It's impossible not to recognize the seemingly institutional dysfunction in the governing process of this county. Too many elected officials and "public servants" who are classified as department heads, middle management, and "staff," go out of their way to create problems when their main goal and purpose is to provide services to the public and solve problems when they arise. Most people don't have lofty expectations of their elected representatives. Most would settle for an adaptation of the Physician's Oath, "First, do no harm."
The Supervisors don't understand their role as elected officials. Elected officials are supposed to carry out the wishes/demands of clear majorities of constituents unless what they're asking is unlawful or totally unfeasible, neither of which are applicable with 99.9 percent of the issues they deal with. It's not the Supervisor's job to substitute their judgment for that of their constituents when those constituents overwhelmingly demand a different course of action than that contemplated by the Supervisors.
As I like to say, there really is a reason why The Great Spirit Above created us with two ears but just one mouth.
Recently, the CEO's office sent out the following press release:
"Board of Supervisors Recess—The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors will observe its annual August Recess from Aug. 1, 2024, to Aug. 30, 2024. During this period, the Board will not hold Regular Board Meetings. This annual recess, implemented in 2022, allows Clerk of the Board staff to focus on essential behind-the-scenes tasks, including records filing, completion of annually required duties, and preparation for the upcoming year. While there are no Regular Board Meetings in August, the Members of the Board of Supervisors continue to hold/attend their other regularly scheduled committee and public meetings during the August Recess."
Altogether, including the August "recess," the supervisors will not meet in formal meetings for seven weeks. However, as the press release says, they will "hold/attend their other regularly scheduled committee and public meetings during the August Recess."
A lot of folks are upset that the County is calling timeout for this "recess."
First of all, let me assure you there is no justification for the adjournment of government business to allow the "Clerk of the Board staff to focus on essential behind-the-scenes tasks, including records filing, completion of annually required duties, and preparation for the upcoming year."
Prior to the year of 2022 when this policy was first implemented by former County Executive Officer Carmel Angelo, the idea of a "recess" was unheard of. If the Clerk of the Board, who doubles as the CEO, can't manage her staff so that they are completing "essential behind-the-scenes tasks, including records filing, completion of annually required duties, and preparation for the upcoming year," the Supervisors need to find a new CEO, and perhaps a new staff, who can do their jobs and get their work done on time.
This is not a huge ask as in the past 50 years, previous Clerks of the Board and their staff never required a "recess" to do the their jobs.
Of course, during earlier decades, the Clerk of the Board was an independent position, organizationally under and reporting to the Board of Supervisors, not the CEO. As is the case with numerous governing process elements, procedures and policies were changed by the CEO, basically unchallenged by the BOS.
Now having said all of this, I'm going to tell you something.
As I've said many times before, it never concerns me when our elected representatives take time off, no matter what the reason is. A congressman is gone on a two-week paid junket to the South of France, good for him, hope he has fantastic culinary experiences and plenty of five-martini lunches.
Here's the deal.
Politics and the governing process are now so dysfunctional and unproductive, we are actually so much better off when politicians, including our Board of Supervisors, are absent from their august chambers because they are unable to make much mischief when they aren't on the clock.
You might say the more junket-sprees politicians reward themselves with, the better off we are.
***
So once again, the county is at a crossroads with numerous issues that must be addressed.
Back in 2021, the CEO and the Supes implemented a so-called "Five-Year Strategic Planning Process" that was touted as a "help guide the work of county government through 2027."
Do you have any idea of just where that much-ballyhooed strategic plan is now in the latter stages of 2024?
I know I don't have a clue and neither do the Supervisors.
Instead of talking about amorphous, indecipherable strategic plans, how about focusing on something called priorities or a fix-it list.
Here's short inventory of what needs to be accomplished and/or overhauled and fixed.
• Overhauling 5 decades of failed homeless policies and programs
• Overhauling 5 decades of failed mental health policies and programs
• Fixing the ever-deteriorating road and bridge infrastructure
• Simplifying a marijuana ordinance that is rotting like a beached whale
• Fixing 30 years of a housing shortage brought on by short-sighted and nearly non-existent affordable housing planning
There are many other items that could — and should — appear on this list, but let's keep it to a manageable work load of just five priority items for the Supes to address, and hopefully make demonstrable and verifiable progress on.
Of course, permeating the entire local governing process is that both previous and current Boards of Supervisors have functioned basically as a rubber-stamp for virtually every proposal emanating from the County Executive Officer and staff.
That dynamic must change, and the Supervisors must reassert their control over the CEO and staff who are un-elected bureaucrats whose primary role is to support elected supervisors in their duties to articulate and represent the best interests of their constituents.
That reversal of roles is without a doubt the number one item on the Supervisors' list of priorities.
Jim Shields is the Mendocino County Observer's editor and publisher, observer@pacific.net, the long-time district manager of the Laytonville County Water District, and is also chairman of the Laytonville Area Municipal Advisory Council. Listen to his radio program "This and That" every Saturday at noon on KPFN 105.1 FM, also streamed live: http://www.kpfn.org
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