To: Board of Supervisors
From: County Administrative Office
Agenda Section: Departmental
Vote Requirement: Majority
SUBJECT:
title
Board Meetings - Calendar Year 2026, Recognition of December 24, 2025 as a County Holiday for all Bargaining Groups and Other Considerations
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RECOMMENDATION(S):
Recommendation
That the Board of Supervisors:
1. Cancel Board meetings on the following dates in calendar year 2026;
• Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026 (following a county holiday on Jan. 19, 2026)
• Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026 (following a county holiday on Feb. 16, 2026)
• Tuesday Feb. 24, 2026 (NACo Legislative Conference)
• Tuesday Mar. 31, 2026 (county holiday and 5th Tuesday)
• Tuesday May 5, 2026 (Western Interstate Region Conference)
• Tuesday, May 19, 2026 (Pacific Offshore Wind conference and CSAC Legislative Conference)
• Tuesday, May 26, 2026 (following a county holiday on May 25, 2026)
• Tuesday, June 30, 2026 (5th Tuesday)
• Tuesday, July 21, 2026 (NACo Annual Conference)
• Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026 (Board break)
• Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026 (Board break)
• Tuesday, Sep. 8, 2026 (following a county holiday on Sep. 7, 2026)
• Tuesday, Sep. 22, 2026 (RCRC annual conference)
• Tuesday, Sep. 29, 2026 (5th Tuesday)
• Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026 (following All Hands Training Day on Oct. 12, 2026)
• Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2026 (Thanksgiving holiday)
• Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2026 (CSAC annual conference)
• Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2026 (Board break)
• Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2026 (Board break and 5th Tuesday);
2. Approve a paid County Holiday of Dec. 24, 2025, for all bargaining groups; and
3. Direct the Clerk of the Board to notify all county departments of these cancelled meetings.
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STRATEGIC PLAN:
This action supports the following areas of your Board’s Strategic Plan.
Area of Focus: Core Services/Other
Strategic Plan Category: 9999 - Core Services/Other
DISCUSSION:
Humboldt County Code Section 211-1 provides that the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors (Board) shall meet “on each Tuesday at 9 a.m., except for the fifth Tuesday of a month.” In 2026, the months containing a fifth Tuesday are March, June, August, and December. The Code further states that “[t]he Board of Supervisors, for cause, may dispense with any regular meeting or provide a different meeting location by an order entered in its minutes.”
The Board has traditionally observed a two-week summer recess in July/August. This year, because the recess would otherwise follow a dark Tuesday due to the NACo Annual Conference, staff recommends scheduling the summer recess during the first two weeks of August to avoid three consecutive dark weeks. The Board also takes a two-week winter recess at the end of December. In 2026, the final week of December includes a fifth Tuesday.
For the past two years, the Board has canceled its regular meeting during the week of the Pacific Offshore Wind (POWS) Conference. Consistent with that practice, this proposed calendar again recommends canceling that meeting. The California State Association of Counties (CSAC) Legislative Conference falls that same week in May. While the NACo Western Interstate Region (WIR) Conference coincided with POWS last year, WIR occurs two weeks earlier in 2026; therefore, staff recommends an additional dark Tuesday on May 5, 2026.
Additionally, the Board has historically canceled regular meetings:
• during the NACo Annual Conference (July),
• during the Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC) Annual Conference (September), and
• during Thanksgiving week and the CSAC Annual Conference (November).
In 2026, the CSAC Annual Conference will occur during the first week of December.
The Board has also generally dispensed with meetings following Monday holidays, as members of the public do not have an opportunity to consult with County staff the day prior. Staff recommends continuing this practice through 2026.
This calendar also incorporates the Human Resources schedule for use of Board Chambers for New Employee Orientation, which was approved by the Board on December 22, 2022.
For ease of review, staff has attached a calendar reflecting all proposed Board meeting dates for 2026.
In prior years, the Board has considered reducing the total number of regular meetings annually. Should your Board wish to further reduce the meeting schedule this year, staff requests direction regarding which additional dates should be dark. One option would be the week of April 7, 2026, which aligns with Spring Break for many local schools and is the only month without a proposed dark Tuesday.
Finally, staff recommends that the Board formally recognize December 24, 2025 as a holiday for all bargaining groups, including elected and appointed department heads; management and confidential employees; AFSCME Local 1684; Humboldt Deputy Sheriffs Organization units 6 and 7; and the County Attorneys Association. Extending this recognition to all units is recommended by the county’s bargaining team as a good-faith gesture of appreciation for the workforce and is not anticipated to create a significant budget impact.
SOURCE OF FUNDING:
All county funds
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Narrative Explanation of Financial Impact:
Adopting the 2026 calendar at this point in the year will allow staff to prepare for the remainder of fiscal year 2025-26 and the first half of fiscal year 2026-27. Adding or reducing the number of Board meetings will impact the amount of staff time spent preparing for and attending Board meetings. Approval of Dec. 24, 2025 as a County Holiday financial impact will mainly be in lost productivity. There will be additional holiday pay costs related to employees that must work to maintain critical services. Those costs are unknown and will be managed by the impacted departments.
STAFFING IMPACT:
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impact:
Throughout the year there are varying deadlines for staff to gain Board approval on funding requests and changing Board dates may impact the timeline for staff to come to the Board for those approvals.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
None
ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS:
Board discretion
ATTACHMENTS:
2026 Board Calendar
PREVIOUS ACTION/REFERRAL:
Meeting of: N/A
File No.: N/A