There is some rain due in Northern California this week, and
while it will be a welcome end to a record-breaking streak of
winter days with no precipitation, it will not mean an end to the
drought. After two previous dry years, and the extremely dry
winter we’ve had so far, rivers and reservoirs are at roughly
half of where they should be this time of year. The “snow pack”
in the Sierra is virtually non-existent. That may change a little
bit in the next day or two.
There’s an old saying in politics that if you don’t have a seat
at the table, you’ll end up on the menu. I think the meaning
there is pretty clear: If you aren’t part of the process, the
process will eat you up. And so today, when the California
Capitol is already steeped in political theater with the
Governor’s State of the State Address, I have to shake my head in
wonder at the political theater that’s going on outside the
Capitol Building too.
With the legislative session in full swing, this is also the
beginning of the protest season at the Capitol.
How does your county compare to counties in the rest of
California, or the nation, in terms of the economic recovery?”
That question is answered in an interesting and comprehensive
analysis released today by the National Association of Counties
(NACo) that examines the performance of all 3,069 county
economies.
Typically when you talk about water in California the only thing
people agree on is that it’s wet. Other than that, well, it’s a
topic full of opportunities for arguments.
Christmas and New Year’s are over, but this week, there is still
great anticipation among the Capitol community to see what the
Governor proposes in his 2014-15 state budget. For
the first year in many,we are expecting a surplus rather than a
deficit when the budget is revealed this Friday. While that is a
far preferable situation, it still means there will be hard
decisions to make, and, as always, CSAC will be part of the
process.
We already know from the two legislative leaders how they hope to
manage a potentially multiple billion dollar surplus.
Dear CSAC Members and County Colleagues all over California,
Please let me take a few minutes of your time and attention to
wish you and yours a very happy and fulfilling holiday season.
Whatever your traditions may be and however you celebrate, this
is a time of year to be thankful, to reflect on the past, and to
ponder where we are going in the coming year.
When I was sworn in as CSAC President last fall, I declared that
I wanted my term to be known as the “Year of the Child.” I
emphasized that all our actions as an Association and as leaders
in our respective counties needed to be
Congratulations, San Diego and Sonoma counties! At the CSAC
Annual Conference yesterday, both counties were honored for their
sustainability achievements. Each received Beacon Spotlight
Awards for their leadership to save energy and reduce greenhouse
emissions.
I grew up on a small “ranch” in Penngrove, Sonoma County, that
had two houses for people and about a dozen houses for
chickens—over the years, family farming in the poultry industry
became less and less profitable and my father got out of the
chicken business altogether in the late 1960s. Since then the
chicken houses are all gone and another house—for people—has been
added to the top half of the five acres where I grew up.
Research issued this year showed that more than 75 percent of
county leaders in California believe that their public meetings
are dominated by people with narrow agendas. Most of those
surveyed confirmed that they want to have broader participation
in such meetings. Yet many indicated difficulties engaging people
beyond “the usual participants” — especially when trying to reach
immigrants and young people.
Research issued this year showed that more than 75 percent of
county leaders in California believe that their public meetings
are dominated by people with narrow agendas. Most of those
surveyed confirmed that they want to have broader participation
in such meetings. Yet many indicated difficulties engaging people
beyond “the usual participants” — especially when trying to reach
immigrants and young people. (Find the survey at http://bit.ly/1duueRL.)
A key strategy many counties use is nurturing relationships with
community-based organizations to engage a broader cross section
of residents.
More and more, Californians are turning to the initiative process
to propose and enact sweeping changes to public policy in
everything from taxes and school funding to social policies
including immigration and gay marriage. As we have seen with
Proposition 8, the ban on gay marriage, the initiatives do not
always stand the test of constitutional scrutiny. The
initiative process can, to some degree, circumvent the delicate
balance of powers among the Judicial, Legislative and Executive
branches of government.
County staffers have a lot on their plates, especially in this
era of under-funded legislative mandates, reduced revenue and
budget shortfalls. It’s hard for most county employees to
find time to catch their breaths, let alone investigate new,
innovative solutions to long-lasting problems.
Earlier this year we were privileged to travel to several
California Counties to see how they are handling the biggest
shift in the administration of justice in California in decades.
AB 109, also known as Public Safety Realignment transferred
authority for thousands of criminal offenders from the state to
the county—in the belief that counties could do a better job of
managing their rehabilitation. Is it working?
I spent my childhood in the Central San Joaquin Valley where
summers are hot. Not quite California desert hot, but it wasn’t
unusual to have days-long stretches of 100-plus degree
temperatures. Luckily, my parents had a pool and we did not
hesitate to use it. In fact, we spent most of our summer days in
swimsuits and, occasionally, sunscreen. My dad also spent a good
amount of time maintaining that pool, dripping liquids into a
plastic doodad to test the chemicals in the pool water. Then he
swished in some chlorine, maybe, and brushed and skimmed.
Innovation is alive and well in our counties. Yesterday, I had
the honor of presenting at the Tulare County Board of Supervisors
meeting, recognizing the county for two outstanding, innovative
programs.
The presentation was part of our annual CSAC Challenge
Awards road show. Other presentations are on tap: Mono County
next Tuesday, Nevada County the following week, followed by
Sacramento and Stanislaus Counties. The list goes on.
How does innovation occur in local government? What can local
officials interested in seeing their agencies engage in
innovation do to support innovation? The Institute for Local Government (ILG)
board of directors considered these topics at its spring meeting.
A recent report by the New America Foundation’s California Civic
Innovation Project provided the basis for this discussion.
