Recently through a public disclosure request, I received information on Mason County's record of tapping into the Washington Counties Risk Pool. I thought you might be interested in this also.
But first what is the Risk Pool? Mason County joins with 27 other Washington counties in an insurance pool tapping into it as required to cover lawsuits and accidents. Over the last seven years our premiums have gone from $492K to $579K an 18% increase.
I found it interesting that for Mason County the deductible is $10K but many other counties in the pool have a much higher deductible - $100K to $500K. I don't know about you but in our family we have a very high deductible for our car insurance which lowers our annual premiums and, I think, makes us more careful drivers. For sure it keeps us from calling the insurance company when we have a chip in the windshield.
Why would the county need such a low deductible? But there I go thinking that the county should be treating our tax dollars as if they are limited.
Then I did a little more digging and found that in Mason County, given our current record for managing risk, it's probably a good economic decision to have a very low deductible. We had a whopping 226 cases paid out and closed during this seven year period.
Some of the cases were big dollars. In 2004 the risk pool closed a claim that totaled $1,407K (yes that could also be stated as $1.4 million). Another one came to $348K and $251K. You get the picture? Over the period I requested, Jan 2004 through February 2010, the Washington Counties Risk Pool closed claims totaling $3.5M for Mason County. We paid premiums which were less at $3.1M. Not a bad deal for Mason County. But a bad deal for others in the pool because it's making their rates increase.
Why aren't the other counties trying to get Mason County ejected from their pool? Mason County is a bad risk in a risk pool or so it appears to this taxpaying citizen who votes.
So I ask you does Mason County have bad management or bad luck?
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
No BOCC Meetings - Mar 22 & 23
I want to thank all of you for reading my blog and to remind you that our county commissioners haven't been meeting this week.
On Monday I had intended to go to the "indepth conversation" on John's Creek Basin that was supposed to happen on Monday from 10 am to noon. Then I learned this meeting was compressed to a 15 minute conversation with two commissioners calling in. Since it takes more than 15 minutes to drive into the county offices, I decided that it was a waste of my time.
I hope you've been enjoying this spring weather. I sure have.
Stay tuned though. Rumor has it that we're getting closer to settling the contracts with 12 out of 13 bargaining units. How much will this cost the county? Who knows but nothing has been set aside to pay this looming bill which some estimate to be around $1M.
On Monday I had intended to go to the "indepth conversation" on John's Creek Basin that was supposed to happen on Monday from 10 am to noon. Then I learned this meeting was compressed to a 15 minute conversation with two commissioners calling in. Since it takes more than 15 minutes to drive into the county offices, I decided that it was a waste of my time.
I hope you've been enjoying this spring weather. I sure have.
Stay tuned though. Rumor has it that we're getting closer to settling the contracts with 12 out of 13 bargaining units. How much will this cost the county? Who knows but nothing has been set aside to pay this looming bill which some estimate to be around $1M.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
BOCC Meeting - Mar 16
First things first, let's talk about attendance. We had a full quorum until Tim left at 9:38 am. As he was departing, he said that he had to be in Olympia for state business at 1000 am.
No journalist from the Shelton Mason Journal showed up. As usual Diedrick Allen (KMAS) was in attendance. These days the Mason County Daily News has become our most reliable media source for county coverage.
Here's a quick recap of the meeting today.
o Today the League of Women Voters Mason County was recognized by a proclamation read by Lynda. The League is celebrating its 90th birthday this year.
o The meeting was fairly routine except for two consent agenda items which were tabled until April 6 and one item that was removed.
o The first item tabled was the approval of a resolution to sign a contract with EnviroIssues for public relations services to support the Belfair Waste Water Treatment Facility. The consent agenda item made no mention of how much this contract would be. (Honestly, I couldn't make this stuff up. Who would want to know how much is being approved prior to voting on it?) When Tim learned that it was going to be $240K, he said that he couldn't support this without more information and background.
The vote was unanimous to table this until April 6 because there won't be another regular meeting until then.
Also the Director of Utilities, Emmett Dobey provided a budget to the commissioners and stated that he was going to be updating this on either a monthly or weekly basis.
I got a copy of the handout and I must say this is not filling the bill for me. The Belfair Waste Water Treatment Facility accounts for one third of the county's total 2010 budget. It's the middle of March and we still don't know what the budget is for this project.
Mason County, you and I need to know what is going on financially with this project. We need a straight forward simple accounting of this project. All of us are exposed to risk with this project whether we live in Belfair or some where else in the county.
o The second item tabled was the consent agenda item which would have given Public Works Emergency Management Service the authority to fill a vacant position. Lynda asked that this item be tabled until April 6 because she wants to hear more about their work plan and her concern that other departments have been required to downsize. She pointed out at yesterday's briefing that she recently became aware of a county in Kansas with only two employees running the county's emergency management program. Further she went on to underscore that in Kansas there are frequent storms that they must deal with so it can't be that Mason County has more emergencies and therefore needs more staff.
o The closure of two roads (Old Clifton Road and Old Boad Road) was removed from the agenda. Instead of closing the roads, the Belfair WWTF construction workers will be using flaggers to manage the traffic.
o No regular business meeting until April 6. The meeting is cancelled on Mar 23 and the Mar 30 meeting is at 6 pm in Belfair.
o Lynda mentioned during her calendar review that ADAGE had answered questions that she'd received. If you're interested in seeing this you can send me an email or contact the county offices to get the electrons on the questions that Mason County folks have asked about ADAGE.
o During the calendar time I noted the following meetings that you may be interested in attending.
Mar 17 4 pm - Department of Transportation community meeting on the Belfair Bypass.
Mar 22 - John's Creek Basin indepth discussion and how to respond to Department of Ecology on which of the three options Mason County prefers. See my notes from Mar 14 briefings for more detail.
Mar 30 6 pm - Commissioners meet in Belfair and plan to discuss the Belfair Bypass and the Belfair Waste Water Treatment Facility.
No journalist from the Shelton Mason Journal showed up. As usual Diedrick Allen (KMAS) was in attendance. These days the Mason County Daily News has become our most reliable media source for county coverage.
Here's a quick recap of the meeting today.
o Today the League of Women Voters Mason County was recognized by a proclamation read by Lynda. The League is celebrating its 90th birthday this year.
o The meeting was fairly routine except for two consent agenda items which were tabled until April 6 and one item that was removed.
o The first item tabled was the approval of a resolution to sign a contract with EnviroIssues for public relations services to support the Belfair Waste Water Treatment Facility. The consent agenda item made no mention of how much this contract would be. (Honestly, I couldn't make this stuff up. Who would want to know how much is being approved prior to voting on it?) When Tim learned that it was going to be $240K, he said that he couldn't support this without more information and background.
The vote was unanimous to table this until April 6 because there won't be another regular meeting until then.
Also the Director of Utilities, Emmett Dobey provided a budget to the commissioners and stated that he was going to be updating this on either a monthly or weekly basis.
I got a copy of the handout and I must say this is not filling the bill for me. The Belfair Waste Water Treatment Facility accounts for one third of the county's total 2010 budget. It's the middle of March and we still don't know what the budget is for this project.
Mason County, you and I need to know what is going on financially with this project. We need a straight forward simple accounting of this project. All of us are exposed to risk with this project whether we live in Belfair or some where else in the county.
o The second item tabled was the consent agenda item which would have given Public Works Emergency Management Service the authority to fill a vacant position. Lynda asked that this item be tabled until April 6 because she wants to hear more about their work plan and her concern that other departments have been required to downsize. She pointed out at yesterday's briefing that she recently became aware of a county in Kansas with only two employees running the county's emergency management program. Further she went on to underscore that in Kansas there are frequent storms that they must deal with so it can't be that Mason County has more emergencies and therefore needs more staff.
o The closure of two roads (Old Clifton Road and Old Boad Road) was removed from the agenda. Instead of closing the roads, the Belfair WWTF construction workers will be using flaggers to manage the traffic.
o No regular business meeting until April 6. The meeting is cancelled on Mar 23 and the Mar 30 meeting is at 6 pm in Belfair.
o Lynda mentioned during her calendar review that ADAGE had answered questions that she'd received. If you're interested in seeing this you can send me an email or contact the county offices to get the electrons on the questions that Mason County folks have asked about ADAGE.
o During the calendar time I noted the following meetings that you may be interested in attending.
Mar 17 4 pm - Department of Transportation community meeting on the Belfair Bypass.
Mar 22 - John's Creek Basin indepth discussion and how to respond to Department of Ecology on which of the three options Mason County prefers. See my notes from Mar 14 briefings for more detail.
Mar 30 6 pm - Commissioners meet in Belfair and plan to discuss the Belfair Bypass and the Belfair Waste Water Treatment Facility.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Commissioner Briefings - March 15
I'm revising my opinion about the commissioners being absent two weeks in March. After this mornings briefings I'm beginning to think that maybe we only need them to meet every other week. They got a lot done in a short time.
Shelton Mason Journal (Kevan Moore) covered the briefings today.
I'm beginning to see an inverse relationship between the appearance of the sun and my blogging. You probably have less time to read also. Nevertheless, here's a quick run down.
o Department of Ecology briefed the commissioners on the options for implementing the directive from DOE on exempt well limitations in John's Creek. There are three paths they can take: an agreed order that Mason County helps to shape, a unilateral order from DOE, or a letter from the Director of Ecology. The letter from the Director of Ecology was what the county received back in 2008 and basically ignored. So the thinking is that now there needs to be something a little stronger. Under all three of these options there are significant implications for new commercial or industrial exempt well use in the Johns Creek Basin. The county commissioners were asked to provide their responses to which of three options they'd prefer by the end of March 2010.
o Accrued Leave Fund was brought up by Tim when the Auditor's office (Theresia) was doing her brief. He tried to get this on the agenda for future discussion but neither Ross or Lynda would agree. Theresia said there's enough money in this account for 2010 and 2011. This is an unfunded liability for the county. How much? We really don't know at this point. Ross and Lynda agreed that when they hire the new HR director, this person will be asked to come up with a solution. I'm not holding my breath. This could be a big bill for future funding and it could tick off a lot of county employees.
o The Belfair meeting with the BOCC will be held on March 30 and the two topics for discussion will be the bypass and the sewer.
o Mason Conservation District will be asked to brief the commissioners soon on the $5 each property owner has paid and is paying. The money is being held by the Treasurer awaiting a decision by the state supreme court. Question that Tim had is where do we stand on this money? The Treasurer will be asked to attend with MCD.
o Building permits are down 30 to 35 percent from 2008 but revenues for Jan and Feb have been sufficient to cover expenditures.
o The Port and the County are haggling a bit over who has jurisdiction regarding the SEPA for ADAGE. The Prosecutor's Office believes the county calls the shots.
o The issue of filling a vacancy in Emergency Management came up today and will be on the agenda tomorrow. Both Ross and Lynda agreed with the plan to fill this position with an individual from DCD. Tim said that he would hold his decision until the BOCC meets to vote on it.
o Road projects are being postponed because gas tax is coming in lower than anticipated. Apparently this is a real issue. Cars have become more energy efficient. So the County Rural Arterial Board has less tax revenue to fund projects. Four road projects have slipped. Bear Creek Dewatto II will be funded in 2012 versus 2011. Cloquallum Road slipped from 2013 to 2015. North Island Drive moved from 2014 to 2015.
o The Finance Committee will meet on March 29 at 11 am. No indication of what will be discussed at today's briefing.
o No Board of County Commissioners meeting on March 23.
There you have it.
Shelton Mason Journal (Kevan Moore) covered the briefings today.
I'm beginning to see an inverse relationship between the appearance of the sun and my blogging. You probably have less time to read also. Nevertheless, here's a quick run down.
o Department of Ecology briefed the commissioners on the options for implementing the directive from DOE on exempt well limitations in John's Creek. There are three paths they can take: an agreed order that Mason County helps to shape, a unilateral order from DOE, or a letter from the Director of Ecology. The letter from the Director of Ecology was what the county received back in 2008 and basically ignored. So the thinking is that now there needs to be something a little stronger. Under all three of these options there are significant implications for new commercial or industrial exempt well use in the Johns Creek Basin. The county commissioners were asked to provide their responses to which of three options they'd prefer by the end of March 2010.
o Accrued Leave Fund was brought up by Tim when the Auditor's office (Theresia) was doing her brief. He tried to get this on the agenda for future discussion but neither Ross or Lynda would agree. Theresia said there's enough money in this account for 2010 and 2011. This is an unfunded liability for the county. How much? We really don't know at this point. Ross and Lynda agreed that when they hire the new HR director, this person will be asked to come up with a solution. I'm not holding my breath. This could be a big bill for future funding and it could tick off a lot of county employees.
o The Belfair meeting with the BOCC will be held on March 30 and the two topics for discussion will be the bypass and the sewer.
o Mason Conservation District will be asked to brief the commissioners soon on the $5 each property owner has paid and is paying. The money is being held by the Treasurer awaiting a decision by the state supreme court. Question that Tim had is where do we stand on this money? The Treasurer will be asked to attend with MCD.
o Building permits are down 30 to 35 percent from 2008 but revenues for Jan and Feb have been sufficient to cover expenditures.
o The Port and the County are haggling a bit over who has jurisdiction regarding the SEPA for ADAGE. The Prosecutor's Office believes the county calls the shots.
o The issue of filling a vacancy in Emergency Management came up today and will be on the agenda tomorrow. Both Ross and Lynda agreed with the plan to fill this position with an individual from DCD. Tim said that he would hold his decision until the BOCC meets to vote on it.
o Road projects are being postponed because gas tax is coming in lower than anticipated. Apparently this is a real issue. Cars have become more energy efficient. So the County Rural Arterial Board has less tax revenue to fund projects. Four road projects have slipped. Bear Creek Dewatto II will be funded in 2012 versus 2011. Cloquallum Road slipped from 2013 to 2015. North Island Drive moved from 2014 to 2015.
o The Finance Committee will meet on March 29 at 11 am. No indication of what will be discussed at today's briefing.
o No Board of County Commissioners meeting on March 23.
There you have it.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
No BOCC Meetings - Mar 8 & 9
For the record there were no briefings on Mar 8 and no public meeting Mar 9.
Having just recently reviewed the county's February month-end reports, I thought now might be a good time to look at how we're doing financially in the county.
o As of February month-end we haven't had to borrow money to keep the General Fund solvent. This is the fund that runs the day to day business in the county and has been critically low on cash to cover monthly bills. So critically low that the BOCC set up a $2M line of credit in case the Treasurer didn't have enough cash on hand to pay bills. This is good news.
o Expenditures at the end of February for the General Fund are nearly 3 per cent below a straight line average. Nearly three quarters of this fund in 2010 is tagged as wages and benefits. One would expect expenditures closer to the straight line average even with just two months lapsed in the year. Could there be some flex in the General Fund budget overall? This would definitely be good news.
o Community Development revenues appear to be realistic thus far in 2010. Tim pushed hard last year to get this department's staff sized appropriately for what they are realizing in revenues. It appears this department now is right sized. Still more good news.
o The Accrued Leave Fund is a concern though. 2006 through 2009 this fund had a balance of $1M to $500K. In 2010 we have $247K. This account may be critically underfunded and just as BOCC took $186K from this account in 2009 to pay the MACECOM shortfall, we could see the reverse happening in 2010. The General Fund may need to be tapped to cover shortfalls in the Accrued Leave Fund. That wouldn't be good news.
o The Unemployment Fund had a balance over $300K in 2006 through 2009. As of February 2010 the balance in this fund is $33K. Hopefully the county won't need to downsize staff further. Perhaps $33K is enough to get through 2010 but history doesn't support this small balance.
o We still have 12 out of 13 bargaining units with no contract. How much will it cost us to settle these contracts? Granted no public official may know for sure what it is but, on the other hand, nothing was set aside in the 2010 budget to cover this unfunded bill which is looming over our heads.
o Another account to watch is the Belfair Waste Water Treatment Facility. This project alone accounts for one third of the county's total 2010 budget. The amount of budget detail provided by the county is scant at best. Having worked in the Pentagon reviewing way too many budgets from real clever program managers I've seen this behavior before and I do believe there's something amiss here. When program managers or officials become defensive when asked questions about their budget, it's often an indicator that there's a problem somewhere. When they refuse to provide details on their budget to a concerned citizen (that would be me), it makes one even more suspicious. What's up with the funding of this project?
Having just recently reviewed the county's February month-end reports, I thought now might be a good time to look at how we're doing financially in the county.
o As of February month-end we haven't had to borrow money to keep the General Fund solvent. This is the fund that runs the day to day business in the county and has been critically low on cash to cover monthly bills. So critically low that the BOCC set up a $2M line of credit in case the Treasurer didn't have enough cash on hand to pay bills. This is good news.
o Expenditures at the end of February for the General Fund are nearly 3 per cent below a straight line average. Nearly three quarters of this fund in 2010 is tagged as wages and benefits. One would expect expenditures closer to the straight line average even with just two months lapsed in the year. Could there be some flex in the General Fund budget overall? This would definitely be good news.
o Community Development revenues appear to be realistic thus far in 2010. Tim pushed hard last year to get this department's staff sized appropriately for what they are realizing in revenues. It appears this department now is right sized. Still more good news.
o The Accrued Leave Fund is a concern though. 2006 through 2009 this fund had a balance of $1M to $500K. In 2010 we have $247K. This account may be critically underfunded and just as BOCC took $186K from this account in 2009 to pay the MACECOM shortfall, we could see the reverse happening in 2010. The General Fund may need to be tapped to cover shortfalls in the Accrued Leave Fund. That wouldn't be good news.
o The Unemployment Fund had a balance over $300K in 2006 through 2009. As of February 2010 the balance in this fund is $33K. Hopefully the county won't need to downsize staff further. Perhaps $33K is enough to get through 2010 but history doesn't support this small balance.
o We still have 12 out of 13 bargaining units with no contract. How much will it cost us to settle these contracts? Granted no public official may know for sure what it is but, on the other hand, nothing was set aside in the 2010 budget to cover this unfunded bill which is looming over our heads.
o Another account to watch is the Belfair Waste Water Treatment Facility. This project alone accounts for one third of the county's total 2010 budget. The amount of budget detail provided by the county is scant at best. Having worked in the Pentagon reviewing way too many budgets from real clever program managers I've seen this behavior before and I do believe there's something amiss here. When program managers or officials become defensive when asked questions about their budget, it's often an indicator that there's a problem somewhere. When they refuse to provide details on their budget to a concerned citizen (that would be me), it makes one even more suspicious. What's up with the funding of this project?
Thursday, March 4, 2010
No Journal Coverage of the County
What's up with this?
This week's Journal had no coverage of the county.
I can think of at least three elected officials who are probably quite pleased that no reporter is looking over their shoulders.
This week's Journal had no coverage of the county.
I can think of at least three elected officials who are probably quite pleased that no reporter is looking over their shoulders.
What Leadership Looks Like
The Union Tourism Association (UTA) has proven that creative and energetic people can really make things happen. Under the leadership of Matthew Melendez Blegen the UTA took a mere $7.5K and accomplished so very much.
Here are just a few of their major accomplishments for 2009 and only $7.5K (private money - not our taxes).
o Union was named one of the top 20 prettiest towns in America by "Forbes Traveler Magazine" Oct 2009.
o A pumpkin catapult competition was a smashing success.
o A first-ever Visitor Map highlighting key tourism spots was published.
o The UTA web site "visitunion.com" was developed and launched - lots of info available here complete with a printer-friendly downloadable version of the Visitor Map.
That's just some of what they did with $7.5K in 2009. They have big plans for 2010 and I invite you to check out their website for more info. You may want to make plans to visit beautiful Union which is where Harmony Hill is located. And for all of you who've been following my blog you know by now that I'm really a big fan of Harmony Hill.
Let's get back to the issue of leadership.
Compare what Matthew and his team did with $7.5K privately donated funds to what Mason County is getting for our Lodging Tax dollars that are being sent to the Joint Tourism Board and the Visitor Information Centers managed by the two Chambers of Commerce. For 2010, 2009, and 2008 the county commissioners gave them $179K, $177K, and $174K, respectively. Of this for all three years $95K has been given to the Joint Tourism Board.
What are we getting for the $95K that we've been sending to the Joint Tourism Board year after year for website development and maintenance? I know where it's going - down a rat hole. One of the easiest ways to waste our tax dollars is through website and software development and we're seeing this repeated year after year with no oversight. Leadership is essential to make sure we're getting the best bang for the buck.
Could it be the heads of our Chambers of Commerce have no incentive to control the costs of the Joint Tourism Board?
Why would they when Commissioner Ring Erickson sits as a trustee of the Shelton Mason Chamber of Commerce?
Too much coziness going on with this small group of insiders for the Lodging Tax process to appear fair and objective to this citizen/taxpayer.
Thank you to Matthew and the Union Tourism Association for showing us what leadership should look like in Mason County. If we could replicate you, we would. Bravo!
Here are just a few of their major accomplishments for 2009 and only $7.5K (private money - not our taxes).
o Union was named one of the top 20 prettiest towns in America by "Forbes Traveler Magazine" Oct 2009.
o A pumpkin catapult competition was a smashing success.
o A first-ever Visitor Map highlighting key tourism spots was published.
o The UTA web site "visitunion.com" was developed and launched - lots of info available here complete with a printer-friendly downloadable version of the Visitor Map.
That's just some of what they did with $7.5K in 2009. They have big plans for 2010 and I invite you to check out their website for more info. You may want to make plans to visit beautiful Union which is where Harmony Hill is located. And for all of you who've been following my blog you know by now that I'm really a big fan of Harmony Hill.
Let's get back to the issue of leadership.
Compare what Matthew and his team did with $7.5K privately donated funds to what Mason County is getting for our Lodging Tax dollars that are being sent to the Joint Tourism Board and the Visitor Information Centers managed by the two Chambers of Commerce. For 2010, 2009, and 2008 the county commissioners gave them $179K, $177K, and $174K, respectively. Of this for all three years $95K has been given to the Joint Tourism Board.
What are we getting for the $95K that we've been sending to the Joint Tourism Board year after year for website development and maintenance? I know where it's going - down a rat hole. One of the easiest ways to waste our tax dollars is through website and software development and we're seeing this repeated year after year with no oversight. Leadership is essential to make sure we're getting the best bang for the buck.
Could it be the heads of our Chambers of Commerce have no incentive to control the costs of the Joint Tourism Board?
Why would they when Commissioner Ring Erickson sits as a trustee of the Shelton Mason Chamber of Commerce?
Too much coziness going on with this small group of insiders for the Lodging Tax process to appear fair and objective to this citizen/taxpayer.
Thank you to Matthew and the Union Tourism Association for showing us what leadership should look like in Mason County. If we could replicate you, we would. Bravo!
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Board of County Commissioners Meeting - Mar 2
All three of our county commissioners stayed for the entire meeting. Here's what I heard.
- There's a vacancy on the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee since Mike Carnavole resigned. Ross announced that they are looking for a new member who is involved in generating hotel/motel tax dollars.
- Mason County Parks and Trails Department Business Planning Task Force recommendations were on the consent agenda. Several members of this task force were in attendance today with Patti Case speaking for them as she summed up their work.
(I was just thinking this same task force should be asked to come up with a strategy to improve Mason County's Health Report. We could ask them to help move the county from 37 out of 39 up to say 20 out of 39 by 2020. When they finish with this assignment we could ask them to provide a vision for Mason County. Patti, could you and your team help us figure out what Mason County wants to be when all grown up?)
- Charlie Butros, Public Works Department announced that recently the county had followed up with Senators Cantwell/Murray and Representative Dicks on federal funding for the Simmons/Lynch Road.
(Someday in the hopefully not too distant future, folks who live off Lynch Road will be able to go off their high blood pressure medicine. On the downside, we won't know what to do for excitement when we stop getting that adrenalin charge as we make the life threatening left turn onto Highway 101.)
- Tim in discussing his calendar noted that there would be no Board of County Commissioners meeting on March 23 because he and Lynda would be out of town or otherwise not available. Looks like Ross is the only commissioner who is working full time during March. No commissioners meeting on March 9 or March 23.
(To get my full opinion on this please refer to my blog posting "Staff Driven" 12/19/2009.)
- Lynda mentioned that while she is in Washington DC next week she'll be teleconferencing back to the area so that she can be part of a discussion on replacing the Hood Canal Coordinating Council. This was made in passing as she discussed her maiden voyage "skyping".
- Lynda is meeting this week with Wilt Hamilton who works with ADAGE. She's working to get their answers to questions submitted by the public.
(If we've got questions, we probably need to get on them quickly so that ADAGE has time to prepare their "objective" responses to them.)
- On March 15 three panels plus the commissioners will be interviewing five candidates for the HR/Budget Director position.
- There's a vacancy on the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee since Mike Carnavole resigned. Ross announced that they are looking for a new member who is involved in generating hotel/motel tax dollars.
- Mason County Parks and Trails Department Business Planning Task Force recommendations were on the consent agenda. Several members of this task force were in attendance today with Patti Case speaking for them as she summed up their work.
(I was just thinking this same task force should be asked to come up with a strategy to improve Mason County's Health Report. We could ask them to help move the county from 37 out of 39 up to say 20 out of 39 by 2020. When they finish with this assignment we could ask them to provide a vision for Mason County. Patti, could you and your team help us figure out what Mason County wants to be when all grown up?)
- Charlie Butros, Public Works Department announced that recently the county had followed up with Senators Cantwell/Murray and Representative Dicks on federal funding for the Simmons/Lynch Road.
(Someday in the hopefully not too distant future, folks who live off Lynch Road will be able to go off their high blood pressure medicine. On the downside, we won't know what to do for excitement when we stop getting that adrenalin charge as we make the life threatening left turn onto Highway 101.)
- Tim in discussing his calendar noted that there would be no Board of County Commissioners meeting on March 23 because he and Lynda would be out of town or otherwise not available. Looks like Ross is the only commissioner who is working full time during March. No commissioners meeting on March 9 or March 23.
(To get my full opinion on this please refer to my blog posting "Staff Driven" 12/19/2009.)
- Lynda mentioned that while she is in Washington DC next week she'll be teleconferencing back to the area so that she can be part of a discussion on replacing the Hood Canal Coordinating Council. This was made in passing as she discussed her maiden voyage "skyping".
- Lynda is meeting this week with Wilt Hamilton who works with ADAGE. She's working to get their answers to questions submitted by the public.
(If we've got questions, we probably need to get on them quickly so that ADAGE has time to prepare their "objective" responses to them.)
- On March 15 three panels plus the commissioners will be interviewing five candidates for the HR/Budget Director position.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Briefings - Mar 1
Let's talk about attendance first. Ross and Tim started off the meeting at 830 AM with Lynda absent. Lynda arrived around 9 AM with Tim leaving at 930 AM. Then Lynda took a thirty minute break to make an important phone call leaving folks standing around waiting for her to come back.
No media were in attendance which may help to explain the "standing around waiting" for a commissioner to make an important phone call.
Now for the topics discussed:
1. Belfair Bypass: State Department of Transportation representatives were there again today to talk about the Proviso they are working on which will be completed by June 30, 2010. On Mar 17, (4PM to 7PM at the North Mason High School Gym) DOT will hold a town hall meeting so that members of the public can provide input. If you can't make the meeting, you can provide input by completing a public survey. Go to this website for the survey: www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/sr3/belfairbypass.
Alternatives for the Belfair Bypass are being considered by DOT. The upcoming town hall meeting on St Patty's day is your opportunity to have your say.
2. Emergency Management Staff Vacancy: An unplanned retirement of an Emergency Management staff member brought this topic to the commissioners' attention. Public Works assumed that they'd just put this on the consent agenda for the next meeting and just move along on filling this position. Greatest push back came from Tim who asked them to look at other ways of getting the job done. Tim suggested they combine the workload with other positions on the Public Works staff. Also suggested they look at doing more with less. Charlie Butros tried to wrap this discussion up by saying this will be on the consent agenda on March 15. Tim then came back with a request that before the fill of this vacant position could be approved, Public Works would need to come back in and provide more information for him.
3. Noxious Weeds: Appears the county is looking at doing an assessment on each taxable parcel in order to come up with funds to properly establish the Mason County Noxious Weed Control Board. Bob Simmons, WSU Extension said what they are looking for is a full time position to head this effort with a cadre of volunteers similar to the Master Gardener program.
(I wanted to ask Bob - "how's that Master Gardener volunteer program working and what makes you think Noxious Weeds would be any more successful in recruiting volunteers?")
Just before Tim exited stage right, he said that he needed to have all of this spelled out more completely to include budget estimates. Over the next several weeks the Noxious Weed Board will be developing scenarios to bring before the commissioners and then there will be public hearings held in May or June of this year.
Key point is that to do this assessment the county doesn't need to take a vote of the people. The Board of County Commissioners can simply decide that we will be assessed for proper funding of a Noxious Weed Board. Stay tuned on this one.
4. Advisory Groups and Conflicts of Interest:
This problem just won't go away.
Barbara Adkins, Co-Director of Community Development provided an email written by Ken VanBuskirk (private citizen and member of the Planning Advisory Committee). In the email Ken points out that the county commissioners should "take a closer look at some of the advisory committee applications and ask for disclosure statements and conflict of interest statements from all applicants and current members for all Mason County advisory committees." He went on to ask that all advisory committee members be given training in the 'appearance of fairness doctrine'.
Not much was said by Ross or Lynda. But how can someone argue with "the promotion of public confidence in the fairness of decisions by the elimination of actual bias, prejudice and improper influence or favoritism"? Kudos to Ken for bringing this forward. The ball is in the county commissioners' court.
5. Landfill: As you probably are already aware the Landfill is closed on Sundays and Mondays. But what you probably haven't heard is that the reduced hours are okay because none of us are complaining. Grumbling yes - but there are not many real complaints.
Mason County, have we heard about the squeaky wheel?
Or should we be happy the Landfill is open on Saturdays when 300 to 350 of us line up to empty our trash cans which is three times more than the number of customers Tuesday thru Friday.
Hardly any of has complained about hazardous waste being disposed of in the meager four hours allowed on Fridays down from eight hours a day five days a week. But then the absence of complaints may help to explain why there isn't much hazardous waste coming into the Landfill since the change in hours.
Mason County, where is that hazardous material going?
Practitioners of good public policy would be looking behind the data to find ways to protect our environment and support working people who don't have time to waste sitting in line on Saturdays.
6. Drag Strip in Mason County: Here's all that I heard. Lynda told Barbara Adkins (DCD) to brief Ross on the drag strip. That's it. Not sure what this means. Tim wasn't present for this.
No media were in attendance which may help to explain the "standing around waiting" for a commissioner to make an important phone call.
Now for the topics discussed:
1. Belfair Bypass: State Department of Transportation representatives were there again today to talk about the Proviso they are working on which will be completed by June 30, 2010. On Mar 17, (4PM to 7PM at the North Mason High School Gym) DOT will hold a town hall meeting so that members of the public can provide input. If you can't make the meeting, you can provide input by completing a public survey. Go to this website for the survey: www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/sr3/belfairbypass.
Alternatives for the Belfair Bypass are being considered by DOT. The upcoming town hall meeting on St Patty's day is your opportunity to have your say.
2. Emergency Management Staff Vacancy: An unplanned retirement of an Emergency Management staff member brought this topic to the commissioners' attention. Public Works assumed that they'd just put this on the consent agenda for the next meeting and just move along on filling this position. Greatest push back came from Tim who asked them to look at other ways of getting the job done. Tim suggested they combine the workload with other positions on the Public Works staff. Also suggested they look at doing more with less. Charlie Butros tried to wrap this discussion up by saying this will be on the consent agenda on March 15. Tim then came back with a request that before the fill of this vacant position could be approved, Public Works would need to come back in and provide more information for him.
3. Noxious Weeds: Appears the county is looking at doing an assessment on each taxable parcel in order to come up with funds to properly establish the Mason County Noxious Weed Control Board. Bob Simmons, WSU Extension said what they are looking for is a full time position to head this effort with a cadre of volunteers similar to the Master Gardener program.
(I wanted to ask Bob - "how's that Master Gardener volunteer program working and what makes you think Noxious Weeds would be any more successful in recruiting volunteers?")
Just before Tim exited stage right, he said that he needed to have all of this spelled out more completely to include budget estimates. Over the next several weeks the Noxious Weed Board will be developing scenarios to bring before the commissioners and then there will be public hearings held in May or June of this year.
Key point is that to do this assessment the county doesn't need to take a vote of the people. The Board of County Commissioners can simply decide that we will be assessed for proper funding of a Noxious Weed Board. Stay tuned on this one.
4. Advisory Groups and Conflicts of Interest:
This problem just won't go away.
Barbara Adkins, Co-Director of Community Development provided an email written by Ken VanBuskirk (private citizen and member of the Planning Advisory Committee). In the email Ken points out that the county commissioners should "take a closer look at some of the advisory committee applications and ask for disclosure statements and conflict of interest statements from all applicants and current members for all Mason County advisory committees." He went on to ask that all advisory committee members be given training in the 'appearance of fairness doctrine'.
Not much was said by Ross or Lynda. But how can someone argue with "the promotion of public confidence in the fairness of decisions by the elimination of actual bias, prejudice and improper influence or favoritism"? Kudos to Ken for bringing this forward. The ball is in the county commissioners' court.
5. Landfill: As you probably are already aware the Landfill is closed on Sundays and Mondays. But what you probably haven't heard is that the reduced hours are okay because none of us are complaining. Grumbling yes - but there are not many real complaints.
Mason County, have we heard about the squeaky wheel?
Or should we be happy the Landfill is open on Saturdays when 300 to 350 of us line up to empty our trash cans which is three times more than the number of customers Tuesday thru Friday.
Hardly any of has complained about hazardous waste being disposed of in the meager four hours allowed on Fridays down from eight hours a day five days a week. But then the absence of complaints may help to explain why there isn't much hazardous waste coming into the Landfill since the change in hours.
Mason County, where is that hazardous material going?
Practitioners of good public policy would be looking behind the data to find ways to protect our environment and support working people who don't have time to waste sitting in line on Saturdays.
6. Drag Strip in Mason County: Here's all that I heard. Lynda told Barbara Adkins (DCD) to brief Ross on the drag strip. That's it. Not sure what this means. Tim wasn't present for this.
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