Meet SLO County’s new top administrator: Why he came here and what he wants to accomplish

San Luis Obispo County has a new top administrative officer, and while he’s new to the position, he’s familiar with the Central Coast.

“My family has been here for over 100 years on the Central Coast, so we have a lot of ties to the community,” County Administrative Officer Matt Pontes said in an interview with The Tribune. “It definitely has always felt like home, and it’s good to be back.”

As the top administrator, Pontes oversees the county budget and a staff of about 3,000 people. He makes an annual salary of $293,000.

He said he’s focused on strategic planning and ensuring that the county is set up for success in the future.

“I want to be looking down the road five, 10, 15, 20 years out — and make decisions that are going to make the most sense for the long haul,” Pontes said.

The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors hired Pontes in April to replace Wade Horton, who left the position in March 2023 after about five years on the job. The county hit some turbulence during the yearlong search for Horton’s replacement, when interim County Administrative Officer John Nilon was accused of inappropriate workplace behavior.

The board fired Nilon in November for violating the county’s policy against harassment, and Assistant County Administrative Officer Rebecca Campbell filled in the position.

After a tumultuous period, Pontes brought much-needed stability to the county during his first month on the job, Supervisor Dawn Ortiz-Legg told The Tribune.

Pontes is skilled at balancing the will of the board with the expertise of county departments and community partners, she said.

“He gets that difficulty of trying to keep all the politicos happy, all the electeds happy, while also carrying out the goals of the county,” Ortiz-Legg said.

Pontes also prioritizes community partnerships, which is critical to delivering quality services, Ortiz-Legg said.

“Some folks will have the attitude that ‘we’re the county, you gotta do what we say,’” Ortiz-Legg said. “I don’t get that from him. What I get from him is that we have to take our responsibility seriously, but we also know that none of us do this alone.”

Pontes moved back to San Luis Obispo County with his wife, Misty, and their two German shepherds. Misty is a scientist who used to work for the SLO County Public Works Department. They have three children.

Hailey, 27, is a Los Angeles Fire Department firefighter training to be a paramedic. Tim, 20, is a sophomore engineering student at Cal Poly SLO on the Cal Poly Baja Racing Team. And Kate, 18, is a UC Santa Barbara sociology student with plans to go to law school.

Pontes graduated from Cal Poly in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in forestry and natural resources management.

He then served as a firefighter for the U.S. Forest Service, and he eventually worked in administrative leadership positions at Shasta, Santa Barbara and Kern counties. He most recently worked as the director of wildfire and forest ecology at Sierra Pacific Industries.

“There’s a lot of different ways that you could deliver your services,” Pontes said. “There are things that are going to work really well here, and there are some things that I’ve done in the past that probably won’t work here. I think it’s just a matter of me learning from the community, from the departments and the board on what those priorities are, and pushing the ball forward.”

New CAO to prioritize budget, community partnerships

Pontes joined the county during a precarious budget year.

County staff used budget cuts and reserves to close a $15.6 million General Fund deficit for fiscal year 2024-25 — but the county isn’t out of the woods yet. Staff also expect the county to face a general fund deficit during the following two fiscal years.

The California state budget for 2024-25 could also contain a $68 billion deficit, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office, which means the county might lose some state funding.

During lean budget years, Pontes said it’s critical for the county to be mindful of which programs are successful and which ones aren’t. Then, allocate resources toward those successful programs.

He also noted that the county must find ways to replace soon-to-expire federal American Rescue Plan Act funding so that local programs can continue to provide a high level of service.

Most importantly, Pontes said the county must maintain healthy relationships with community partners like the cities and nonprofits — then lean on those partners to provide quality services when the county experiences budget cuts.

“As we move forward, if the budgets get leaner and leaner, then we’re going to rely on our partners to help us,” he said.

Pontes said the county’s community partnerships are critical to addressing homelessness, especially when the county could lose state funding for homeless services.

“One of the most worrisome things is the state budget and the potential impacts to homeless funding,” Pontes said. “If the money isn’t there from the state continuing to invest in a large degree on the homeless initiatives, then we need to have stronger partnerships. We need to really pull in non-conventional partners, pull in other types of groups — maybe faith-based groups, maybe other nonprofits — to really all work towards making our community better.”

Meanwhile, Pontes brings a wealth of emergency management experience to the job.

While serving as the director of wildfire and forest ecology at Sierra Pacific Industries, he worked with state, federal, tribal and private agencies to battle wildfires and manage healthy ecosystems. Previously, when he worked as assistant county executive officer in Santa Barbara County, he managed the county’s emergency and recovery response to the Montecito debris flow and the Thomas Fire.

According to Pontes, San Luis Obispo County already has a functional emergency alert system and strong partnerships with emergency responders.

“This county has actually done an incredible job at being ready for emergencies,” Pontes said.

During the next year or two, the county will update its emergency planning documents.

“As we update those plans, they’ll show gaps of service and maybe gaps of things that we need to work harder on,” Pontes said. “Hopefully we’ll be able to reinvest some money into those things to really be as ready as we possibly can be for natural or man-made disasters.”

Under Pontes’ leadership, the county will also work to build emergency response plans that are more resilient to climate change.

“Some of the old ways in which we plan for emergencies need to be revisited and thought out for some of the impacts with climate change,” Pontes said.

While the Board of Supervisors is politically divided with three liberals and two conservatives, Pontes said he thinks they are “aligned on their top tier priorities,” including budget management and homelessness.

“When we put good information in front of the board — good policies and good recommendations — the board is going to look at that and they’re going to understand what works well as a county and in their district and vote accordingly,” he said. “That doesn’t mean that they’re going to vote all the same way all the time, but it definitely means that that they’re taking into consideration the voice of the people in those districts.”

Pontes replaced interim CAO fired for harassment

The board fired Interim County Administrative Officer John Nilon in November after multiple women who worked with him reported uncomfortable touching and messages.

In light of this, Pontes said he’s committed to fostering a safe working environment at the county.

“Every county employee and the public that they serve should be guaranteed a safe and comfortable atmosphere,” he said.

He encouraged staff to report harassment, and said the county’s leadership team must maintain a high standard of professionalism in the workplace.

“I think we have a really good team that is hypersensitive to that,” he said.