Post #1. Working Session Notes – Council and Commissioners, Nov 10, 2023, 9 am to 3 pm.

The purpose of the working session meeting was to identify ways of operating more efficiently and effectively and improve collaboration.

Many of the issues were pretty common – communication is usually always number 1. Although elected officials (commissioners, council) are “part-time,” some issues/areas can require more of a full-time commitment.

Given the diversity in experience, skills, and availability of time, task organization and a communication plan are important tools to keep everyone updated on the status of various individual and group goals and initiatives.

Systemic Challenge. A significant challenge is the county government’s learning curve. I’m not aware of any training that helps those new to county/state government understand the core functions of county government which would include application of relevant statutes, policies, regulations, etc.  With the exception of a few areas such as accounting, the state takes a hand-off approach to government operations at the county level.  Lack of local SOPs and appreciation for managing internal controls to prevent waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement adds to the “challenges.”

Prevention of problems. An internal control can be captured on a checklist – you look at the service to be performed and then identify those things that if not done, lead to a failure.   All our county offices have a governing statute and policy of what must be done and when. I would say that many complaints about a policy or a practice are due to a lack of an internal control and knowledge of this control.   The controversies with the new positions is a case in point.

Cronyism. As if there are not enough challenges, then you add in cronyism and personal agendas and you can have quite the circus. Throw in an elected official who does not believe the decisions of commissioners should be challenged by county employees and other citizens, and you have quite the circus – popcorn anyone?

2024 May Primary.  The winners in the primary generally win in November. There will be two commissioner positions (likely new candidates) and three council seats on the ballot. Further, there are 11 Precinct Chairs that vote on party leadership in March following the Nov election.    With the new position management policy, newly elected officials can lead to a new round of decisions related to the need to eliminate or create positions – won’t this be interesting.

Contractors. Because of the systemic gap in knowledge, competencies, and resources, the county is reliant on contractors for financial-related support.   This past year has identified systemic weaknesses in financial management and collaboration that identify the critical need for improvements in accounting, reporting, and budget management.

Legacy Practices and Spending.  Past practice in the county was for the commissioner’s office to identify spending priorities and too often without looking at the total/longer-term costs. The council too often, rubber-stamped their decisions. This has finally been recognized as being unsustainable.

Financial Management. A presentation was made by the CEO of FSG Group. As an exhibit, he provided a copy of a series of reports from another county that actually demonstrated the quality of services and information his company could provide. He also suggested “monthly” meetings (Council, Commissioners, Auditor) to review the plan and budget and start on the next year’s budget beginning in January.   The reports he provided included 10 years of data, and he had answers to questions that I have not been able to get elsewhere. Information also included comparative data from other counties. And, his cost was much less than what we had paid for in the previous “Comprehensive Financial Plans.”  I had never seen this plan referenced in a council or commissioner meeting and it has not been perceived as useful. The next step is to have him repeat his presentation at the next council meeting. This system appears to have the potential to help elected officials (and interested citizens) overcome the learning curve in the area of financial and budget management.  The presentation, Q&A, and any needed follow-up provide the opportunity for elected officials to determine if this system is value-added. If not, interview additional vendors.

Budgeting – what has been happening?  In contrast to working a year in advance, we start on the next year’s budget in July and August, underestimate revenue and expenses to “balance the budget”, jump through hoops in Sept and Oct,  and then fight fires throughout the budget year. There is no target and commitment for “savings” (fund balances). This recurring process has reduced our reserves and has raised concerns that continuation of the practice may require borrowing money to pay the monthly bills. This would meet the definition of a “Crisis” leading to a situation where the proverbial peasants with pitchforks storm the castle.

Good news. The changes this year in elected leadership from the November elections and financial demands raised awareness of the critical need for better Information that can be supported through improvements in collaboration, systems, processes, and procedures.

Other News – Position Descriptions. It was also learned this year that the commissioners, not the council, are responsible for position descriptions. The council retains responsibility for determining the pay grade and available funding (a good thing).  This change led to the belief that the commissioners could cut positions and create new ones without providing any documentation that identifies the method they applied to support their assessment. Without this level of transparency, perceptions of favoritism,  waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement can be pervasive. This new practice has led to divisiveness and low morale among the workforce. The attitude of an elected official that commissioners’ decisions should “not” be challenged by the county employees and citizens has added fuel to the fire.

Note there are standard methods in government for conducting a workload analysis and efficiency study.

Checks and Needed Balances on Power.  As I understand it, the council has the ability to put out the position management fire and prevent the likelihood of long-term harm. They have until the end of December to approve the proposed salary ordinance that includes all the positions and their funding levels.  In the commissioner’s office, they can contract for support, instead of adding two new position (s). This will allow for a “pause” until the need for new positions has been validated through proven and transparent methods.

To prevent a “pause” from happening, commissioners can take action to justify the proposed solutions (eliminate the HR Director and part-time receptionist/clerk and replace them with two full-time positions).  The supporting analysis should clearly identify the roles and responsibilities of all three commissioners to include their respective areas of responsibility. The need for a new commissioner assistant was not identified until an interim commissioner was elected by 7 of 11 (R) precinct chairs.

Council and Pay Grades. Note on determining a pay grade, at the state level, there exists a classification method that includes assessing the skills, knowledge, and abilities that are required for the tasks to be performed. Market data is then used to identify the salary range.

The council is responsible for determining the salary to be paid based on the budget and can contract for the classification. This will help ensure that decisions are not influenced by favoritism. At the federal level, laws require a salary study to be periodically conducted that usually identifies the need for higher salaries compared to what is being paid in the private sector. Congress usually declines to pay higher salaries because of budget constraints.

Vision and Mission? The council is considering developing a vision/mission statement. A simple process is to identify your stakeholders, their needs, what you will provide (outputs), what they expect (outcomes), and the feedback stakeholders will use to assess results. The mission statement focuses on outputs; the expectations support the vision – outcomes.