Sequoia Healthcare District CEO gets 14 1/2% raise

Thank You Jack

Editor;
Kim Griffin’s slanderous attack on my character, in today's Palo Alto Daily Post, demands a response and an apology. I daresay that the 30,378 voters who supported me in the 2008 District election would not agree that I have done “...absolutely nothing except collect...health care benefits.” And, for the record, when I first found out that some Directors, who couldn’t manage to attend all 6 annual meetings, were costing the District more than $20,000/year for health insurance, I suggested that the health insurance be replaced by compensation for meeting attendance. Several years later, the Board reduced the health insurance subsidy to $14,400/year.
Regarding the $160,000 election cost, I take full credit for making this election happen. And, I have defined this election as a poll of voters on the dissolution issue. One vote for John J. “Jack” Hickey is a vote for dissolution. The District should have stopped collecting taxes and dissolved itself after it sold Sequoia Hospital. Or, at the very least, called an election to validate it’s assumed philanthropic role.

Whenever voters see the name jack Hickey on a ballot, they should place an X next to it! This man has demonstrated the best common sense, the best fiscal responsibility and the kind of thoughtful involvement all citizens should appreciate in their local governments. Kudos to you once again, jack. Never mind the idiots at the local scandal sheet from Palo Alto . . . theirs is the ignorance that thinking people will ignore.

UPDATE:

Lee Michelsen was hired on April 1, 2009 at a an annual salary of $140,000. His latest raise on April 1, 2017 brought that salary to $221,447. That’s a 58% increase over a time when the CPI increased 14.7%.

Lee will be leaving the district at the end of the year. His part-time Executive Coordinator, Janeene Johnson is retiring in August, after 19 years of service. Gwen Hautefeuille, our webmaster, is also leaving. That leaves Glenn Nielsen, part-time Heartsafe Program Coordinator, and Pamela Kurtzman, Director of Programs and Grants. A replacement for Janeene, Heidi Stemper, has been chosen.

The HeartSafe program, which has been reduced to providing non-certified CPR training for free, is on the chopping block at our October meeting.

LAFCo is likely to reaffirm the “transitional” status for both healthcare districts in it’s latest MSR at it’s meeting on July 19. Web Link