Board Annouces 2018 Employee of the Year

More than 120 nominees from 18 Tulare County departments were submitted to the Tulare County Board of Supervisors as potential recipients of the 2018 Employee of the Year Award.  With great difficulty, the Board narrowed it down to one deserving candidate who was announced at today’s Board meeting. The 2018 Tulare County Employee of the Year is Troy Barker.

Barker works for the Tulare County Resource Management Agency as a County Building/Zoning Inspector. It is with his exceptional work ethic as a Cannabis Compliance Officer that he has achieved an abatement rate in excess of 90%. Barker’s work statistics speak for themselves. He has documented 333 grow site locations resulting in 312 closed violations and 76 sites abated with violations fees.

“I am proud of all our County employees and the great work they do each and every day,” stated Board Chairman Kuyler Crocker. “This year our Board has placed an emphasis on code enforcement and we appreciate Troy, the fruits of his labor, and his work in enforcing our local cannabis laws throughout the County.” 

In his role, Barker deals with very stressful situations and often serves as the lead inspector in several investigations. He handles each case respectfully and professionally obtaining positive results. In just one year, his work has led to the eradication of over 86,630 illegal marijuana plants and recovered associated costs of $78,372.00. 

“Due to the political climate and passage of Proposition 64 we have seen a significant increase in violations to our local cannabis ordinance, Troy has been instrumental in handling these violations and resolving them,” shared Mike Grove, Tulare County Code Compliance Supervisor who nominated Barker.     

Barker began working for the County two years ago as an Extra Help employee to assist in the cannabis program. He has previously served in law enforcement which has proven helpful in his role at the County assisting the public in understanding the ever changing cannabis laws as well as upholding our local regulations aimed to eliminate illegal cannabis operations. 

According to Grove, Barker’s strong work ethic is contagious to other members of the County’s Code and Building Department. He is regarded by his peers as a can do individual who gets results and often helps out other team members in their investigations. 

In being named as the Employee of the Year, Barker will receive an extra week of paid vacation along with a year’s worth of appreciation knowing he is truly one of the County’s best assets.