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.
While the California Legislature was feverishly working last week
to pass last- minute bills, California’s County Engineers were
looking at ways to affect the future of California’s
infrastructure.
Almost 150 public works directors and staff from 37 counties
around the state convened in Sacramento for their 8th
Annual Policy Conference.
There’s a story circulating today on the
MSN news site that lists the 10 counties across the country
where people live longer on average than elsewhere.
It’s hard to believe that the 119th CSAC
Annual Meeting is just 10 weeks away. CSAC staff, though, has
been working diligently for the past six months on developing an
agenda that will feature a dynamic program of insightful speakers
and informative workshops.
Our theme this year is “Healthy Counties, Healthy
California.” With all 38 million Californians living within
one of our 58 counties, a healthy California truly depends on
healthy counties.
When it comes to California’s ethics laws, it can be a love-hate
relationship for local officials. County officials appreciate the
boundaries and accountability the laws create for those in public
service for the wrong reasons. Understanding the
ever-changing nature of these laws for the well-intended county
official, however, can be a challenge.
To help, the CSAC’s research affiliate, the Institute for Local
Government, has just released an updated version of its
publication, Understanding the Basics of Public Service
Ethics.
I’m sure you’ve heard the old saying “waste not want not” and
it’s more true today than ever. In fact, these days, even
ordinary garbage is too valuable to waste. Or maybe more
accurately, simply putting it in a landfill is really too
wasteful to be sustainable.
Over the past several years, CSAC has been working closely with
the County Engineers Association of California (CEAC) to explore
alternative methods to deal with our waste stream.
Of all the issues facing California, farmland conservation
doesn’t get a lot of attention. But when you consider the
implications for our food supply and the environment in general,
maybe it should be a little higher on the priority list.
The very first story I ever covered as a paid journalist was a
tour of the newly rented “Governor’s Mansion” in Sacramento’s
Wilhaggin neighborhood prior to George and Gloria Deukmejian
moving into it. The story reverberated locally because Governor
Jerry Brown, in his first iteration in that post, lived in a
small apartment near the Capitol, and land set aside for a new
Governor’s mansion had been sold.
I had the pleasure of spending a day last week behind the scenes
at the State Fair and getting an up-close look at the County
Exhibits. Wandering through these exhibits has always been one of
my favorite parts of the Fair – even before I joined the CSAC
team.
