“Water water everywhere, nor any drop to drink” complains the
Ancient Mariner as he recounts a harrowing voyage at sea. Here in
California, on dry land, we too lament our water situation. Like
the Mariner, we sometimes run short of clean fresh water for
thirsty cities and agricultural crops. And just as often it
seems, we have too much water, in the wrong place, all at once.
Dealing with a flood can be just as harrowing as going thirsty.
Crime doesn’t pay — it costs. Anyone who has ever been a crime
victim can tell you that, but so can county sheriffs and
probation chiefs who are responsible for keeping track of many of
the people who commit crimes in California. They will tell you
that it is far more expensive to keep someone in jail than it is
to supervise them in the community. The corollary to that is it
is far less expensive to help someone so they don’t break the law
again, than it is to have to put them back in jail if they do.
And if they aren’t committing more crimes, they aren’t creating
anymore victims either.
Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve is a gorgeous place. Contained
within its 3,700 acres of open space, the county park offers more
than 10 miles of trails for hikers and bicyclists throughout
picturesque surroundings. The park also features a historic adobe
ranch house that was built in 1823 by the recipients of the first
Mexican land grant in San Diego County. Combining a
beautiful natural setting with local history is a great way to
spend an afternoon.
With the recent economic downturn, Orange County’s Social Service
Agency saw a startling rise in the demand for services at a time
when resources were diminishing. The Agency had to find a
way to meet the challenge of “doing more with less.” It was vital
to come up with a cost-effective, workable solution since the
number of county residents turning to assistance was rapidly
growing.
San Benito County Librarian Nora Conte calls them “magical
moments” – those opportunities a parent has to impact their
child’s life in a positive way. And she has seen a number of them
through the Grow Strong Benito program.
When Sam Ruark starts talking about saving energy, his eyes light
up. Sam serves as the energy and sustainability coordinator for
Sonoma County, which has been recognized nationally for its
Comprehensive Energy Project. And Sam has every reason to
get excited over what Sonoma County has been accomplishing.
Our adversarial election process is one of the hallmarks of
American democracy, and it is generally a good thing. However,
election-driven rhetoric isn’t always the best way to transmit
factual information about complex issues. For example, the next
gubernatorial election in California is 19 months away and
already the friction around public safety realignment is
producing more heat than light. I’d like to help people have a
solid understanding about realignment before the election cycle
kicks into overdrive.
I have heard the anecdotes about new crimes committed by
“realigned” offenders.
In recent years we began using the motto “California Counties: 38
Million Served” to show the magnitude of the task that our 58
counties face very day. And while the state’s official population
was a bit under this figure, it’s safe to say that there are
thousands of individuals who go uncounted – individuals to which
counties provide a safety net.
When the CSAC Finance Corporation was formed in 1986 for the
purpose of providing a public benefit no one would have guessed
just how expansive the organization would become. In
response to queries from counties regarding financing assistance,
the CSAC Finance Corporation was formed and started creating a
chain of public/private partnerships that have now spanned close
to three decades and have grown to provide an impressive amount
of public benefit to California Counties and residents.
The first program of the CSAC Finance Corporation was the
creation of the
A small fishing boat recently washed up on shore near Crescent
City California, where I have the privilege to live and the honor
to serve on the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors. There is
nothing all that remarkable about a boat washing up on the shore
of a North Coast fishing town, but this 20-foot open fishing
boat, called a Panga, was different.
It was covered in barnacles and other debris, and had clearly
been lost at sea for a long time – just over two years to be
exact.
The state’s 2011 shift of criminal justice responsibility to
counties under AB 109 has generated extensive commentary and
analysis about how well it’s working. As it happens, “Smart
Justice” is the theme for the National Association of Counties’
County Government Month, and counties are indeed working smarter
to manage these new responsibilities.
Many counties are developing and expanding programs designed to
reduce recidivism. For County Government Month CSAC is
highlighting the best practices of four California counties.
At their regular board meeting earlier this month, members of the
Plumas County Board of Supervisors jokingly suggested that they
would rather go to jail than return a portion of their Secure
Rural Schools funding to the federal government because of
sequestration. According to news reports, Board Chairman Terry
Swofford asked the Plumas sheriff if he had “room for five more?”
While we don’t expect it would ever get to the extent to where we
find “boards behind bars,” it does show how sequestration will
have definitive impacts at the local level and hamper all levels
of government.
We’ve all experienced this challenge. It’s late in the day
and you’ve just been asked to speak in two days at a regional
meeting about youth and green jobs.
It all started with an idea. In 2003 a group of county
treasurers and other local finance officers came together to
discuss investment options. Looking for a safe investment
vehicle other than the state pool, a concept for a new investment
pool, created and governed by local officials, came to the
table. This idea originated the Investment Trust of
California; commonly known as CalTRUST.
A program such as CalTRUST was new territory in the public
investment world but a group of dedicated, professional, and
knowledgeable individuals decided to make it happen. For
over a year CalTRUST was c
“Big Daddy” Jesse Unruh, the man who invented the modern role of
the Speaker of the California Assembly, coined the phrase “money
is the mother’s milk of politics” back in 1966. One could easily
argue that it is still true today.
Campaign contributions and fundraisers are still a big part of
the Capitol culture in Sacramento. The online publication,
Capitol Morning Report has a section called “The Daily Bread”
listing the day’s campaign fundraisers — most of them at various
restaurants a short walk from the Capitol.
There was a lot of trash talking at the historic Crest Theater a
block from the State Capitol Monday evening – and those in
attendance are hoping there will be even more. The event,
“Talking Trash @ the Crest,” was co-sponsored by CSAC and the Los
Angeles County Department of Public Works.
California has a lot of recent experience with shortages. The
state has been short of money, short of water, short of jobs. But
there’s a new shortage looming that could spell real trouble. I
refer to a recent story in the Fresno Bee that describes a
potential statewide shortage of rocks.
There’s a county road I often take home from Sacramento to Placer
County; the scenery is idyllic – farm houses, horses, geese
heading south, the Sierra Nevada on the horizon. And then I begin
hitting teeth-jarring potholes, one after another. It’s not a
well-traveled road and I know it’s not a priority.
U.S. Communities – the Gold Standard for Cooperative Purchasing
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then U.S.
Communities ought to be blushing. It was the first – and for a
while the only – purchasing cooperative for local governments.
Now, the field is crowded with wannabes that claim to save money
and streamline purchasing for local governments. But seven key
facts distinguish U.S. Communities from the others. 1.
Significant Savings at No Cost to the Public Agencies: Since
2001, the program has saved public agencies over $1.7 billion.
More than 55,000 public agencies use U.S.
The implementation of the Affordable Care Act is a complex morass
that will impact California’s 58 counties on wide variety of
fronts – from budgetary to service delivery. For most
county officials, there are currently more questions than
answers.
The CSAC Institute for Excellence in County Government has spent
the past two days trying to answer some of those questions
through a course that is providing county officials with a
balanced, fact-based discussion on how federal health care reform
is being implemented in California and its effect on county
health, mental health and social service
