Government Services Committee

Investigation revealed severe mental and emotional stress prevalent among personnel in the Assessor/Recorder's office due in part to the inadequate and ineffective management skills on the part of the department head, the department supervisors and the Lake County Personnel Director.

Extended periods of absence of the elected Assessor/Recorder were detrimental to the management of the department. The minimal oversight by the Assessor/Recorder as well as the lack of human relation/management skills on the part of the department supervisors resulted in stress on the personnel and the gradual formation of a hostile work environment.

During the course of this investigation, the Assessor/Recorder retired. Following his retirement, the Board of Supervisors appointed an interim Assessor/Recorder pending applicants to fill the remaining term of office. The assignment of this interim department head resulted in an overall improvement within the department.

The introduction of the Mega-byte computer system to replace prior programs occured without sufficient effective training of the department users causing confusion, frustration, resistance and discouragement within the department. http://www.co.lake.ca.us/generalinformation/grandjury/report0001/assessor-recordercomplaint.html (1 of 2)4/17/2007 3:09:32 PM County of Lake - 1999/2000 Grand Jury Report - Government Services Committee

A highly congested employee work space coupled with very poor ergonomic design of the user work stations resulted in the loss of effective productivity and contributed to employee job dissatisfaction.

The newly appointed Assessor/Recorder had made significant changes within the department, including networking with other departmental heads. This had resulted in apparent overall improvement in productivity and the work environment.