So I support this very, very much.”

Sonoma County's 2025 Legislative platform is seven pages long, and it spells out local values and priorities, at least of county officials.

Some examples?

The county's platform prioritizes fighting agriculture trespassing, specifically “preventing serial criminal activity on animal agricultural operations– especially when trespassing causes significant economic losses.”

Another policy is opposition to efforts to remove the ‘carrier of last resort' obligation for companies like AT&T, so that they have to provide phone service to corners of the county with no cell service.

Editor's Note: These names are spelled phonetically, as viewed and heard on the county's livestream of the meeting.