Blog

This election year, election officials will have a new collection of tech tools to help them engage their communities and improve how elections are run throughout the United States. The Election Toolkit, an online library of tech resources, includes tools like a Twitter guide, a free app to measure voter wait times, tools for publishing real-time election results and a collection of civic icons.

Originally printed in the Sacramento Bee on Sunday, August 7, 2016.

“There are risks and costs to action. But they are far less than the long-range risks of comfortable inaction.” – John F. Kennedy

“Indecision may or may not be my problem.” – Jimmy Buffett

With these two quotes framing this issue, we are imploring the California Legislature to fix the crumbling roads, bridges and highways we all rely on.

Taxes touch on every issue we face in California, from funding education to addressing our growing transportation needs.

Developed more than eight decades ago during a manufacturing-based economy, our tax system fails to generate dependable revenues or to keep pace with changes in the state’s economy. Our system leaves the state budget prey to boom-and-bust cycles, in turn disrupting funding of essential public services. As the state’s chief fiscal officer, I am responsible for managing cash flow in a time of continued revenue volatility. I know counties experience these dramatic revenue effects as well.

CSAC is creating a domestic violence task force that will hold its first conference call next week on July 18. The goal is to convene a group of experts to look at the intervention programs that offenders are required to attend. This is important, because while some progress has been made in how we treat victims of domestic violence, we have not done as well dealing with the offenders.

Wildfires occur year round in California. CAL FIRE has already responded to more than 2,400 wildfires that have burned more than 98,000 acres since the beginning of the year. Despite the rain over the past winter, several previous years of drought have created the potential for a truly devastating fire season this year. As we move into the summer months the risk for wildfires grows. This week, with triple digit temperatures over much of the state, several wildfires are burning in various locations.

After 20-plus years of lobbying for counties, quite often from the perspective of a public infrastructure project proponent, I’m astounded that any public projects are built or maintained given the many hurdles thrown in their way on both sides of the financial equation. State regulatory requirements and fees can add dramatically to the cost of local public works projects. And voter threshold requirements make it virtually impossible for counties to pass local fees and charges that could help pay for the added costs.

Everyone seems to agree that our roads and bridges are in a sorry state, not to mention our rail and transit services.  As the State Legislature, Governor and transportation advocates continue to debate the best way to repair California’s failing transportation infrastructure, many continue to support approaches that do not include new revenue or taxes and fees.

We recently had the pleasure of spotlighting 12 county best practices during National County Government Month. These innovative programs were recipients of the 2015 CSAC Challenge Awards.

For the past few months, CSAC communications staff has been on the road to learn more about these programs for the videos and blogs we produced. We traveled from San Diego to Amador, Los Angeles to Mendocino.

To watch a short video of this program, click here.

Foster kids are just like any other kind of kids… except that they aren’t. That’s confusing, I know – let me explain.

Foster kids are just like any other kind of kids – meaning they have the same needs, wants, desires as any other kid their age. They require basic human needs: love, attention, food and shelter. Foster kids are different from other kids in that they sometimes don’t know where those basic needs will come from. They can bounce from home to home, year after year, never knowing permanency. With luck, they will get adopted out of the foster care system. Unfortunately some kids don’t have that kind of luck.