03/03/2010: "County Retreat Results"

(Council Members work on listing priorities )

The County Council held their yearly retreat Monday (public was invited to attend) and came away with a list of personal priorities. The retreat was held at the U of W labs in Friday Harbor, and In the best school room tradition, each councilmember’s priorities were listed on a blackboard.

Pete Rose, San Juan County Administrator had submitted staff reports and material for the retreat, that included a “listing of the top three goals submitted by each department,” that gave a “view of what will draw the focus of individual departments during the year” to council actions and policy making

Rose also provided a progress report (see below) on “what was achieved and remains to be achieved from the 2009” priorities the Council had set for themselves.

The morning sessions was given over to a review of those 2009 goals and priorities and then moved on to a “Personalized Discussion” to help each of the council members express their views on such things as “what helps us to work better together” and what would help them become more successful.

There were a number of drills, if you will, designed to educate each other about the personal views of the council members which gave them an opportunity to engage in discussions outside of the normal agenda items that controls their day-to-day interactions.

After that, they got down to the raw meat of priorities, with each member asked to list their top three priorities for the Council.

Rich Peterson lead off with his top three:
• Budget Sustainability
• CAO (Critical Area Ord)completed in a sensible manner
• Wireless Communication improved

Howard Rosenfeld three top ones
• Ehance Orca protection
• Budget sustainability
• Ferry Service

Bob Myhr had to list more than three, but his top three were:
• Budget sustainability
• Solid Waste
• CAO and SMP (Shoreline Management Plan) updates

Gene Knapp followed the directive and listed three:
• CAO
• Balanced sustainable budget
• Good relationship with the new Freeholders when elected

Lovel Pratt also wanted to expand the number, but her three were:
• CAO and SMP (Shoreline Management Plan) updates
• Complete and Open Space Audit
• Housing Action Plan

And last but not least, Chairman Richard Fralick said he too had more than three, and while one of them was for the county council to have fun doing their job, but his top three -plus one, was:
• Budget sustainability and a Reserve Fund
• CAO update
• Solid Waste funding; and
• Communication e.g. wireless/broadband, interisland, etc.

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The background material include the the councils’ top 3 priorities as proposed by the county departments

1. FISCAL: Develop a sustainable capital and operating budget for the next six years, including an objective re-tooling of the organization to live within our means and a compelling reason to ask voters for that which is outside our means.

2. LAND USE/GMA: CAO Completion - Develop and complete a CAO that sets the process and policy template for the SMP update and protection of critical areas in the shoreline.

3. SOLID WASTE: Complete the decision-making on SJI solid waste system long-term financing and invest significant organizational time in the solid waste comprehensive plan process and attendant policy decisions to assure complete alignment between the financial and policy goals for the islands.

THE SECOND 3 PRIORITES
1. FISCAL: Resolve the 2010 budget gap as soon as practical, striking a balance between being fiscally cautious and doing everything we can to hold our staff, programs and services together.

2. GOVERNANCE: Prioritize and assign tasks based on clear goals and objectives and on a realistic expectation of completion of quality work based on realities of work load, staffing, and financial resources - and clearly communicate the objectives and honest limitations to the
community.

3. GOVERNANCE: Work toward cross-the-county community building and try to reverse the balkanization trend. It’s costing our community a lot of money and lost opportunities, i.e., be leaders bringing interests together.

SYNTHESIS OF THE REST - Subjects not in priority order

LAND USE/GMA:
• County selected items in 2010 Comp Plan docket and UDC
changes should first work towards attaining GMA compliance and
second embrace the most important county-wide priorities and third
deal with frequently litigated areas, i.e.;
N:\Administrator\Dept - Council\Retreat\March 1, 2010\COUNCIL TOP 3.doc 2
Capital Facilities Element
Transportation Element
Street Vendor Ordinance
Code Enforcement Ordinance
Stormwater / low risk site amendments
Flood ordinance required update
Revisit 3X per year UDC amendment 2010 expiration
• SMP funding agreement with state is set; outline of update process
is agreed; public involvement process is set;
• Suspend additional sub-area planning until major land-use/GMA
issues resolved;

PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT:
• STORMWATER: Support the citizens committee, make solid and
sustainable decisions, review capital program, keep sufficient
planner time available for UDC updates
• INFORMATION SYSTEMS: Explore network consolidation and
improve performance and reliability
• CLIMATE CHANGE: Determine whether additional steps should
be taken in “budget climate” and in the face of other priorities

FISCAL:
• Develop updated and time-specific budget process that involves
departments
• Education of public on costs of service, levels of service, managing
expectations
• Consolidate facilities to make services more cost-effective and
reduce rentals

CAPITAL BUDGETING:
• Decide on REET 2 to work on backlog of capital projects
• Decide on weeping wall solution
• Implement next phase of courthouse security plan
• Resolve long-standing issues in developing San Juan maintenance
facility and materials storage

GOVERNANCE:
• Process to “inform” charter review committee that includes input of

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County department were asked: “What are the Top Three Things that your Department Must Accomplish this Year?”
(They gave the following responses)

Assessor
1. Implement use of the mobile field devices for use in inspection and appraisal of realty.
2. Assist True Automation (software vendor) with completion of development and
implementation of assessment and collections software.
3. Continue to work with the county webmaster and the GIS Team on improvements to the
assessor’s web page, to reduce the number of routine informational queries fielded by
assessor’s office staff.

Auditor
1. Fixed Asset Accounting - get caught up and new procedures in place.
2. Recording system - integrate old documents and maps/surveys.
3. Implement Inventory Control module in Eden to improve centralized purchasing process
and control.

Clerk / Superior Court
1. Provide support and assistance to the new Superior Court Judge.
2. Indoctrination into our calendaring, reporting, courtroom proceedings, department head
responsibilities, budgeting.
3. Helping with K-Drive informational reports and learning the Eden program.
4. Assist if needed in the hiring of a Court Administrator and provide basic training if called
upon.
5. Complete the download of the Pre Scomis digitized files into the Liberty Program for
county access.
Community Dev. &

Planning
1. Complete reorganization and improve overall function of CD&P
2. Overhaul and update documents and records filing, retention, and retrieval methods,
processes, and procedures.
3. Work towards completing adopted work plan

County Administrator

1. Budget sustainability for county current
2. Department downsizing or “right” sizing, and facilitation of re-organizations
3. Leadership/guidance of executive departments

Human Resources:
1. Complete Classification study
2. Sheriff Guild contract negotiation
3. Personnel rules update

Information Services:
1. Integrate IT across the enterprise, working with all departments (including
Administration, Sheriff, Public Works, etc.). This reorganization should restore an
“Application Support” function (in addition to covering all existing services and support).

2. Implementation & support appropriate communications technologies over our
“converged” (voice, video, & data) network, as combined with Public Works’:
a. Teleconferencing (AVAYA)
b. Video streaming - both recorded and live (AVCA)
c. Web conferencing (WebEx)
d. Video conferencing (Polycom or Tandberg)
e. Support all of the above with adequate internet & intranet bandwith (DIS, OPALCO,
County Fiber, CenturyTel, wireless, and others, as required)

3. Implementing appropriate technologies to efficiently and accurately respond to Public
Disclosure Requests (PDR), including:
a. An archiving and retrieval system for electronic documents, including e-mail and Office
documents (Word, Excel, & PowerPoint)
b. An archiving and retrieval system for web content
c. A scanning and storage, archiving and retrieval system for paper documents
d. A publicly accessible workstation & software system to permit documents responsive to a
PDR to be viewed, printed and/or copied to disc by the requestor.

District Court
1. Cross training clerks in the courts;
2. More comfortable chairs for District Court jurors during deliberation; and,
3. Developing a write-off policy (state auditor would love this)

Health & Community Services
1. Maintain core public health services
2. Develop mental health services for under and uninsured with .01% funding
3. Develop Housing Action Plan

Juvenile Court
1. Effectively respond to juvenile crime within detention budget
2. Integrate changes at state level into local operation (e.g. PACT, EBP, CMAP; and
changed Data Collection processes
3. Integration of new SCJ and JCS

Land Bank
1. The Mitchell Hill transaction
2. Progress in the protection/restoration of Beaverton Marsh,
3. Position Turtleback and other Land Bank properties to take advantage of the carbon
trading market.

Parks, Rec & Fair
1. Complete the Parks, Trails and Natural Areas Plan update so the county remains eligible
for RCO grants.
2. Make sufficient progress on the Odlin Park Renovation - Phase II project to stay on the 2
year grant timeline
3. Complete the details of the Parks/Fair Department reorganization and program
adjustments to levy funding including staffing changes and budget amendment

Prosecuting Atty
1. Reduce civil litigation by resolving major cases and claims.
2. Work on backlog of revisions needed to implement County Charter
3. Continue progress on criminal cases

Sheriff
(Nothing submitted)

Public Works
Roads:
1. Sustainable Funding
2. Prioritization of service level cuts
3. Setting public expectations
YEAR BUSTER - Loss of state funding
Facilities
1. Adequate Capital Funding
2. Consolidation of Existing Facilities
3. Asset Preservation Priorities
YEAR BUSTER - Major mechanical failure with no budget

Solid Waste
1. Funding
2. Funding
3. Funding
YEAR BUSTER - Referendum; loss of Town or San Juan Sanitation due to high rates; ferry
system failure

ER&R
1. Resolve Facilities Issues (equipment and materials storage)
2. Clarify Climate Change Policies
3. Resolve Property Ownership Issues
YEAR BUSTER - Major failure of critical equipment

Stormwater
1. Capital Funding
2. Stay Involved with Citizen Committee
3. Revise Regulations (Litigation avoidance)

Treasurer
Get up to speed on True Automation, continue cross training to increase production and redistribute
duties within the Treasurer's office to pick up lost items.

WSU Extension
1. Finding new sources of funding to provide traditional services we used to provide (esp. on
food, kids and families)
2. Finding $$ for professional development of our staff.