Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Eleventh Hour County Business

Once again Mason County Commissioners have not been paying attention to the business at hand.

The Sheriff's deputies bargaining unit have had a signed agreement from the county since August 2009 settling on how they get paid for their uniforms. Basically the deputies want a separate check. Now to get this separate check to the deputies in the "eleventh hour" of 2009 will take extraordinary effort by Don Gardner's accounting firm which you and I will pay for.

When the Commissioners were briefed on this by the Sheriff's office on Dec 14, they could have taken action to get this resolved in-house and in a more orderly fashion. They didn't. Commissioner Ring Erickson wanted more information but then she went on leave. Commissioner Gallagher stated that he knew this had to be paid but he didn't force the issue with Ring Erickson. Tim was absent from this briefing.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Mason County Lodging Tax Advisory Committee

I have a few concerns about how the county is managing this Special Fund. The Board of County Commissioners have appointed six people to serve on the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee. Two of these members head up the North Mason and Shelton Chambers of Commerce.

One member of this advisory committee not only reviews and votes for projects that he submits but he also gets reimbursed for a portion of his salary from this same fund. It gets worse. He also approves the request for reimbursement of his salary.

I see a real potential for conflict of interest.

More on this committee later.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

staff driven

The following is my letter to the Editor of the Shelton Mason Journal printed on December 17, 2009:

After months of study I have concluded that Mason County is staff driven. Our county commissioners are not really in charge. Here's why I make this judgment. Within our total county budget of a little over $100M, department heads appointed by the commissioners are managing at least $80 million. Week after week we hear the individual members of the board provide their schedules. Only occasionally do they hold briefings with their staff that are more than half a day on Monday.

Sometimes the briefings aren't even half a day for all three commissioners. For example on Monday, Dec 14 the Board had scheduled briefings starting at 9 a.m. and ending with an 1130 a.m. closed door executive session on labor negotiations. Commissioner Sheldon was absent from the start while Commissioner Ring Erickson was present until 11 a.m. when she said she had to leave for a meeting in Olympia. Public Works was not able to complete planned briefing topics and the closed-door session is now rescheduled for next Monday, Dec 21.

While I believe the department heads are doing their best for the most part, it doesn't change the fact that we elected the three commissioners as our legislative authority to provide the leadership and management of this county - not the head of Public Works, Public Health, Utilities, or Community Development. The commissioners' role as integrator, synthesizer and - the biggest task - setting the strategic direction for the county cannot be sub-contracted. There is no one who can provide this authority other than the three commissioners and if it goes awry, the responsibility cannot be projected on others.

I'll give some concrete examples of what is falling or has fallen through the cracks.

• 10 of 11 bargaining units with no signed contract
• Water quality issues not being resolved and the public wondering what we're getting for the money invested
• Concern that the county may be going broke as evidenced by the dwindling cash reserve
• Lack of standards, ratings and reviews of county employee performance - only a few employees have been rated in the past 12 months
• The Accrued Leave Fund grossly mismanaged leaving the taxpayer with at least $2.5M bill to pay in the future
• The Growth Management Act County Comprehensive Plan chapter on Capital Facilities riddled with errors and omissions which were openly acknowledged by the Board yet this poor staff work passed unanimously

This is just a few of the big issues that have fallen through the cracks. A half-day a week to provide operational control over 80% of our annual budget isn't working for this county.

If you agree with me contact the county commissioners and let them know this isn't working for you. They need to be in charge and it must be more than just a ceremonial presence. We need a county government that works in our best interest. Our commissioners need to be on the job for us working to wring every bit of value from our tax dollars. Mason County citizens deserve no less.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Mason County Budget

My purpose for establishing this blog is to share what I learn about the Mason County budget. Why should we care about the county's budget? Because the county is in trouble spending more money than its taking in. This has been going on for a few years.

The economy took a downturn in 2008 and the county's budget problems were magnified. The most telling indicator is the cash balance. In August 2005 the county had $4.1M cash on hand. Compare this to August 2009 balance of $1.7M. The Treasurer has repeatedly advised the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) that she needs to have between $2.5 and $3.5M on hand to pay monthly bills. As early as April 2007 the Treasurer asked the BOCC to make a course correction and stop spending so much money. Commissioner Ring Erickson said that they were "spending with their eyes wide open".

The BOCC has not been listening to the Treasurer who has to pay the bills each month. So that means that we must stay informed and involved in the budget process.

My mother always told me that even the King had to check to make sure his horses got fed. Likewise here in Mason County we need to check on the county commissioners who hold the power of the purse.