MENDOCINO CO., 10/18/26 — Mendocino County supervisors will vote Tuesday on a new top lawyer for the county: Michael Rossi, a longtime lawyer in the Santa Clara County Counsel’s Office. The job would pay him $271,000 a year, according to the meeting agenda.
When the county advertised the job in May, the posting said the last county counsel made $200,000. That’s $71,000 less. With benefits, Rossi’s job would cost an estimated $460,700 a year, according to the agenda. The county put that total at $340,000 for Charlotte Scott, the last permanent county counsel, when the board hired her in June 2024.
Rossi’s four-year contract would start Dec. 6 and run through Dec. 6, 2030, and it waives the county’s residency requirement for the post. Board Chair Bernie Norvell and the Human Resources Department brought the item…