Review Of County Government Reason for the Report The 2003/2004 Grand Jury received numerous complaints regarding

There is excessive turnover in department directors.

There are numerous incidents of general and specific employee abuses, such as: arriving late and leaving early, long lunch hours, incidents of favoritism, wasted assets and wasted time. 3. Management has failed to document policy/procedure violations.

The office of the Chief Administrative Officer has not always had strong support from all department directors and the Board of Supervisors. Response to Finding 3: The respondent agrees with the finding. The Chief Administrative Officer has not always received strong support on recommendations as they relate to change. The infusion of change in an institution such as local government requires time and persistence to satisfy the concerns of all affected parties. The organization’s health is really reflected in the open dialogue related to these types of issues and that the affected parties are participating in the process of reviewing “business as usual” service delivery systems.

Management has failed to discipline documented violations.

Management has used flex hours as a reward and punishment tool.

There has been improper personal use of county computers, telephones, and vehicles.

There is general unrest and uncertainty among county employees and management due to numerous abuses of authority, intimidation, lack of procedures, and duplication of effort through lack of technology.

There is a lack of communication and cooperation between managers of various departments and the Human Resources Department.

Human Resources has lost its ability to function effectively.

Standards of employee performance and behavior are “loose”, nonexistent, or are not enforced.

The number of abuses overwhelmingly indicates a lack of leadership and ability to manage.

Business operations of El Dorado County are very poorly run, and all problems and lack of management in the county are a direct result of poor leadership from the top down.

The county has not taken full advantage of available technology to integrate, streamline and modernize its operation. (see IT report) 14. The county negotiated away employee performance evaluations during county/union contract negotiations.

Reduced telecommunications costs to County in excess of $100,000. In addition, in June of 2004, the Board of Supervisors established Lotus Notes as the county e-mail standard. The Information Technology (IT) Department is in the process of installing this system on a department by department basis accompanied with various levels of training. In addition, the IT department is developing a strategic plan for Board consideration in September 2004.

There is lack of training.

The county compensation package is inadequate. Findings 1. There are county employees, at all levels, who do not acknowledge that they are part of the county’s dysfunction. Response to Finding 1: The respondent disagrees partially with the finding. The issue of county “dysfunction” is not isolated to El Dorado County. In fact, it is systemic throughout California’s fifty-eight counties. County government, in general, is dysfunctional by its very nature, due to the structure of county government finance and broad span of program responsibilities. In an attempt to address this issue, the legislature and the past three Governors, over the past decade, have commissioned a litany of “blue-ribbon” commissions to unravel local government finance. Until this year no progress has been made to realign, restructure or reprogram financing of local programs. As part of the 2004-05 State Budget a constitutional amendment will be put on the November 2004 ballot that attempts to address this issue. Admittedly, this measure is simply a revenue fence to preclude State raids on local revenues but it does provide stability to counties’ core revenue streams. By way of background, county government has three distinct service levels: a political subdivision of the State of California providing statewide services, a countywide program responsibility (i.e. sheriff, district attorney, assessor, auditor controller, treasurer, etc.) and municipal services. The funding streams for each area promote categorical financing and a competitive environment for service delivery. Due to distinct funding streams the departments have fallen into one of two categories; the “haves” and the “have-nots”. Those departments that have the ability to charge for the services delivered, or have State or Federal funding, operate in an environment much different than those who are reliant on the county’s general fund revenues. The stability of outside revenue sources allows departments to plan and implement a program service delivery model that can be sustained over a period of time. Those departments that are subject to the fluctuations of State budgets and/or the State’s ability to raid local revenue streams (i.e. Educational Revenue Augmentation Fund) are operating on makeshift program designs or are simply cut to the point of ineffectuality. In addition to this layered structure, county government imposes policy direction through an elected Board of Supervisors in the context where there are departments that are managed by elected officials. Some of the elected officials, who are elected on a county- wide basis, have constitutional powers, duties and authority. While this dynamic complicates county government, there is significant cooperation between the Board of Supervisors and the other elected officials in El Dorado County. Given this context of county government in general, the finding that there are county employees, at all levels, who do not acknowledge that they are part of the county’s dysfunction, may be true. It is probably equally true that there may be a level of acceptance as employees acknowledge these structural barriers. It is important to note however that most El Dorado County employees have committed and dedicated their lives to public service in spite of these structural obstacles. The challenge for county administration is to develop and manage a workplace environment that promotes cooperation and professionalism to ensure that the public receives the services it demands.