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2013-1239-Minutes for Meeting October 08,2013 Recorded 12/2/2013DESCHUTES COUNTY OFFICIAL NANCY BLANKENSHIP, COUNTY COMMISSIONERS' JOURNAL 11111[~ 2 is RECORD CLERKS 12/02/2013 09;36;16 AM Do not remove this page from original document. Deschutes County Clerk Certificate Page Deschutes County Board of Commissioners 1300 NW Wall St., Suite 200, Bend, OR 97701-1960 (541) 388-6570 - Fax (541) 385-3202 - www.deschutes.org MINUTES OF DEPARTMENT PERFORMANCE MEASURES MEETING - ADMINISTRATION DESCHUTES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2013 Present were Commissioners Alan Unger, Tammy Baney and Anthony DeBone. Also present were Tom Anderson, Interim County Administrator; Erik Kropp, Deputy County Administrator; David Givans, Internal Auditor; Anna Johnson, Communications; Connie Thomas, Department Secretary; and Judith Ure and David Inbody, Administration. No representatives of the media were in attendance. Chair Unger opened the meeting at 1:45 p.m. Tom Anderson explained that a similar presentation will be done by each department, over time. This is the first one. He wants to get feedback on the format and the process, review the Administration mission and goals, and examine the long-range outlook. Commissioner DeBone said he attended the NACo conference, and one Commissioner there said they do a rolling three-year budget. He is proud of the budgeting done here and the County's vision. Mr. Anderson stated that some of the presentation is budget related, but some is not. The mission statement was reviewed, and seems to fit. A general organizational framework is used for other departments, to give them a little freedom to structure what works best for them. Administrative Services Every day is different. Budget preparation may change with a new Finance Director. A breakdown of who does what was given. There was a review of the challenges and opportunities in each category. Minutes of Administration Performance Review Meeting Tuesday, October 8, 2013 Page 1 of 5 Administrative Services work is funded by internal services charges except for grant projects (which is part of the general fund). Internal service charges are an area of focus in the future. They want to have strict budgetary control over this since it affects all departments. Performance Management Goals David Inbody said much of this should pertain to most departments. Goal #5 is important - effective service delivery. Customers are internal and external. The employee survey has not been done in a few years and may need to be repeated. The target is an 85% or greater satisfaction level. They are quality, quantity, and outcome driven. David Givans said that the survey is based on audit reports. It is often hard to get people to respond to surveys. Deschutes County historically does better than similar national local government agencies. Some agencies do not have an audit function. Objective #4 has to do with quantitative measures and the number of documents handled. Auditing is a high value function. Mr. Givans works with departments to make sure they are clear on recommendations and follow-through, and implementation. Mr. Anderson noted that he has been tracking how minutes of meetings are completed, and most are done in less than a week. Other agencies say this often takes two weeks or more, so it is commendable. Judith Ure said that grant opportunities are going down each year, with pressure from more agencies for the same funds. She handles as many as she can, and some departments do some of their own. She is hoping the grants opportunity picture will stabilize. Five year outlook. The five-year outlook includes: Enhancing communications with departments and the community. Having more joint meetings with other elected officials, other boards, and committees. Investigate off-site opportunities. Having regular Department updates. Minutes of Administration Performance Review Meeting Tuesday, October 8, 2013 Page 2 of 5 Chair Unger said there are challenges with having off-site meetings. He would like to be sure this is wanted by the others; perhaps do so when an issue involves that location or entity. Commissioner Baney noted that preparation and the work are random, so this can't always be planned. Commissioner DeBone would like to see more off-site meetings but they don't want to be intrusive. Commissioner Baney wants to see opportunities for the public to be involved, but this needs to be planned out. Mr. Anderson suggested that once a quarter perhaps they could have a meeting someplace else. They may be able to tailor the agenda for that location and use City Council chambers. Chair Unger is sensitive to the timing. Many people work during the day so perhaps they could consider evenings. Chair Unger noted that the Commissioners are involved in a lot of meetings outside of basic County business these days, making it more challenging. Department Oversight. The departments should use consolidation when feasible. Mr. Anderson said that some departments may eventually need to restructure. For instance, the Children & Families' Commission is now part of Health. Organizational structure and streamlining are important. Mr. Anderson stated that the budget process is not formalized yet. They are considering a new finance system that will be more automated, and this would also eliminate some paperwork for the budget committee. Legislative Activities. Ms. Ure said that annual sessions or special session require attention. She wants to focus more on how to handle this internally, focusing on fewer Bills and. streamlining the information. The departments can track what they want that is specific to them, and advise Administration of any that might be of general interest. Commissioner Baney stated that some counties have a legislative government affairs person. Instead of having a group paid to be lobbyist, they could have someone to assist with special projects and prepare the County politically for certain issues. Ms. Ure said this would be a full-time job, especially during the sessions. There are also local government meetings to consider. She does not know how many agencies have someone just for this. Chair Unger asked if they need a better presence in Salem, with more focus. Ms. Ure replied that when she was doing this work, the agency also had a lobbyist. Someone can't be there every day. But they can focus on specific issues. Minutes of Administration Performance Review Meeting Tuesday, October 8, 2013 Page 3 of 5 Commissioner Baney noted that they had a federal lobbyist in the past. It was of some value, but the Board wanted to do this by project only and the firm was not interested. It is awkward having the Board of department heads writing legislation or testimony. She has been happy with the current lobbyist, but there have been conflicts. They need to remain more neutral in some cases. Policies. Mr. Kropp said that there are ongoing efforts to keep employees up to speed. They are working on a `prevention of violence in the workplace' policy, and training for awareness through the Sheriff's Office. They are updating FEMLA and OFLA, federal and state family leave policies. Internal Auditor. David Givans wants the County to live within its resources regarding audits. He hears from the Audit Committee that they can't do everything for everyone. He would like to utilize his skills as much as possible. Commissioner Baney asked if there is a way to quantify efficiencies or to find value added. She asked if there is a need to add another person. Mr. Givans replied that he would have a hard time objectifying the savings at this point. There is not always a measurable savings to be found; sometimes just a better way of doing something. Mr. Anderson said that it might cost more to add a step in the compliance process. It is hard to quantify, but could save money in the future. Communications. Anna Johnson gave an overview of her work, including additional social media to stay in front of the public. This is a true team effort. She is quite busy and an additional half-time position might be considered in the future. Grant Opportunities` Ms. Ure said that changes keep coming from the external, funding is going down and that is the trend. They need to examine other sources of funding. Federal funds will be that much more competitive and it is getting harder to measure expectations. There may be opportunities to train more people in the County on requirements. Commissioner Baney noted that she is seeing a lot of this in human services. There is a sustainability factor to consider. Ms. Ure said that they have to think ahead, especially when hiring, to be sure to designate the position is grant funded. Minutes of Administration Performance Review Meeting Tuesday, October 8, 2013 Page 4 of 5 Mr. Kropp stated that the problem is not just staff; the community has grown to expect certain services. Commissioner Baney said that it makes them hesitant to bring things on if the County has to own it. It may not be sustainable. Ms. Ure added that is the reality of grant funding; people end up relying on it. Chair Unger said that other groups chase grant funds just to keep their heads above water. Ms. Ure stated that health care funding may increase by 2017. Others may not; and may experience a decrease of 10-15%. For instance, drug court received 20% less. Commissioner Baney said that there is a fundamental shift to get this funding from the State instead of the federal. Commissioner Baney would like to see more done on a five-year outlook. If another audit person is needed, she would like to see this justified. Mr. Anderson said they are planning on meeting with a department about every other week, and the larger departments might be broken into two sessions. They can go through them all, and the next cycle perhaps be more selective. He wants to manage internal services charges in relation to the work being done. They don't want to burden other departments unnecessarily. He hopes to see more done at the departmental level to eliminate extra workload and internal services expenses. Being no further discussion, the meeting ended at 3:10 p.m. DATED this Day of 'L J 2013 for the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners. CLL.- vj~~ - Alan Unger, Chair Tammy B riey, Vice hair ATTEST: $Vx~ (64~ Anthony DeBone, Commissioner Recording Secretary Minutes of Administration Performance Review Meeting Tuesday, October 8, 2013 Page 5 of 5