Fresno County supervisors reverse course, OK $22,000 raise for homelessness chief
The Fresno County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a job title change and a raise of more than $22,000 for a county employee who works on homelessness issues.
A similar plan floated by CAO Jean Rousseau about 18 months ago failed to get support, but the supervisors approved it Tuesday without debate.
The “principal administrative analyst” position will now be called “project administrator - homelessness liaison.” County employee Sonia De la Rosa has that job, and she was in that position in February 2020 when the board previously axed the title change and the raise.
“Over the last three years, the incumbent’s responsibilities related to homelessness have evolved from staff support to the (chief administrative officer) to a leadership role administering and coordinating homelessness-related initiatives, activities and groups,” Chief Operating Officer Paul Nerland said.
De la Rosa acted essentially as the county’s homelessness czar during the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw the county buying up rundown motels and finding other ways to house people and slow the spread of the virus.
De la Rosa was paid $147,530 in salary and benefits in 2018, according to The Bee’s database.
There are about 2,500 homeless people in Fresno and Madera counties, according to the latest annual tally from the Continuum of Care shared by the two counties.
