Response to Grand Jury Report Report Title: Humboldt County’s Future, “Scene” Through the Looking Glass Report Date:

The Board of Supervisors has not yet communicated and implemented a clear and viable vision for the county, nor have they developed a strategic plan supporting such a vision. Response: Disagree. While each member of the Board of Supervisors is an independently elected official accountable only to their own constituents, the Board has come together repeatedly over the last several years to work with the community and county leadership to develop a vision for the county. This vision has been expressed through the annual revisions to the Board’s Strategic Framework, and more specific documents supporting that framework such as the General Plan, Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy, development of the Facilities Master Plan, Emergency Operations Plan, the Blue Ribbon Taskforce, Housing Trust Fund Committee and more. County department heads are scheduled to re-convene in October to further this strategic planning process.

Humboldt County leadership seems unfamiliar with the value of creating and implementing a Continuous lmprovement Program. Response: Disagree. The county many years ago dedicated itself to becoming a high performing organization (HPO) in order to increase efficiency of service delivery and to adjust to the challenges of tomorrow. This requires taking actions like increasing employee engagement, making investments in technology, and increasing investments in personnel. This must be done on a departmental level as well as county-wide. To that end, the county has formed a group called Hum21 that is comprised of representatives from each department. This group forms teams to take on tasks such as property tax processing, information technology planning, All Hands Training Day, county-wide professional development and services like the county website. Measuring the success of these efforts in terms of saving money is difficult. However, it should be noted that since 2013, the county’s budget has increased by 26 percent (from $305.5 million in FY 2013-14 to $412.4 million om FY 201819) while the number of personnel has increased by only 12.2 percent (2022.75 funded positions in FY 2013-14, and 2305.66 funded positions in FY 2018-19), meaning that the county’s current workforce is handling more responsibility with fewer staff.

Humboldt County leadership decisions in the past often maintained the status quo rather than offering creative solutions for the future. Response: Disagree. Humboldt County has a long and proud history of offering creative solutions for the future. For example, Humboldt County was a model around the state for integrated health and human services delivery when it combined Social Services, Mental Health and Public Health into one agency roughly 10 years ago. Humboldt County is part of a first- of-its-kind Redwood Coast Tsunami Work Group, which helps plan for earthquakes, the consequences of which are unique to our area. Humboldt has consistently led the state when it comes to cannabis regulations and environmental stewardship, including joining the North Coast Resource Partnership. Just last year Humboldt County won six Challenge Awards form the California State Association of Counties for its innovative programs and efforts.