The peace and serenity of Nevada County was shattered in early
2001 by gunfire that resulted in the death of three innocent
bystanders shot by a mentally ill local resident. One
of the victims was 19-year-old Laura Wilcox, an intern at the
County Behavioral Health Department. This tragedy set her
parents, the state Legislature and Nevada County on a long and
often controversial path that has resulted in Nevada being the
only County in the state to fully implement an Assisted Outreach
Treatment Program.
San Benito County Chief Probation Officer Brent Cardall has
something to be proud of. For the past two years, his department
has been honored by CSAC for their innovative programs. In 2009,
it was the County’s Juvenile Hall Orientation Video that garnered
statewide honors; this past year, the Night Reporting
Center was the recipient of a CSAC Challenge Award.
Rural counties face their own unique challenges; the remoteness
of a location can pose logistical issues on many fronts for
county government. Such was the challenge facing Calaveras
County‘s Behavioral Health Department when it came to hiring
qualified mental health staff. Clinical positions were
often vacant up to a year. Existing staff in other positions did
not have the ability to pursue their education in order to climb
the career ladder and fill these vacancies.
Hope is alive and well in Tuolumne County. Tucked away on a
semi-rural road a few miles outside of downtown Sonora is HOPE
House – the “Housing and Opportunities for Emancipated Foster
Youth home. This county-owned residence provides
emancipated youth with a place to learn about living
independently without the worries and struggles of where they
will sleep, or where their next meal will come from.
County government is complicated. Most people have a huge
misconception of what counties do. I promised myself that if I
got elected, I would tell people about county government — I felt
that was my job as a county supervisor.
The idea for class that would give residents an opportunity to
ask direct questions of our top managers, as well as learn about
the purpose and process of our county programs and services, came
to me when I was learning about the county myself before I was
first elected in 2006.
Every day, every week, I found that I was learning something new.
Just after noon today, the US Census Bureau released detailed
census data about California. This is the data state and local
officials will use to redraw their political districts over the
course of the year. Of course, it’s also just interesting!
As of April 1 of last year, 37,253,956 people lived in
California, the country’s most populous state. That’s an increase
of 10 percent since 2000.
Among the less shocking results, the census found that the
state’s most populous county is Los Angeles, weighing in at
9,818,605 people, which is 3.1 percent higher than its count from
ten years ago.
Understanding the complexities of the county-state fiscal
relationship is difficult, even for seasoned county officials.
For new county supervisors who have only been in office a couple
of months, it can be downright mind boggling.
Attendees at this morning’s session of the CSAC New Supervisors
Institute in Sacramento, though, were treated to a very
informational and easy-to-understand explanation and historical
perspective of state county-state fiscal relationship.
Government hates to give up control. It isn’t good at it. But
sometimes it is necessary. This is one of those times.
Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget proposal makes the case for
realignment, the restructuring of state-local relationships that,
in this case, redirects responsibility and resources for
government programs from the state to the counties.
It is a case that has been made before by politicians, think
tanks and commissions, including the Little Hoover Commission.
Twice in recent days I had the opportunity to visit the Capitol –
where I served in the Assembly and Senate for seven years – and
implored legislators to refrain from stripping local governments
of redevelopment funds.
Representing one of California’s most active redevelopment
agencies, I have seen how redevelopment has improved the lot of
people in many areas. In Riverside County, redevelopment is
the essential tool eradicating blight, building affordable
housing and bringing much-needed jobs and public projects to
revitalize communities.
Now that federal health care reform is a reality, there have been
a lot of questions surrounding its implications on county health
and human services systems.
In a recent KQED radio debate, I explained the merits of Governor
Brown’s proposal to cut redevelopment and shift revenues to
education, public safety, and healthcare.
CSAC officers and staff had the pleasure this week to meet with
the Steering Committee members of our Corporate
Associates Program. These regular meetings are a great venue
for sharing ideas and planning for the future. CSAC receives
insight from leaders in a variety of industries, including
utilities, health care, communications, finance, construction
management, human resources, and high-tech.
More than 300,000 Alameda County residents received health
services from the county in 2010. Of the 100,000 people enrolled
in indigent care, two-thirds were seen at Highland Hospital.
Highland is the only trauma center in Alameda County where
anyone, regardless of income or insurance status, can be treated
for gunshot wounds or injuries sustained in automobile accidents.
In fiscal year 2009-2010, more than 76,000 people received
emergency care.
The county’s ability to provide this level of service may be in
jeopardy if aspects of Gov.
Four women and one man now govern rural Trinity County, a first
in the history of the Rhode Island-sized, forested mountain
county of 14,000 people, in far Northern California.
One of the original 27 counties in the state, Trinity County was
also the only county in California that Ross Perot won in the
1992 election. That same 1992 election is also known as the
“Year of the Woman”, signifying the fact that a number women were
elected to significant public offices. This included the
election of two women as U.S.
In his first full day in office, Governor Jerry Brown met with
CSAC leadership in our 1100 K Street offices for an hour this
morning. The media wasn’t far behind.
The Secretary of State’s Office has certified the November 2
General Election and reports that the 59.6 percent turnout was
the highest for a gubernatorial election since 1994. Nearly
60 percent turnout isn’t bad, but then again, that is a
percentage of the number of registered voters who cast ballots –
not the percentage of those who are eligible to vote.
California is not shy of controversy, particularly when it comes
to water. One only has to utter the words “the Delta” and many
decade-long debates come to mind. Many recent discussions and
impending decisions regarding the Delta have brought this natural
resource back into the spotlight.
In November, California voters rejected Proposition 19, a measure
that would have legalized the recreational use of marijuana in
the golden state. Despite earlier polls suggesting that
Californians were ready for more lax pot laws, the measure was
defeated 54 to 46 percent. CSAC took an official “oppose”
position on the measure, largely based on the challenging
regulatory and enforcement aspects of the proposition.
While some might be breathing a little easier with the defeat of
Proposition 19, California is still struggling to reckon with its
first effort to legalize marijuana.
The County Engineers Association of California (CEAC) have
elected Julie Bueren as their first woman president.
Bueren, Public Works Director for Contra Costa County, began her
career with the county in 1981 as a Junior Civil Engineer. and
over the last 29 years, her experience spanned several of the
Department’s divisions: Flood Control, Design, Construction
and Transportation Engineering.
Today I presented Chief Justice Ronald M. George with the CSAC
2010 President’s Award. Chief Justice George is retiring at the
end of the year after a distinguished 38-year career on the
bench, the last 14 of which he has served as the Chief Justice.
His tenure has been marked by extraordinary achievements, and he
leaves an enormous legacy of solid court reforms, strong
advocacy, and exemplary collaboration.
There are so many things that can be said about the Chief.
