Imperial County · issues
Civic issues
Topics getting the most attention in Imperial County, California public meetings, ranked by how frequently they come up.
Duplicate mail ballots ahead of November 3 election
The registrar mailed 160 duplicate ballots by mistake, and is scrambling with FAQs, PSAs and vote centers. Also, a new state law (SB 884) could delay results past 8 p.m. if any polling place in California stays open late.
Quechan tribal representation and Picacho Road Bridge
The 100-year-old Picacho Road Bridge over the Yuma Main Canal is closed, cutting off vital services and emergency response east of the county. Speakers demanded faster repairs and an apology for Supervisor Hawk's remarks to the Quechan tribe; Public Works says replacement is at least a year out with two federal grant applications pending.
Storm response and deferred facility maintenance
With a very strong El Niño expected to peak in December, the board declared a local emergency so fire and OES can pre-position flood-fight materials and run regional briefings.
Property tax levy certification dispute
Auditor-Controller Karina Alvarez refuses to certify the 2026-27 tax levy rates, saying a consultant made unverified adjustments and she was shut out of the process. The board took no vote and instead told counsel to explore legal options to force her compliance.
SMARA mining oversight and abandoned Picacho mine
The county has 30+ mine sites; consultants track reclamation bonds and inspections. The abandoned Picacho gold mine is entering a bond forfeiture process with roughly $85,000 available for partial cleanup.
New Chief Public Defender appointed
Daniel Rosenberg was introduced as the county's new public defender, taking over from Ben Solorio, who won election as a judge — one of only 32 chief public defenders statewide.
Hudson Ranch Power assessment appeal procedure
The Board of Equalization won't let Hudson Ranch's New York-based corporate witness testify by video at the Nov. 9 appeal — the witness must appear in person so the county can cross-examine him live.
Border Traffic and Healthcare
Calexico leaders didn’t tackle the brutal border traffic at their latest meeting, even though it’s a daily headache for commuters and cross-border workers. Meanwhile, a major ECRMC healthcare acquisition is moving ahead to improve local medical access. So healthcare is getting attention, but the border gridlock still isn’t.
Border Traffic Congestion
Calexico residents are fed up with brutal border traffic, but the city council put off a decision again as members argued over circulation plans. That means the gridlock—and the time and money it costs locals—isn’t going anywhere yet.
SB 1329 solar property tax valuation
Assessor Robert Menville warned that SB 1402 would slash appeal timelines to six months, drop fees, and shift the burden of proof to the assessor, while SB 1329 would restrict how solar farms are valued — both could burden the county.
Closed session litigation and property negotiations
The board met behind closed doors on one matter with significant exposure to litigation and labor negotiations covering fourteen county bargaining units. Direction was given to staff, but no final action was announced.
Employee health premiums for Plan Year 2027
Healthcare costs jumped over 12%, but the county is picking up the entire $6.1 million increase, so employees and retirees pay the same premiums next year.
Supervisorial term limits ballot measure
Escobar and Cardenas-Singh wanted voters to decide in March 2028 whether to cap supervisors at three terms (12 years). Hawk, Price, and Kelley balked at the timing days before an election, and the motion failed 2-3. Several residents pushed for a stricter two-term, eight-year limit.
Lithium Valley funding and expenditures
Eric Reyes said outreach groups are struggling to educate the public about Lithium Valley and asked the county for help and for movement on a community benefits agreement.
Data center controversy
Residents are upset the county seems to be coordinating with the developer of a proposed hyperscale AI data center in Imperial before public review, and that a county-hosted town hall looked like a sales pitch. The Board responded by converting the town hall into a special evening informational meeting on March 26 where the public can comment but supervisors can't take positions.
Bowker Road shoulder safety fix
A $797,897 contract will rehab about a mile of Bowker Road between Jasper and Fawcett roads — part of the county's ongoing push to fix its road network.
Tropical Storm Rachel emergency response
Flash floods triggered swiftwater rescues, stranded travelers, a 100-foot canal breach, and roughly 1,500 flooded acres. The board made the emergency official so state recovery funding can flow.
Red Earth intersection safety
Supervisor Kelley urged the county's transportation commission to act on the deadly Red Earth intersection, citing roughly six fatalities; a Caltrans roundabout proposal drew skepticism.
450 W. Aten Road warehouse lease
The only qualifying bid to lease the county's 65,000-square-foot warehouse was $1,000 a month — about 1.5 cents per square foot. Supervisors rejected it as far below market and will re-solicit bids.
Data center ballot measure
The board approved the lot merger and road vacation that unlock the proposed largest AI data center in California, next to homes and schools near Imperial. Opponents demand a full CEQA environmental review and warn of noise, dust, water use and health impacts; supporters, largely union construction workers, point to jobs under a newly signed project labor agreement. A ballot initiative to ban data centers and a recall effort against the chairwoman were announced.
Data center moratorium and regulation
Speaker after speaker urged the Board to reject or pause the proposed AI data center, citing air quality, water, lawsuits, and doubts about the developer's experience and the promised $10 billion investment. One speaker asked for a moratorium on new data centers; no board action was taken.
Social services building maintenance
The county proposed awarding a construction contract of up to $385,197 to build new interview rooms at the Department of Social Services office in El Centro.
Nyland fire and public safety response
The county finished rebuilding five homes destroyed in the Nyland fire using $2.28 million of a $2.5 million CDBG grant, returning the leftover $336,919 to the state.
Community Air Protection and air quality education
The Air Pollution Control District walked through decades of ozone and particulate data, noting Calexico's border-driven pollution and a mobile H2S monitor moving north toward the Salton Sea to track New River impacts.
Airport funding and appointments
Advanced Air pitched its bid to restore commercial flights from Imperial airport to LA (via Hawthorne) and Phoenix with multiple daily flights and flat pricing; the Board took no action yet.
County procurement and local business access
A local disabled-veteran business owner said manufacturer project registration blocked him from competitive pricing on a county furniture bid; the Board directed staff to review the process and local bidding preferences.
Recall effort against Chairwoman Price
A former Imperial councilmember formally noticed intent to recall District 3 Supervisor Peggy Price, citing storm response, airport funding, fire staffing, and transparency failures. Recall efforts hinge on signature gathering and an eventual election.
Updated CEQA regulations
The county wants to modernize its local environmental review rules, but critics say the changes make appeals harder for residents and remove a layer of protection by letting developers appeal the level of environmental analysis to the Board. The vote was pushed a week for fine-tuning.
FY 2026-27 budget and structural deficit
A resident flagged that S&P dropped the county's bond rating from A- to BBB in 2025, citing governance and transparency problems and late audits — a warning sign that could raise borrowing costs for county projects.
Winterhaven Roads and Code Enforcement
A 45-year Winterhaven resident pleaded for help clearing an alleyway of debris after 18 months of unanswered letters, and noted no county road staff live in the area anymore for emergency response.
Veterans Services Priorities
American Legion leaders presented four priorities from a new Imperial County Veteran Voices event: expand veteran forums, revive the Calexico memorial, create veteran housing, and improve local health care.
Arnold Road Bridge emergency
The Board extended the emergency declaration for the closed Picacho Road Bridge. A Quechan tribal leader said the closure cuts off his community's fastest route to emergency care in Yuma and invited the Board to visit and build an emergency response plan.
Colorado River water reallocation
Supervisor Kelley wanted the county to demand an independent economic analysis of IID's water transfers, arguing fallowing strips jobs and tax base while federal drought money flows to IID. The Farm Bureau and others asked for more stakeholder vetting, and the board tabled it 5-0.
Fire department staffing crisis and overtime costs
Firefighters thanked the board for recent progress but pushed back on a supervisor's comment about closing stations, saying it tells Palo Verde residents their lives matter less. The board and union pledged continued collaboration on a long-term staffing fix.
Adult Residential Substance Use Disorder Treatment Facility Phase 2
Imperial County is building its first residential substance use treatment facility, so residents won't have to leave the valley for care. The Board approved the $14.1 million Phase 2 construction agreement, with groundbreaking April 30 at 1319 South Clark Road.
Voter outreach and low election turnout
A resident revealed that a $50,000 outreach allocation for low-propensity and limited-English voters was never actually delivered to the Registrar of Voters due to a motion mix-up — and the county now has the state's lowest voter turnout at 22%.
SB 675 — Imperial County air district restructuring
The air district urged a veto of SB 675, calling it an unfunded mandate that would force an 11-member board, new staff and costs onto small businesses and farms. Supervisors Hawk and Kelley backed the veto; Cardenas-Singh said she couldn't support it without seeing the cost analysis.
County leadership turnover and HR Director appointment
The county filled a key vacancy after a year with five department head changes. The new HR Director's Step F starting salary split the board 4-1.
Deteriorating county roads, particularly Bess Road
Supervisor Hawk reported working with Public Works on a priority list of pothole-damaged roads after recent rains doubled some potholes in size.
CalAIM jail reentry services
The Sheriff's Office reported $6.1 million in state grants to enroll incarcerated people in Medi-Cal before release, aiming to cut overdoses, homelessness, and repeat bookings.
ICOE facilities master plan
The County Office of Education outlined plans for adult-education growth, a new special education center, workforce housing exploration, and possible sports fields and a children's museum — including its leased headquarters at 1398 Sperber Road, the same property the county is negotiating over.
Community benefit grants to local organizations
The board approved $2,550 total for three community events: Heber's Easter Egg Hunt, the Calexico Host Lions Club Little League tournament, and Holtville's Easter in the Park. It's small-dollar county support for neighborhood recreation and holiday events.
Homeless housing and behavioral health services funding
The county is putting serious money into homelessness services: a $5.46 million agreement with National Healthcare and Housing Advisors plus amendments adding about $400,000 to Catholic Charities' Day Center and the Hollies Affordable Housing Project.
Catalytic converter theft enforcement ordinance
A repeat advocate urged the board to adopt an ordinance making possession of even one catalytic converter without proof of ownership a jailable offense, noting most other Southern California counties have already acted and state law leaves deputies powerless below eight converters.
state housing law lawsuit against Calexico
California is suing Calexico for allegedly failing to follow state housing law, and the case is now drawing attention to Imperial County too. It’s a local-control vs. state-housing-mandate fight, so it could affect how housing rules get enforced across the region.
2026 Assessment Roll Growth
Property values in Imperial County hit $19.1 billion for the first time, up 6.15% — good news for school and county budgets, though growth is slowing from last year's 7.9%.
ICERS retirement board appointment
The Board appointed Michael Abraham to the county retirement board after a resident challenged the appointment over his alleged role in data center approvals; staff explained he was unopposed in the employee election.
WIOA youth workforce program funding
The county renewed its $1.59 million Project Connect youth jobs agreement with IVROP, serving roughly 220 young people with paid work experience, career training and financial literacy — all federally funded.
Detention facility property tax exemption
The board unanimously backed a bill that would strip the welfare property-tax exemption from for-profit detention facilities — directly targeting the Imperial Regional Detention Facility, whose nonprofit ownership structure has avoided millions in property taxes. Critics called it a $60 million giveaway; defenders noted 250 full-time jobs.
North End cooling centers and extreme heat
Residents from Niland, Slab City, and Calipatria blasted the county because North End cooling centers won't open until July 1 while triple-digit heat already kills — more than ten neighbors died of heat illness last year. Staff said staffing delays were the cause and promised to explore opening earlier next year.