Shasta County has officially named a replacement to take over for Larry Lees. The position of Chief Executive Officer, formerly called Chief Administrative Officer, is very powerful and influential and is much like a county version of a city manager. He’s responsible for the annual budget, oversight of hundreds of personnel, and countless other organizational tasks. Tuesday morning the Shasta County Board of Supervisors officially named Matthew Pontes to the position. He’s from Santa Barbara County, where he’s been Assistant Executive Officer since 2016. Pontes will take the reigns on January 27th with a 3 year contract earning $240,000 a year. Larry Lees retired last month after 14 years on the job.