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.