HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 12141993 - IO.7 r
TO: BOARD.OF SUPERVISORS
SE. ` Contra
FROM: INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE - - ► 1 Costa
C
County
4•;♦ 40
November 22, 1993 & December 13, 1993
DATE: rTI cotii+f i
SUBJECT: STATUS REPORT ON THE APPLICABILITY TO CONTRA COSTA COUNTY OF
THE NATIONAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW REPORT ENTITLED "CREATING A
GOVERNMENT THAT WORKS BETTER AND COSTS LESS"
SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. ACCEPT this status report on the extent to which the National
Performance Review report: "Creating a Government that Works
Better and Costs Less" can be made applicable to Contra Costa
County government.
2 . AUTHORIZE the County Administrator to appoint a Committee to
Review the National Performance Review report, point by point,
over a period of not to exceed six months, and determine what
steps can and should be taken by Contra Costa County to take
advantage of and implement the concepts and recommendations
contained in the report. DIRECT that this Committee include
Supervisor Jeff Smith and at least the following Department
Heads:
The County Administrator
The District Attorney
The Assistant Personnel Director
The Director of General Services
The County Counsel
The Auditor-Controller
The Health Services Director
The Social Services Director
and such additional Department Heads or other staff as the
County Administrator wishes to add to the Committee.
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE:
-RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOA C M I EE
APPROVE OTHER ,,-
SIGNATURE S: raHT MnPEAK
t!
ACTION OF BOARD ON December 14 , 1993 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE
X_UNANIMOUS(ABSENT ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN
AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD
ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN.
ATTESTED N-Q" ,_"-� 1 ti
Contact: PHIL BATCHELOR.CLERK OF THE BOARD OF
cc. County Administrator SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
All County Department Heads (Via CAO)
ByDEPUTY
I.O.-7
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3 . CHARGE the Committee to Review the National Performance Review
report with reviewing local mandates, procedures and processes
that inhibit the ability of staff to do a good job and remove
or recommend the removal or modification of those processes or
procedures which can be removed or modified in order to
stimulate creativity, streamline government decision-making,
move decision-making to the most appropriate level and improve
the ability of local government to achieve outcomes rather
than simply compliance with processes.
4 . SPECIFY as a goal the Board of Supervisors wishes to achieve,
providing each County employee with a performance evaluation
by the end of the current fiscal year and DIRECT the Committee
to Review the National Performance Review report to establish
a process and standards by which this goal can be achieved,
not just in the current fiscal year, but as a part of an on-
going effort to establish objective, measurable, agreed-upon
performance standards by which each employee's performance
will be measured. This may include the need to direct that
appropriate meet and confer obligations be met before such a
system is implemented for represented employees.
5 . DIRECT the Committee to Review the National Performance Review
report to evaluate the feasibility of and manner in ich ne,
"time out" should be scheduled by the end o 4
another am
1994 and report its findings and recommendations back to the
Board of Supervisors.
6 . Remove this item as a referral to the Internal operations
Committee.
BACKGROUND:
On October 5, 1993, the Board of Supervisors referred to our
Committee the National Performance Review report: "Creating a
Government that Works Better and Costs Less" , and asked our
Committee to determine the extent to which the report might have
some application to Contra Costa County government.
Staff has forwarded a copy of the Executive Summary of the Report
to all County Department Heads and members of the Board of
Supervisors . At our meeting on November 22, 1993, a summary of
staff comments and comments from several Department Heads were
shared with us. This summary and comments is attached for your
information. Attending our November ' 22, 1993 meeting on this
subject were Jim Hicks, representing AFSCME Locals 512/2700;
Barbara Masters, on behalf of the Health Services Director; and
Allen Little, Chief of the Contra Costa County, Riverview, Moraga,
Orinda and West County Fire Protection Districts .
Mr. Hicks noted his disagreement with the comments of the report
and some Department Heads who felt that it was difficult to
discipline or fire an employee, even with seemingly adequate
documentation. He believes that fair, carefully documented, step-
by-step discipline will be supported by employee organizations.
He also noted that the County's leave of absence policy is not as
flexible as it might be. He also warned our Committee that
contracting out for services rather than providing them with County
employees does not always result in a savings and has other legal
problems associated with it. He also raised a question about the
meaning of a staff comment on page 6 of the staff report regarding
problems establishing a good working relationship with employee
organizations . Staff clarified that the comment was intended to
indicate that there were not the kinds of problems between
management and labor in Contra Costa County which are apparently
present in the federal government. Our Committee agreed that this
is what was intended and that this clarification should be included
in the staff summary.
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We
3-We discussed a number of ideas which we were not able to explore
fully on November 22, 1993 because of a shortage of time. These
included;
✓ We might want another employee "time-out" within the next few
months .
✓ We may want to see departments all implement some type of
Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) or Total Quality
Management {TQM} Program, such as has already been undertaken
by some departments.
✓ We may want to urge all County departments to focus on
outcomes; outcomes which must be readily quantifiable and
verifiable.
✓ We may want to have the County continue to focus on
performance-based budgeting.
✓ We may want to explore requiring that departments define who
their customer is and focus their efforts on serving their
customers .
✓ We may want to explore the need to streamline the County
budget process . One thought would be to pursue the service
integration project model and have departments present their
budgets on a program basis, rather than by the rigid
organizational lines currently followed. For instance, all
departments which participate in the Health Families 2000 -
Service Integration Project would jointly present a
consolidated budget for the Project which included elements of
the separate department budgets.
✓ In order for performance-based budgeting to be meaningful, we
may want to insure that each County employee has a performance
evaluation which is based on previously agreed-upon objective,
measurable goals and which comments on the extent to which
these goals were achieved. Each employee should have an
evaluation at least once each fiscal year. Each Department
Head should be required to provide the County Administrator
with a system for achieving such a system of performance
evaluations or an alternative system which will accomplish the
same goals of allowing an employee and supervisor to agree on
what goals an employee is going to achieve over a fixed period
of time, the quality and quantity of those goals and which
then follows-up and evaluates the employee on the extent to
which those agreed-upon goals were actually achieved.
We met again on December 13, 1993 with Phil Batchelor, County
Administrator; Gary Yancey, District Attorney; Vic Westman, County
Counsel; Art Miner, Executive Director of the Private Industry
Council; and Eileen Bitten, Assistant Personnel Director.
Mr. Batchelor suggested that he be authorized to form a Committee
of Department Heads with input from the Board of Supervisors to
review the National Performance Review report, point by point, over
a period of a few months and determine which concepts may have
application in this County and recommend steps the Board of
Supervisors should take to implement these concepts .
At the same time, Supervisor McPeak, in particular, believes that
another employee "time out" is important as a means of staying in
contact with employees and their ideas for improving the
performance of the organization. We are suggesting that this
concept be referred to the Committee for the purpose of determining
the most appropriate timing and means of implementing this
recommendation.
We also believe that each County employee should have a performance
evaluation on a regular basis. Specifically, we would like to see
each employee evaluated by the end of this fiscal year. We
recognize that there may be some legitimate "meet and confer"
requirements which must be met in order to implement such a goal .
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We believe that the Committee established above should review these
meet and confer requirements and the specific details of a process
which will achieve this goal and make recommendations to the Board
of Supervisors for its implementation.
Revised 12/2/93 - see page 6
OFFICE OF THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
C O N T R A C O S T A C O U N T Y
Administration Building
651 Pine Street, 11th Floor
Martinez, California 94553
DATE: November 18, 1993
TO: Supervisor Sunne Wright McPeak
Supervisor Jeff Smith
INTERNAL OPERATIONS OMMITTEE
FROM: Claude L. Van Mart ssistant County Administrator
SUBJECT: APPLICABILITY OF E NATIONAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW TO
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
On October 5, 1993, on your joint recommendation, the Board of
Supervisors referred to your Committee the "National Performance
Review" , which was prepared by a Task Force headed by Vice
President Al Gore. The question, as we understand it, was to
examine the extent to which the "Review" was applicable to Contra
Costa County.
We circulated the Executive Summary of the "National Performance
Review" to all department heads and to all division heads in the
County Administrator's Office, soliciting their comments on the
"Review" and the extent to which it might be applicable to Contra
Costa County. We received written comments from the following:
• Stephen L. Weir, County Clerk-Recorder
• Kenneth J. Corcoran, Auditor-Controller
• Mark Finucane, Health Services Director
• Gerald S. Buck, County Probation Officer
• Barton J. Gilbert, Director of General Services
• Gary E. Brown, Director, Office of Emergency Services
• Patricia Burke, Cable TV Franchise Administrator
The written comments from these individuals are attached for your
review.
The "National Performance Review" is organized into four chapters :
✓ Cutting Red Tape
✓ Putting Customers First
✓ Empowering Employees to get Results
✓ Cutting Back to Basics
Each chapter, in turn, is divided into several steps and includes
a number of recommendations for action at the Federal level .
Revised 12/2/93 - see page 6
Below, we comment briefly on some of the steps which have already
been taken in this County along the lines being suggested in the
"National Performance Review" . We also have identified areas in
which we think it might be worthwhile to further explore actions
which could be taken in this County which would be consistent with
and would further the same types of goals being pursued at the
Federal level .
✓ Cutting Red Tape
o Step 1: Streamlining the Budget Process
Generally, the process by which the County budget is assembled
is much simpler than, but not unlike, the process which is
apparently used to assembly the Federal budget. Once we have
a fairly solid idea of how much money will be available for
the following fiscal year, targets are given to each
department and the department prepares a budget based on those
targets.
This year, at the Board's direction and for the first time, we
undertook a process which involved organizing the County
budget by program, defining the purpose of the program, the
level of discretion the Board has over the operation of the
program, the cost of the program, and the various sources of
funding which support the program. This provided the Board of
Supervisors with the opportunity to review programs based on
the discretion the Board had over the program, the relative
amounts of County funding available in the program and to
begin to establish some priorities among competing programs .
In addition, the Board has continued a program of establishing
performance indicators for departments, thereby allowing a
comparison of a department's performance with similar
departments in other counties. This year, also at the Board' s
direction, the County Administrator has also been working with
departments to establish performance measurements which will
become a part of the evaluation of the department head.
The proposal for a two-year budget is one staff would no doubt
welcome. Substantial legislative changes would probably be
required in order to make it possible for a general law County
to actually adopt a multi-year budget, since that is not
provided for under current law. In addition, unless the State
were to do the same thing, the second year of the budget would
not effectively accomplish anything in the absence of State
appropriations . It is, however, certainly something to
consider in the future.
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Revised 12/2/93 - see page 6
t;
o Step 2 : Decentralizing Personnel Policy
We think that we have provided leadership in this area,
compared to the Federal Government. The voters approved a
substantially revised "Merit System", replacing the previous
"Civil Service" system, several years ago. The Personnel
Department has continued to provide flexibility in
classifications, including the creation of several "deep
classes" . Much of the recruitment and testing is done at the
department level, particularly for specialized classes in
larger departments.
The written comments submitted by several department heads
support the need to make it easier to discipline a public
employee. Additional work might be undertaken in this area.
We will certainly continue to explore ways in which we can
improve the personnel system without violating the basic
principles underlying public employment.
o Step 3 : Streamlining Procurement
Again, in this area, we believe that we have provided some
leadership which the Federal Government might emulate. We
have recently delegated the purchase of smaller and less
expensive items to departments. We have also negotiated
master contracts for the purchase of major items such as paper
products and computer equipment. More can no doubt be done in
this area as opportunities present themselves .
o Step 4 : Reorienting the Inspectors General
The County does not have a function which appears to parallel
the Inspector General function of Federal departments . We do
have the Internal Audit Division in the Auditor-Controller' s
Department, but their function is generally limited to
compliance with sound accounting practices which insure that
public funds are handled and accounted for in a responsible
manner. We have at times in the past when staff was more
available undertaken management audits of some departments or
functions . We hope to undertake specific management and
operational audits of some departments in the near future.
o Step 5 : Eliminating Regulatory Overkill
Recent efforts in this direction include the establishment of
an interagency inspection team in the Health Services
Department which brings together all of the local, regional
and state regulatory agencies which have jurisdiction over
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Revised 12/2/93 - see page 6
industrial firms which use hazardous materials or generate
hazardous waste to coordinate the required inspections.
The Board of Supervisors has also formed an Industrial
Advisory Committee to advise the Board on other areas in which
regulatory reform is necessary.
The Board has also supported legislative efforts to improve
and streamline the CEQA process at the State level.
o Step 6 : Empower State and Local Governments
All of the initiatives suggested in the "National Performance
Review" appear worthy of the Board's support and appear to be
consistent with positions taken in the past by the Board on
such subjects as obtaining waivers of Federal regulations,
eliminating unfunded mandates, , and providing additional
flexibility in the use of categorical funds.
✓ Putting Customers. First
o Step 1: Giving, Customers a Voice' - and a Choice
The written comments submitted by both Mr. Weir and Mr.
Finucane suggest that this is an area in which some work has
already been done, but one in which more work is clearly
needed. Mr. Gilbert notes that the General Services
Department does survey its customers (primarily other County
departments) annually, but that the lack of funds hampers his
ability to respond to some of his customers ' complaints .
Defining customer service standards might be explored in at
least some departments and programs as a part of the
development of the department' sperformance indicators .
o Step 2 : Making Service Organizations Compete
o Step 3 : Creating Market Dynamics
o Step 4 : Using Market Mechanisms to Solve. Problems
Public-private cooperation and partnerships have been a
hallmark of the Board of Supervisors ' activities for many
years . The County already utilizes a broad range of private,
non-profit agencies to operate. many of the human service
programs which are administered by the County. We also
contract out with proprietary firms for many other specialized
services . It is not clear that there are any significant
functions operated by the County-which would be subject to the
level of privatization suggested in the "National Performance
Review" . We would, of course, be happy to explore any areas
suggested by the Board. There ;are, however, some statutory
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Revised 12/2/93 - see page 6
restrictions on the extent to which the County can contract
out programs which are currently operated by County employees .
✓ Empowering Employees to Get Results
o Step 1: Decentralizing Decisionmaking Power
All County departments have been forced to reduce management
staff over the past several years. This has no doubt resulted
in some decentralization of decisionmaking, intended or not.
As Mr. Buck commented in his written submission, simply
increasing the span of control of.managers may not be the most
effective way to decentralize decisionmaking. There also is
no magic span of control that is right in all cases or for all
programs. No doubt levels of supervision will continue to be
eliminated as financial pressures demand additional
reductions . However, as is pointed out in the "National
Performance Review" , changing the entire culture of a
government agency is much more difficult than eliminating a
few regulations. Further thought and planning certainly needs
to go into this area if we are to pursue it.
o Step 2 : Hold All Federal Employees Accountable for Results
Many of the recommendations made in this area have been
undertaken by the County. Specifically, the Board has
directed that departments develop measurable objectives and
make these a part of the performance evaluation of each
department head.
More attention probably needs to be given to clarifying the
objectives of programs operated by the County, although the
"Purpose" statements provided in the May 25, 1993 Program
Budget provide an excellent base for this effort. Providing
recognition of excellence and quality in County programs is
something the Board of Supervisors has done for a number of
years .
o Step 3 : Give Federal Workers the Tools They Need to do Their
Jobs
The emphasis here is on insuring that employees have adequate
training and equipment to do their jobs and that managers have
adequate information systems to allow them to do their jobs .
The County has provided a very real emphasis on training
through the Training Institute. There has been a revolution
in the increased use of computers and computer systems and in
the decentralization of data processing systems to the
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Revised 12/2/93 - see page 6
departmental level. While more can always be done in this
area, we believe that a great deal has been accomplished in
the last few years and will continue to be upgraded in the
future.
o Step 4 : Enhance the Quality of Worklife
Under the leadership of the Board of Supervisors, the County
has done a great deal in the area of making employment with
Contra Costa County "family-friendly" . Leave of absence
policies, the use of sick leave and vacation, flexible working
hours, and increased use of part-time positions have all
contributed greatly to a "family-friendly" work environment.
The Board's emphasis on affirmative action has provided
substantial progress in this area. Some of the comments made
by department heads point out that affirmative action runs the
danger of becoming a bureaucracy of its own with too many
forms, procedures and statistics. We need to insure that we
are focussing on results and not on process in trying to
improve our already excellent affirmative action program.
o Step 5 : Form a Labor-Management Partnership
We do not sense that this the level of mistrust and
controversy which is apparently the case in the federal
government is a significant issue in Contra Costa County
government, although we would be happy to explore any areas
where concerns are expressed.
o Step 6 : Exert Leadership
We believe that the exploration of the "National Performance
Review" by the Internal Operations Committee and the Board of
Supervisors will accomplish this expression of leadership.
✓ Cutting Back to Basics
o Step 1 : Eliminate What We Don't Need
The County appears to be well ahead of the Federal Government
in this area, although constant vigilance is needed to insure
that we do not continue practices or programs which are
outdated or unnecessary.
o Step 2 : Collecting More
Here again, the County seems to be well ahead of the Federal
Government. In the area of collecting debt owed to the
County, substantial progress has been made with the
establishment of the Office of Revenue Collection. User fees
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Revised 12/2/93 see page 6
are raised as costs increase. A major study completed last
year identified areas in which we have authority to raise user
fees to cover more of the actual cost of the services being
provided. The Board of Supervisors has increased fees in a
number of areas where such increases were justified.
0 Step 3: Investing in Greater Productivity
Again, the establishment some years ago of the Productivity
Investment Fund has allowed some very innovative projects to
be funded. In each case, the savings from the project
reimburse the Productivity Investment Fund so the funds can be
used over and over again.
0 Step 4: Re-engineer Programs to Cut Costs
It may be worthwhile to explore whether there are additional
areas in which the concept of electronic government could be
explored. A number of departments have improved their use of
electronics in the past few years, but this is certainly an
area that might be explored in further detail.
CLVM:amb
vanll-42-93
Attachments
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S_E.L
Contra °. Personnel Department
VlJsta _ Administration Bldg.
n ,•S
651 Pine Street
�.. 4 Martinez, California 94553-1292
y County
JJ
DATE: December 10, 1993 n•
t
TO: Internal Operations Committee
r�J
FROM: Eileen K. Bitten, Acting Director of PersonneYC,
SUBJECT: Comments Regarding "Creating a Government That Works Better and
Costs Less"
To meet the challenge of providing the best service we can with limited staff resources, the
Personnel Department has restructured its work and increased automation efforts to allow
for the most efficient use of staff resources and funds available for the implementation of
personnel programs.
The Personnel Department has increased its utilization of line department resources by
implementing work planning and contracting systems with departments to aid in maximizing
our utilization of staff resources. Also,we are increasing the number of departments who
have delegated authority to conduct their own.examinations and process salary review
documents. For example, the Sheriffs Department conducts all phases of the Deputy
Sheriff exam under the policy direction of Personnel Department staff. With increased
delegation, we have focused our efforts in providing Gear guidelines and training to
departments to insure consistent application and interpretation of personnel management
rules and regulations.
We are currently working towards installing a PC based applicant tracking system which,
in addition to allowing for better utilization of remaining staff and increasing productivity, will
reduce the number of hours spent processing examination related documents. The new
system will also permit departments greater access to the examination and certification
processes and information. This will facilitate and streamline the hiring processes while
insuring compliance with applicable policies and legal requirements.
We will also conduct training programs on disciplinary/termination policies and procedures
in an effort to assist departments in dealing with disciplinary actions. These policies and
procedures have been complicated by the myriad of regulations brought on by federal and
state laws and court decisions impacting the personnel arena.
• �s V
Internal Operations Committee
Page 2
December 10, 1993
The Personnel Department continues to identify areas where personnel policy and practice
can be streamlined and has for some time supported the delegation (under the policy
direction of the Personnel Department) of all or parts of exam processes to departments to
assist them in effectively meeting their human resource needs.
EKB
1 CONTRA COSTA COUNTY '
RECEIVED
i
OCT 1 8199x3
MEMO TO: Claude Van Marter OFFICE OF
FROM: Steve WeirCOU_NTYADMINISTRATOR
RE: Reaction to "Creating A v. . . . "
DATE: October 14, 1993
Introduction, page 2. I agree with the four key principles. I
will comment further as they are addressed in the four chapters.
Cutting Red Tape: Budget Process ; I prepare the budget for my
department. With no disrespect to any of the players, it is a
drain on my time to have to jump through hoops to produce a
budget, get it approved and then fight like hell to execute that
budget. I recognize the severe budget situation for the County,
however, it' s a fight/negotiation to fill vacant/funded
positions.
I do support having some sort of bonus fund to reward cost
savings/money generating. - ideas that are developed and
implemented.
Decentralizing Personnel Policy: I do not feel that our
centralized personnel rules and the MOU' s are designed with the
implementing departments in mind. I agree that agencies should
be allowed to design their own performance systems. Personnel
should be available to help. It would be of great use if the
County could set up broad and well thought out guidelines for
employee review procedures. I also agree that it is almost a
herculean effort to discipline a problem employee and I can
understand how a department can fall into the pattern of simply
accommodating problem employees. The process of eliminating even
one poor performer tears a department apart and pits many parties
against each other . County, for some reason, political I fear ,
will not face the performance monster head on. Instead, a
department is left to tackle the issue without guidance. Any
implementing agency is going to come under direct attack by
employee organizations who do not want this ."toe in the door" .
Within our Department, we have faced unparalleled challenges in
the way we deliver service to our counter customers and to our
Superior Court Judges. Allow me two examples. First, we have
reorganized our windows so that we can accommodate seven open
windows for filing documents where we had only four in the past.
In addition, our new system has clerks at each window, even when
they are closed. So, if a line develops, we can open another
window with a minimum of effort and without having to move staff .
Second, late last year , we agreed to take on an aggressive
criminal coordination program with the Municipal Courts. The
County Clerk took on approximately 120 hours of extra work per
week so that much of the duplicate efforts by the Muni Court
could be eliminated. The program has been extremely successful .
Unfortunately, the Clerk' s Office was not allocated any
additional staff . The Clerk' s Office drastically modified its
work produce, that is the minute order which is the official
action of the court. We use to produce well written and some say
beautiful minute orders. However, the real work product of the
Court is the administration .of justice. Both the Bench and the
Clerk' s Office swallowed hard and agreed to produce a much
streamlined and brief minute order process. We' re cutting our
own red tape.
Putting Customers First : One of the most surprising issues I
encountered upon taking the position of County Clerk was the
attitude of some of my key staff members that we were the only
game in town and that customers were here to serve our needs.
Some aggressive education/discipline convinced my staff that we
are here to serve our customers (those who consume our product) .
Customers of the Clerk' s Office include the Superior Court Bench,
the Bar members and the general public. We are here to serve
them. Some members of the union believe that we need to be
organized for the convenience of our workers in terms of hours of
operation and accommodating the needs of the Superior Court. I
attempt to investigate every public/customer complaint. If the
public is right, I will so acknowledge. If they are not right, I
will politely as possible, explain (or try to explain) my
perspective and that of my employees.
The public usually has valid feelings when, for instance, they
are frustrated with how to access our process. A valid solution
is to hear people out, try to separate emotion/frustration with
some sort of either an explanation as to why things have to be
done in a certain way or modify process/explanations so that the
public/customer can more easily operate, say, the Fictitious
Business Name computer index.
In terms of competition and market dynamics, the Clerk/Recorder' s
staff is keen on developing business opportunities with our
customers . When we understand the needs of our customers, we are
better able to suggest ways to ease their burden and in so doing,
create a financial opportunity for the County. We have done this
several times with giving computer access and data base tape
availability. Our research unit, which simply (or not so simply)
provides copies of court documents to customers. An enterprising
acting supervisor has come up with several ideas to sell data and
in so doing, makes research easier for all concerned and has
generated literally tens of thousands of dollars ! The Election
Division continues to explore ways of providing data to
interested parties for a fee. The Recorder ' s Office is about to
propose an imaging system that will provide additional revenues
from title companies and ultimately, may give phone access via
900 numbers for copies of vital records.
Empowering Employees to Get Results : A grand jury report on the
Clerk' s Office in 1988 was critical of the practice of not giving
line employees authority to resolve problems . We try not to have
a manual for every circumstance, we try to allow employees to
worms: out problems with supervisors/managers available for tough
problems . Each division of the Clerk' s Office is permitted. to
structure it' s own needs and solutions. It would be helpful if
we could be allowed to achieve stated County goals through our
own means. As an example, the County has an Affirmative Action
process. It is burdened with forms, meeting, questionnaire and
paper. If a department is achieving stated County goals, a
department ought to be free of the paper trail monster. It is
not my desire to single out the Affirmative Action process. The
State of California, in it' s desire to standardize the trial
courts, paper the respective courts with questionnaires, forms
and reports. One wonders who is serving whom.
Cutting Back to Basics : Some of my employees feel that we are a
cash cow for the county/other agencies and that we are recognized
for that effort. I would agree, but only in part. I found the
Clerk' s Office under staffed and neglected. After four years,
even in not so good of times, I believe that the central
administration has attempted to support the Clerk' s Office.
One process that may help define what is basic is the way in
which the County processes its paper. We are just now exploring
the organization of paper for inactive storage. If County
Departments recognize the need to eliminate duplicate records,
obsolete records and even consider a new medium for storage, we
might more easily perform our functions. That is to say, we may
need to look at what our data is supposed to be and not allow
paper to control our daily functions. What is it that is unique
that government provides? We think that a primary function of
government is to collect data from our various customers and
package that data in such a way as to make it attractive for
those very same customers to purchase that data in a convenient
format . Let me give an example. We collect property transfer
information, we collect judgments, we collect marriage
certificates. We can provide copies of this data in actual paper
form and sell it at a per page cost. We do this. We also
capture that data in a data base. People are interested in that
format and are willing to buy that data.. So, we are not
basically collecting our customers documents and reproducing an
exact image for a fee. We have search capacity in our data base.
We sell access to that data. We can provide specific searches .
Our basics in much of the Clerk' s Office is keeping official
records. However, our basic function is not the actual document
but the data we collect. Let me tell you, our customers are
hungry for a better package and more useful package of data and
they are willing to pay the bill . As another example, where we
use to provide microfilm to title companies as well as an index
for their own plant, they are ready, willing and able to pay for
not only this, but for an image of the document on electronic
discs .
Inherent in all of this is the following : If , in fact, we are
able to streamline and innovate, one would have to believe that
at some point, we would be reducing per item costs and not
increasing those costs. The Recorder ' s Office has been so
successful in raising monies, it is generating a large surplus
1;
annually. If you are keeping your customers first and trying to
run a market system, you must ultimately face the reality of rate
reductions. Can you imagine what the reaction would be at this
time if I were to suggest a rate reduction?
In conclusion: I believe that there are many positive points in
the paper. The Board may have to face giving up control to
departments that are able to meet broad policy directives. While
we might be willing to entertain fanciful notions about change,
it may involve sacred cows from all sides. I believe that the
best innovation occurs either by: genius willing to chip away at
a problem like inventing the incandescent light bulb or telephone
or through great upheaval and crisis where the old. saying
"necessity is the mother of invention" governs. Maybe the two
innovative forces can be brought together, yes we have a crisis
and yes, hopefully we have people willing to chip away at the
problems. Are we willing to reward risk takers? Politics is not
know as a fertile field for risk takers.
Office of
COUNTY AUDITOR-CONTROLLER
Contra Costa County
1 Martinez, California
November 1, 1993
TO: C. L. Van Marter, Assistant County Administrator
FROM: Kenneth J. Corcoran, Auditor-Controller
SUBJECT: Comments re: "Creating a Government That Works Better and Costs Less"
Your October 7, 1993 memo requested each department to respond to the subject
report. Elizabeth Verigin, the personnel and budget officer in my office, provided me with her
comments on the subject and I have attached her memo for your review. Basically, I agree with all of
Elizabeth's comments with the exception of number 9. I continue to believe that our elected
department heads should be allowed to carry out the mandates of their constituents, which may or may
not be consistent with the trail being blazed by the Board of Supervisors.
KJC:pm
AC93-133
Attachment
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
RECEIVED
n�nu
2 199Q
OFFICE OF
COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
Office of
COUNTY AUDITOR-CONTROLLER
Contra Costa County
Martinez, California
1, November 1, 1993
TO: Kenneth Corcoran, Auditor-Controller
FROM: Elizabeth Verigin, ASA IIIA i
SUBJECT: Comments on Creating a Government that,Works Better and Costs Less
As you probably would guess I found the Clinton Administration Report very interesting and exciting
but I have some comments and suggestions that I would like to share.
1. A great deal of research and planning must occur for the concepts in the Report to work in our
County. The Board will have to realize this is a long-term commitment. For example, a true
performance-based budget is not developed in one week.
2. Leadership needs to completely buy in. The entire County must participate and the CAO and
department heads must be the leaders.
3. Managers need to buy in and be thoroughly trained.
4. Employees need to buy in and must be trained.
5. Labor and management must work together and labor must be involved up front.
6. A team should be established to research other models and attend conferences on subject. There
currently are groups that meet to discuss quality approach (problems, successes, etc.)
6. All negative aspects and possible reasons why it would fail need to be addressed up front.
7. County needs to realize this is a very long-term project that requires much planning.
8. Funds need to be allocated for training, consultants, etc.
9. Each department should have flexibility to modify concepts to fit its environment; however, all
departments must be required to participate and all managers and employees should thoroughly
understand concepts and act and perform accordingly.
Our department has researched this concept and hag made an attempt to establish a couple of pilot
teams; however, does not really work because training has been limited due to budget constraints,
concepts are not fully understood, buy in has not occurred and the entire County is not participating.
I feel that many of the issues addressed in the report are applicable to Contra Costa County(i.e.,
budget, procurement, grant monies, customer service, etc.) but that these issues (processes) should
not be addressed until the concept of quality and reinventing government is fully understood. Once
again, long-term planning and extensive training is needed.
This approach is a very new way of thinking and doing business and as I have learned change takes
knowledge, time, courage and the ability to deal with frustration and failure.
F, - ez
tQC1 , —17-93 4iEIa 13 : 48 Ii It AI MIt1
Contra Costa county
The Board of Supervisors HEALTH SERVICES DEPARTMENT OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR
Tom powers,1st District Mark Finucane,Director
IrrSmith,2nd District
le Bishop,3rd District 20 Allen Street
silln"ne Wright MoPeak,4th district Martinez,California 94553-3191
Torn Torlakson,5th District (510)370-5003
FAX(510)370-5098
County Administrator f
Phil Batchelor
County Administrator
DXrE: November 15, 1993
TO: Claude L. Van Marter
Assistant County Administration
FROM: Mark Finticane
Health Services Director
SUBJECT: APPLICABILITY TO CONTRA COSTA COUNTY OF SOME OF THE
PRINCEPLES AND RECOMMENDATIONS INCLUDED IN"CREATING
A GOVERNMENT THAT WORKS BETTER AND COSTS LESS"
There are a number of steps outlined in the Executive Sunimary that I believe are
applicable to local government and, in particular, Contra Costa. One of the main themes
of the report is to put the customer first. Creating more patient-driven care has been a
recent trend in the health care field as well. Some of the recommendations in the report
dovetail well with our goal of enhancing the patient focus of our health care system.
I've highlighted below some of,the recommendations that I believe are directly applicable
to Contra Costa County and the Health Services Department.
Chapter I
Step 5:Eliminating Regulatory Overkill--"improve interagency coordination or regulations"
As you know,more than a year ago,we began a process to coordinate our regulatory review
of industry with the other major agencies that operate in this county. Last week,we piloted
the first multijurisdictional inspection in which 7 local, regional,state and federal agencies
participated. We believe this process will improve the comprehensiveness of our inspections
as well as streamline them for industry. Specifically,we hope to identify areas of duplication
in laws and regulations that could be corrected through legislative or adininistrative action.
The Internal Operations Committee recently recommended that the Board urge the
legislative and congressional delegations to take additional. steps to improve and integrate
Mo.erltbcw Manurial HosprftP 6 Climer Public htm)llh * Nfen!al I fealth - Sjkulance Abu." Environmental Heatith
Contra rxi.4,3 HaWlh Ilan 13--liaifim
A-345 (2193)
"6V-17-93 WEI? 13 : 49 HSD ADMIM P - E}3
the oversight by all levels of government of those firms which manufacture or use hazardous
materials.
' Although we are piloting this process with specific regard to hazardous materials regulations,
there may be other regulatory arenas,i.e.transportation, that the County participates in with
other state and federal agencies that could also begin to develop a more coordinated
approach.
Step 6: Empower State and Local Government -- "Congress should allow slates and
localities to consolidate separate grant programs from the bottom up;localities would have
the authority to mix funding from diMrent programs without Washington's approval when
combining grants smaller than $10 million each"
We are in the process of developing a grant application to establish a Family Maintenance
Organization. Using HMO principles, such as capitated rates, the FMO seeks to create a
more efficient,effective and humane way to assist families with multiple needs which require
substantial public resources to address, including health and social services that may cross
agency boundaries. Critical to the success of the project will be the ability to"decategorize"
and pool funds across programs and agencies.
Likewise, the HSD is actively participating in an interagency effort to receive assistance
under the state Policy Academy program. The proposal also depends significantly on
consolidating funding.
We recommend that the Board urge the State to allow us to consolidate separate funding
programs as well as recommend that the Board review our own discretionary accounts with
the same goal -- flexibility to pool all resources for the FMO or other similar type of pilot
projects.
ha ter 2
Step I.: Giving Customers a Voice -- and a Choice -- "All federal agencies that deliver
services to the public should identify and survey customers, and provide customer service
equal to the best in business"
I believe this is the most critical issue to address. We must reorient our thinking about how
we provide services to put into place practices and incentives to truly respond to our
"customers" needs.
In health care, as I mentioned above, this is essential as the move toward managed
competition will drive us all to be more consumer oriented. As a participant in the
Picker/Commonwealth Patient-Centered Care Quality Improvement project,we developed
a survey for our hospital patients and will be coming out with a similar survey for our clinics.
We are also developing a proposal for a women's health survey to find out how well we're
meeting women's concerns. We will be looking at other opportunities for sun7eying our
client population. I think surveys are a relatively easy and inexpensive means to determine
how well we're doing and could be applied to all departments that serve the public.
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
Probation Department Contra RECEIVED Gerald S.Buck
County Probation Officer
Administrative Offices Costa
50 Douglas Drive,Suite 201 J ��'T 3 I
Martinez,California 94553-8500 County
(510)ttp13-4180
(510)313-4191 FAX OFFICE OF
?� COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
To: Claude L. Van Marter Date:
. � ^ :4 10/12/93
Asst. County Administrator
ST'S FOU N'�`
From: Subject:
Gerald S. Buck, Better Government/
Count Probation Officer Less Cost
I 've reviewed Vice President Gore's report (Executive Summary)
and am responding to your invitation to identify thoughts in the
report which might have applicability to .Contra Costa County.
Chapter 1 - Cutting Red Tape
1 . Budget Process
* Institute Biennial Budgets .
I know this has been discussed, but if it could 'be done at
the County level there would be a lot of energy, time and
cost saved.
* Allow Roll Over of 50% of Fund Balance by Departments .
This would provide a real incentive to departments to be
cost efficient and cost effective and to vigorously pursue
all revenue sources .
2 . Decentralization of Personnel Policy
* Simplify Classification System.
More flexibility at department level might allow tasks to
get done effectively rather than searching for a
classification to fit the task.
* Reduce by half the time required to terminate employees
for cause and improve the system for dealing with poor
performers .
Amen! The system now has given employees so many rights
and avenues of appeal that management is left ineffectual
in correcting poor performance or ridding the service of
bad employees .
C. L. Van Marter - 2 - 10/12/93
t,
3 . Procurement
* Rely more on the commercial market place.
We still often find we can -make retail purchases of the
same or similar products at lesser costs than County
purchasing.
Chapter 3 - Empowering Employees to .Get Results
1 . Decentralizing Decision Making Power
* It is suggested that supervisorial spans of control double
from 1 : 7 to 1: 15 . I do not agree that this is a way to
make government work better. Decision making can be
lowered and should be in certain functions, but it does
not follow, in my view, that this will allow a doubling of
span of control . Span of control needs to vary based upon
the function, but I believe that one above 1 : 10 tends to
reach a level wherein management doesn't even know what ' s
going on, let alone how to make things go better.
2 . Accountability for Results
* Measurable criteria assessing effectiveness of an
individual or an organizational unit is needed throughout
government service.
* Clarification of objectives in terms easily understood by
the general community is needed at all government levels .
* Hold top management accountable and recognize outstanding
performance.
Use of "Baldridge Awards" for quality in Federal
Government sounds like a good idea. We need something
like this in County Government at the local level .
3 . Give Workers The Tools They Need
* I concur we should not cut training in times of fiscal
stress .
* I also agree that information technology needs greater
use and application in government. I 'd add that all
technological tools available need to be used if
government is going to be more effective.
C. L. Van Marter - 3 - 10/12/93
4 . Enhance the
Quality of Worklife
* It 's interesting that this step is so sparse, yet is so
important to the effectiveness and vitality of government.
The U. S. Postal Service is an example of the worst kind
of "worklife" .
The suggestion of doing away with time sheets and time
cards seems a shallow solution to a major problem here.
* Too much freedom on when to work has severely limited
County Departments ' ability to produce service. 4/10 work
weeks are great for employees, but services on Fridays and
Mondays almost cease to exist. This, coupled with
generous vacation, sick leave, etc. , has produced a work
force that is simply not available to deliver services
much of the time. It is very costly and resented by
workers in the private sector.
Chapter 4 - Cutting Back to Basics
1 . Eliminate What We Don't Need
While the common cry is we've cut back to bare bones in the
County, there remain several pockets of cost which carry
popular or special interest support which seemingly make
these non-basic functions invulnerable to cut or
elimination. I suppose that is a fact of life in
Government. A true cutting back to basics will always leave
a few "pet" projects in place.
2 . Collecting More
I think we do well in this area. User fees have reached the
limit. Fraud remains a problem in some areas, I suspect, as
does collecting debt (e.g. , child support, fines and
penalties) .
3 . Investing in Greater Productivity
* Allow departments to budget innovation accounts or funds
perhaps via fund balances so that good ideas can be tried
and tested.
GSB:ds
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY
GENERAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT RECEIVED
1220 Morello Avenue, Suite 20
Martinez, California 94553-471
Extension 3-7100NOV 1 61
OFFICE OF
COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
DATE: November 15, 1993
TO: Claude L. Van Marr, As ' stant County Administrator
FROM: Barton J. Gilbert, irect r o eneral Services
SUBJECT: Vice President Gore's Report on Creating a Government
That Works Better and Costs Less
A review of the subject report reveals that a considerable number
of the suggestions are applicable to Contra Costa County. It is
extremely interesting to note how many of the suggestions already
have been implemented by the County, such as developing and using
measurable objectives and reporting results .
Also, we have made changes which coincide with the suggestions
under the Streamlining of Procurement section of the report. We
recently increased and simplified processes under the Uniform Cost
Accounting Act and with the establishment of the Warrant Request
purchasing procedure.
In the area of putting customers first, our Department currently
surveys our customers annually. However, lack of funds limits our
ability to react to many requests for service.
In conclusion, I believe that a number of the recommendations have
applicability to the County. As we are compelled to operate a
governmental structure with less money, it is imperative that we
make some changes in the way the County does business .
BJG:dcg
I CONTRA COSTA COUti i'
RECEIVED
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY NnV 15
OFFICE OF EMERGENCY SERVICES I.ggj
�+ 50 GLACIER DRIVE MARTINEZ, CALIFORN A 945 3
Tel. (510) 646-4461 Fax. (510) 64 -1120
1 OFFICE OF
November 10, 1993 1 COUNTY ADMINISIr.
To: Clau Van _Ngr
ter, Assistant County Administrator
From: Gary B r(� ire r
Subject: Creating a Government That Works Better and Costs Less
This is in response to your October 7, 1993 memorandum requesting
recommendations on how we might streamline or improve government
operations. The Board of Supervisors has specifically expressed
interest in how certain county services could be jointly
administered with other jurisdictions that have similar services.
It is certainly no secret that the cities and the county have been
and are at odds with each other over many issues including the
siting of sanitary landfills, congestion management, land use, etc.
However, one area where it is to our advantage to work together is
emergency management. Disasters do not respect political
boundaries. The disasters we have experienced in Contra Costa
County as well as the ones we have seen occur in other parts of the
state have, invariably, affected several public jurisdictions and
involved the need for a coordinated response from multiple
agencies. The General Chemical Company hazardous material release
hich occurred on July 26, 1993 originated in the City of Richmond
but eventually affected several other cities, major unincorporated
areas and another county (Solano) .
The County Office of Emergency Services staff has been reduced from
nine positions to four positions over the last couple of years, as
the result of severe budget reductions. Cities within the county
are also having budget problems and their ability to perform
disaster planning has been hampered. In most cases the
responsibility for disaster planning in a city is given to an
employee as an additional assignment to his/her regular job.
Recent disasters remind us that we are not immune and it is just a
atter of time before we will have to deal with an incident that
ill overwhelm our resources and severely test our disaster
preparedness plans.
Why not establish a county-wide disaster preparedness organization
which works with all local government jurisdictions within the
county? For example, a county-wide joint powers agency could be
established to carry out disaster planning, Emergency Operations
Center staff training, disaster exercises , disaster public
I
I
I
I
I
i
information, mutual aid agreements, etc. , on behalf of all agency
members. Such an arrangement exists in at least two other
California counties, San Mateo' and San Diego. In those cases, the
county serves as the "lead agency" and provides staff services to
the county and all of the cities. Member agencies support the
joint powers agency via contributions based on the population and
assessed valuation of each ofIthe participating jurisdictions.
A county-wide agency would be able to provide disaster planning
services to all participating !agencies without each agency having
to devote their staff time to this effort. Economies of scale
would be realized. A central staff of full-time disaster planners
would be more efficient than each agency devoting part of an
employee to this function. jUniformity in disaster plans would
result. Day-to-day communications and relationships which would
evolve between the central staff and the participating agencies
would improve inter-jurisdiction coordination at the time of a
disaster. Participating agencies could include special districts
as well as the county and cities.
Simply put, many jurisdictions could pool their resources to fund
a staff of professional disaster planners who could work with all
such jurisdictions to develop plans and conduct training and
exercises which would benefit all jurisdictions. Such an
arrangement would assure that all jurisdictions have an adequate
minimum level of disaster preparedness, whereas some of these
jurisdictions may not be able to afford to develop such level of
preparedness on their own.
GB:af
OFFICE OF THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
C O N T R A C O S T A C O U N T Y
Administration Building
651 Pine Street, 11th Floor
Martinez, California 94553
DATE: November 12, 1993
TO: Claude Van Marter, Assistant County Administrator
FROM: Patricia Burkol—imanagement Analyst
SUBJECT: COMMENTS ON REVIEW OF EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF "CREATING A
GOVERNMENT THAT WORKS BETTER AND COSTS LESS"
Most of my comments will be based on ways to use and whether to use
some of the suggestions in this report for implementation by the
County.
CHAPTER 1
Step 1 The idea of rolling over 50% of what an agency does not
spend in their budget could motivate departments to be
more efficient. Roll overs might be dependent on the
department' s proposed plan to use the funds to implement
further savings or efficiencies .
Step 2 Decentralization of Personnel could provide the potential
for more subjective hiring decisions and may increase
affirmative action issues . However, more accurate job
descriptions and enforcement of current disciplinary
policies may eliminate some of the problems experienced
by the county.
Step 3 Streamlining the purchasing process would definitely be
an asset. Recent changes for payment for training as
well as the use of vouchers for air travel and car rental
is an improvement. Requiring purchases over a certain
amount to be reviewed and sent out to bid is appropriate
if the purchase is significant. That dollar figure could
be determined by a review of the overall cost of
purchases by various county departments . May be different
than federal figure of $100,000 .
Step 4 Conducting management audits with a focus toward
t, assisting departments to improve efficiency and
effectiveness as well as to determine their needs as a
department may increase the overall effectiveness of the
county. This type of internal audit may be used in
connection with the development of a strategic plan for
the County.
Step 5 Eliminating regulatory overkill is essential both between
external agencies and within the county. A review of the
reasons for regulations that are in place as well as the
regulations themselves might reveal some inconsistencies
and provide an opportunity to eliminate some unnecessary
regulations. Getting input from those regulated is
sometimes eye opening.
Step 6 Supporting the empowerment of local governments may
provide the flexibility counties need to serve their
citizens . Preventing the federal government and finally
the state government from imposing unfunded mandates
would be beneficial to the county.
CHAPTER 2
Putting the customer first is important. Checking to see how
we are doing is a good idea. Opportunities should be provided
for citizens to fill out a short form to let us know how we
are doing much like businesses use. Some focus groups could
be conducted with those who call or come in to county agencies
regularly. The first contact a citizen has with a department
gives them an impression of county government. I am not sure
this first impression is always a positive one.
CHAPTER 3
Empowering employees by providing training and flexible work
schedules as well as offering telecommuting opportunities is
important. Studies show that employees are more productive
when they have some control over the balance between family
and work. Recognition of departments and employees that
exceed some established criteria for working "smarter" not
longer and harder motivates employees .
Being committed to caring for ones employees will provide them
with the incentive to project that care to the citizens they
serve and to support the county with their increased loyalty
and productivity. Quality services can not be provided
without quality employees no matter how much money an
organization has .
-2-
CHAPTER 4
k Cutting back to basics suggest some options that the county
has already been implementing, such as the productivity
investment projects and the fee study. By continuing to
evaluate services and programs and eliminate duplication as we
are doing, the county should become leaner and more efficient.
The report was asked to focus on how government should work not
what is should do. It seems to me it might be better to decide in
the form of a mission statement just what the county should do in
order to determine how it should work to accomplish our mission.
The expectation currently seems to be that we can be all things to
all people. There is neither enough money nor staff to do this .
Thanks for the opportunity to comment on this report.
PB:amb
reinvent.mem
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