MINUTES OF THE INFORMAL MEETING OF THE JOHNSON COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS:

STRATEGIC PLANNING WORK SESSION WITH DEPARTMENT HEADS

NOVEMBER 3, 1997

Timothy Shields, Director of the University of Iowa Institute of Public Affairs, called the meeting to order at the Highlander Inn Restaurant and Convention Center, Iowa City, IA at 8:35 a.m. Supervisors present were: Joseph Bolkcom, Jonathan Jordahl, and Sally Stutsman; Charles Duffy arrived at 9:38 a.m. Absent was Stephen Lacina. Department heads present were: County Ambulance Director Mike Sullivan, County Assessor Jerry Musser, County Attorney Pat White, County Auditor Tom Slockett, County Engineer Mike Gardner, County Recorder Deborah Conger, County Sheriff Robert Carpenter, County Treasurer Cletus Redlinger, Disaster Services Director Jim McGinley, Information Services Director Jean Schultz, Mental Health/Developmental Disabilities Director Craig Mosher, Physical Plant Director Pat Langenberg, Planning and Zoning Administrator Rick Dvorak, Public Health Director Graham Dameron, and Interim SEATS Director Burnell Chadek. Staff present were: Board of Supervisors Administrative Assistant Carol Peters, Sheriff's Department Captain Duane Lewis, and Auditor's Office Recording Secretary John Deeth. Department of Human Services Area Administrator Cheryl Whitney joined the meeting after the beginning.

Shields said his role was primarily to serve as an independent facilitator, and his observations were based on experience in working with other Iowa local governments. He acknowledged that, as an Iowa City resident, he did have a personal stake in County government, but he could accept this professional challenge. Shields said that, for purposes of the session, "long range planning" would be defined as a 3 to 10 year period (slightly longer for physical facilities). This time frame has shortened in recent years, since rapid changes in the economy and technology have made it harder to predict the future. "Short range planning" would be defined as a 2-year time frame, equivalent to the life cycle of most city councils or Boards of Supervisors.

Shields asked the department heads to identify the major accomplishments of their departments over the past 18 to 24 months. Mental Health/Developmental Disabilities Director Craig Mosher said the Mental Health/Developmental Disabilities department had been established, and his department had switched to fee-for-service for many county mental health programs. Disaster Services Director Jim McGinley said there has been substantial training of emergency personnel, and he had raised funds from federal, state, and private sources. County Treasurer Cletus Redlinger said his department was continuing to upgrade property tax collection, and Information Services had been very helpful. Information Services Director Jean Schultz said there have been commitments to the county networking plan for interconnecting departments and buildings. Public Health Director Graham Dameron said there had been a stable computerization of the department. Physical Plant Director Pat Langenberg said his department had set up additional storage space for the courthouse and Clerk of Court, and was continuing to look for space in the courthouse for courtrooms and for the 911 service at the Sheriff's Department.

Ambulance Director Mike Sullivan said his department had met demand in the busiest year he could remember, and had established new public education programs. County Sheriff Robert Carpenter said his department had met increasing demand, stayed within budget, and stayed off the front page of the paper. Planning and Zoning Administrator Rick Dvorak said his department had installed 911 signs, computerized records, and gotten closer to completing the Comprehensive Land Use Plan. County Auditor Tom Slockett said his department had worked with the Board of Supervisors on creation of capital expenditure accounts, converted the office web page from a text-based system to a graphical system, and completed the mapping project. He noted Johnson County is the only county in the state to put its property lines on computer in-house. Dvorak said that within the week, he will present a GIS proposal to the Board.

County Recorder Deborah Conger said that the transfer of vital statistics to the Recorder's Office had been completed. Her office has done some computerization and implemented a pilot document management system. Interim SEATS Director Burnell Chadek said his office had computerized their dispatching, and was glad the department had survived; he noted that department morale is good in the face of an uncertain future. County Attorney Pat White said his department had managed an increasing caseload; he had retained senior staff despite low salaries and replaced departing staff. County Assessor Jerry Musser said his department faced few choices, as 1997 is a revaluation year; the department changed software and entered 14,000 parcels in the new system. County Engineer Mike Gardner said his department had met increased demand and completed new construction, and was trying to provide staff stability. Human Services Area Administrator Cheryl Whitney said Johnson County had been recognized as an innovation zone in dealing with welfare reform.

Shields asked the Supervisors if any other successes had been left out. Jordahl noted the work of the Recorder Consolidation Study Committee, and said Schultz had not taken enough credit for the work of the committees acting on the recommendations of the Computer Needs Committee. Stutsman said the strategic planning work is itself an accomplishment.

Shields said before discussing long-range planning, the department heads should look at major changes occurring in Johnson County. Suggestions included overall growth, increasing urbanization, and the impact of the Coral Ridge Mall. Dameron suggested there is a trend towards more intergovernmental partnerships and increased fees for services. Mosher said increased computerization will have an impact. Shields stated that experts predict that within a decade, overbuilt retail and office space will be a drag on the economy.

White said that Johnson County is suffering as intergovernmental cooperation is not keeping up with needs. Dameron said the elderly population is increasing, and participation in civic groups is decreasing as people's work demands increase. Whitney said more and more people are becoming disenfranchised as the gap between rich and poor increases. Mosher said more and more new jobs are low paying, and the new mall will be part of that trend. Shields said in Johnson County per capita income has continued to rise and the gap that has developed is a matter of income distribution.

Slockett said the overall trend is toward more regressive government funding such as flat taxes, local sales taxes, and high sewer fees, and governments are not doing their job in finding better funding mechanisms. Shields said the alternate minimum tax in the federal tax bill increases regressivity.

Shields said the negative and cynical public attitude toward government has spilled over to local government, yet citizens still held more positive views of local government than of other levels, and trust local government more to deal with issues. He asked if it was harder for departments to serve the public. Some department heads nodded agreement; Musser said he saw less day to day hostility. Dvorak said hostility has decreased in his department as more citizens have come to accept the zoning process. Shields said citizens are becoming more concerned about "the politics of place." He quoted one of his clients in stating that people increasingly define a "community" as an area of roughly four square blocks, usually centered around a school. People will get involved in issues within this radius, but generally wish to be left alone otherwise.

Shields asked the department heads to identify major issues that will impact the county in the next eight to 10 years. Dameron identified the organization of financing preventive health care and public health, and managed care issues. Shields said Iowa is nowhere near the front lines on managed care and tremendous change is on the way. Dameron said educational opportunities for county employees to change with the times will be important. Shields said the rapidity of change is a distinguishing feature of our era, and this puts pressure on organizations.

Musser said the urbanization trend in Johnson and Linn Counties will continue. Chadek said federal funding for local programs will decrease. Mosher said population growth will increase demand on services, land use, and the environment. Conger said as people crowd together more, there is more opportunity for contention between various interests. Mosher said Johnson County is a magnet area for people with special needs. Redlinger said space needs will be a major concern. Whitney said local decision making will be both an opportunity and a responsibility. Mosher said many developments in health care and government will be on multi-county and regional levels. McGinley said replacement of volunteer organizations (such as fire departments) with paid response organizations will be important. Slockett said global competitiveness will put pressure on holding costs down, and this will impact on government.

Mosher said a growing tax base may increase revenue. Musser said that growth is accompanied by increased demand for services. Shields said it is an old saying that residential growth does not pay for itself, as the increased demand for services costs more than the increased revenue. Industrial growth and high-end residential growth would more likely be a net revenue addition. Conger said decaying infrastructure would be an issue. Mosher mentioned environmental quality issues.

Shields said he anticipated a shift in local government financing, as there is a perceived regressivity to the property tax and pressure to reform property taxes is huge. He said there are a number of other local revenue options, and the direction this issue will take depends largely on state government. He said Governor Branstad has not been a friend to local government.

Duffy arrived at 9:38 a.m. Shields said the next part of the meeting will focus on what the department heads would like to see in the long term for the county, and in the next two years for their own departments.

Recessed at 9:40 a.m.; reconvened at 9:52 a.m.

Shields asked department heads to list county wants. White said new buildings, including a good home for SEATS, a second Ambulance site, and new facilities for the Courthouse and the Health Department. He also said meaningful land use decision making, including a building code, was needed.

Dvorak listed GIS system completion. Mosher listed document imaging. Dameron said the whole area of information technology needs to be addressed. Dvorak said fringe area agreements need to be completed. Mosher said regional planning is needed for a whole series of issues, including mental health services, land use, and solid waste. Shields said, in his professional opinion, Johnson County would be making a mistake not to increase intergovernmental cooperation, and if it was not done the citizens would pay. Slockett said creative funding decisions and newer, fairer funding sources will be important; this would require state legislation.

Shields asked department heads to list the most important short-term needs for their own departments. Whitney cited space needs. Mosher said serving an increasing number of consumers with a capped budget, gathering data on service delivery and quality assurance, and space needs. He also said the trend to managed care and regionalization of mental health would be significant.

McGinley said training for handling radiological materials will be important, as over 3,000 radiological shipments are transported on Johnson County's Interstate highways each year. He said it could be important to make up for changing trends in volunteerism, and to plan for different types of disasters (such as dam bursts or terrorist incidents).

Redlinger cited the need for both storage and working space, along with additional staff. He noted that the relatively high seniority of his staff meant a higher than average number of vacation days, and that most of his department's work was controlled by state law.

Schultz said keeping qualified staff in a competitive job market is a priority. She cited the need to keep staff and users educated, setting up the county network, keeping pace with updates, and enabling departments to work more on their own were important issues.

Dameron listed the emergence of infectious diseases (including food safety issues and HIV education), strategies in managing water and wastewater systems, space and personnel needs, tobacco programs, leadership in population-based prevention programs, and a personnel system for non-union employees. He said that as health care has shifted toward a hospital-based system, it is important to maintain a public health entity.

Langenberg cited oversight of current construction and the possibility of the physical plant maintaining additional county buildings. He added his department also has space needs.

Sullivan listed the need for additional EMS units with staffing and funding, along with the strategic placement of these units within the county. He said managed care would affect demands and changes, including possible contracts for service and lower Medicare reimbursements. Sullivan also cited space and facility needs.

Carpenter cited space and staff needs. Calls from small towns and rural areas have increased, there have been more calls for transport, and courthouse security is an increasing concern. Community policing will have an impact on staffing. Carpenter said computerization is slowing down the processes of his office, and required staffing.

Dvorak said his highest priority is completion of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan. This will impact other county departments; for example, speed limit changes would mean an increased need for law enforcement, and building codes would require assistance from the County Attorney. Dvorak also cited the need for enforcement staff in his department and for implementation of the GIS system.

Slockett cited a need for space, and said though electronic document storage would be one means to ease the problem, space would still be needed. Slockett also stated a need for better computerized workflow tracking, portable computer equipment for satellite voting, and GIS services in light of the upcoming reprecincting. Slockett said it is a continuous struggle to make voter registration easier, and noted a huge falloff in voting among 18 to 24 year olds in the 1996 presidential election. He expressed a need for increased funding for recording minutes of longer Board of Supervisors meetings, noting the Board is meeting many more hours than in the past, and if minutes are not promptly completed they are less useful.

Conger said changes in technology and computers will affect workflow in her office. She said a plan for recovering materials in the event of disaster is needed. Since vital statistics were assigned to the Recorder's Office, there have been several angry customers, and Conger said this raised concerns about staff safety. She wants to enhance the dissemination of information about her department's services, and hopes to use the Web toward this end.

Chadek said SEATS' number one need is stability, particularly in relation to the cities. Other needs include longer term facilities at one site, and mobile data terminals for use in vehicles. Shields said the decision about SEATS needs to be made soon. Chadek said it is difficult to think of long term needs when the future of the program is so uncertain. He said addition of a GPS system to the vehicles would aid real time dispatching. He said there is a lot of potential for expansion of services, and he hopes to work with other social service departments.

White said his number one concern is attorney pay. There has been a shift from part-time assistants to attorneys who build a full-time career in the department. Staff additions, both attorneys and support staff, are needed. White said the Coral Ridge Mall will have a big impact on most county departments, and this impact would be unfunded. He said space needs at the courthouse are such that another whole building is needed. White expressed concern about the state of communication between the Board and elected officials and department heads, and said the Board should communicate more with the department heads. He said technology upgrades and an updated county-wide phone system will also impact his department. Shields said departmental demands on the County Attorney's Office are increasing.

Musser said property inspection for revaluation was a high priority. Computerization will have an impact, and he is looking for different ways to provide information to the public. He said his department would pick up extra work if Iowa City eliminates its assessor. Gardner said addressing transportation needs associated with growth and keeping up with technology were priorities. Staff stability will be important, and Gardner noted that, like Redlinger, his department had a high-longevity staff, which meant a lot of vacation time.

Whitney cited changing client service needs. She hopes for better ways to have children ready to begin school and more cooperation with the education system. The relation between services and outcomes will also become a more important issue.

Shields asked the Supervisors to identify their own departmental needs. Jordahl cited space needs, particularly for the new human resources administrator. Jordahl said the budget analysis staff position is vacant, which provides an opportunity to change the position, and added that the new county phone system could affect staff needs.

Conger asked if a countywide mission statement would be useful. Shields said he saw a benefit to a mission statement, and staff should be included in the process. Jordahl said most department heads had mentioned the need for more space and more assistance from the County Attorney's Office, and asked if this meant these were the priorities given a limited budget. Bolkcom said during his five years as a Supervisor, the County has done well meeting needs on a constrained budget, but is now maxed out; it will be a management challenge to meet growing needs. Dameron said his department has not been able to meet growing needs in the infectious disease are and has even been forced to decrease services. He suspected departments have had to cut back some things due to increased demands, one item possibly being job evaluations.

Slockett said there could be cost savings if county buildings were consolidated into a "county campus," and the idea was worth investigating as it may mean more space needs could be met for a longer time. Shields said he had worked with the city of Ames, which at one time had offices in 18 different buildings. The city established a central facility through renovating a former school. Shields said in addition to benefits for citizens, there was a benefit in interdepartmental communication.

Shields asked the department heads to brainstorm and identify countywide needs. Following discussion, 13 needs were listed. Shields asked the department heads to consider these needs and vote for five priorities, and said pending time restrictions, the top needs would be discussed in more detail.

Whitney left the meeting at 10:58 a.m.

Recessed at 10:58; reconvened at 11:07.

Shields polled the department heads on countywide priorities.

Organizational Communication 12 votes
Space needs 18
Human Resources Position 4
Technology 11
Staffing needs 12
Intergovernmental cooperation 1
Two-way communication with the public 1
Fiscal planning 10
Efficiency 1
Comprehensive Plan 7
Economic development 1
Workforce issues 0
Strategic planning and priorities 10

Space needs, organizational communication, and staff needs were chosen for discussion.

SPACE NEEDS

Shields said he saw little or no disagreement that space needs are a priority, and asked where the Board as a department was it in terms of its space needs. Stutsman said she and Duffy had one meeting with the elected officials and department heads most affected by the space needs, and she and Langenberg were working on storage needs in the County Administration Building. She would like to take the issue back to the full Board, as it is a countywide issue.

Dvorak said he liked Slockett's county campus idea, adding that modifications to the Administration Building would be a band-aid approach. Dameron said there are both long-term space needs and immediate, short-term needs. Duffy said a lot of money had been spent in the past on space needs. Dameron noted that most of this money was from revenue sharing; Duffy said some was not.

Shields said it is important not to immediately assume that a solution would be incremental, and options such as a campus should be considered. Conger said the process needs to be anticipatory and look at value for money, rather than being approached as a crisis. She noted that, for a relatively small cost, a third story could have been added to the Administration Building when it was constructed. Slockett said that when the Administration Building was constructed, there was less concern about the cost of a third story and more concern about the image that the County was building an "empire." Jordahl said the Linn County Juvenile Justice facility has a modular design, so that additions can be built as space needs increase. Slockett says this is in keeping with the pay as you go concept, and would be a good way to sell the project as more value for the money. By saving money for construction and building later, the project would cost half as much as if it were financed by a bond. Changes in accounting principles mean that infrastructure will be depreciated, with the implication that more projects will be pay as you go.

Shields said instead of planning the project backward from the projected cost, the County should look at its needs. Mosher said the process should assure more input. Dameron said an outside citizen committee on space needs would be more believable. Mosher said this was an opportunity for more intergovernmental collaboration. Shields said some joint city-county facilities are being established in other communities. Carpenter said for some facilities, such as the jail, federal and state mandates need to be met. Bolkcom suggested setting a work session for a time when department heads will be available.

Mosher said departmental staffing needs are inter-related space needs. Shields said it is important to make reasonable staffing projections, and this overriding issue cannot be addressed without touching on other needs. Jordahl said strategic planning needs to be considered an ongoing process that is continually revisited. He compared this to Secondary Roads, where there is a five-year plan, yet the plan is reviewed each year.

ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION

Shields asked the department heads to address organizational communication issues. White said county government's decentralization is both its greatest strength and weakness, and decentralization makes communication more difficult. He said he believes the formal department head meetings with the Boards are superficial and there is no decision-making at these meetings. He said a better sense of the roles of the Board and departments was a key, as well as a discussion of the distinction between elected and non-elected department heads. White said there will need to be a communication mechanism regarding the new human resources position between the Board and department heads, and noted that this was the second time a Board decision had affected the function of all other departments (the first being the establishment of Information Services). He added that space needs are an ongoing communication issue. Shields said County departments are interdependent.

Slockett said the difference between elected and non-elected department heads is a touchy issue. He noted changes in the Board over the years; when there were three Supervisors, there was better communication with department heads, but since there have been five Supervisors, the Supervisors seem to talk more amongst themselves. Slockett said department heads appointed by the Board may feel they have less independence and may be less inclined to speak freely with Supervisors, since it is human nature to try to please your boss. There needs to be a way to make decisions in which department heads feel free to tell the Supervisors things they don't want to hear.

Carpenter said one difference between elected and non-elected department heads is that an elected official is in the position of "the buck stops here." He said he feels that in the past year or two, the Supervisors have not treated other elected officials as well as they did in the past, and he feels the Board is not listening to him.

Dameron said relatively few department heads are appointed directly by the Supervisors; most are elected or appointed by some other board. Stutsman said she felt department head meetings were for communication rather than decision making, and there may be other ways to communicate.

Musser said he is bothered by the need for a minute taker at department head meetings. He said he feels inhibited and would prefer minutes not be taken. White said meetings were affected by the state open meetings law, and noted that several years ago, there had been experiments with department head meetings organized by departments and with less than a quorum of Supervisors present. He said these meetings were much more candid. Dameron said such meetings died out as attendance was poor. White said it was difficult to get people to attend meetings, and a meaningful agenda was needed. He said a meeting to exchange information could be important, depending on whether or not it was intended to trigger discussion. Dameron said Supervisors have been soliciting opinions from department heads and this has been appreciated.

Shields said he expected to talk more about this issue with the Board in their sessions. He noted that most organizations work very hard on their tasks, but spend less effort on maintaining the organization. In the case of Johnson County, organizational maintenance may a big enough problem that it is interfering with tasks.

Slockett said he disagreed with Musser on the need for minutes. He understands a certain reluctance to brainstorm or offer ideas when they are being written down, but says one problem with various county committees has been the lack of minutes and agendas. This makes it hard to know what will be covered, or what one missed if absent. He suggested adding background information to agendas, and said he likes to be able to read what happened at a meeting. Because of the open meetings law, it is not an option not to take minutes. Slockett said several years ago, department heads would get together with less than a quorum of Supervisors. These meetings worked well, but died out as the people involved changed.

White said the present Board of Supervisors is the most active Board in his memory. He personally believes the Board is doing too much and needs to slow down to allow people time to catch up. White said they are doing it at a time when they are short-staffed and their administrative assistant has a difficult job. He said he spends more time with the Board than other department heads and feels his communication with the Board is good.

Dvorak said the What/When Committee has worked well over the past six months. He welcomed the chance this had given him to work with department heads he had not known well before, such as Mosher, and noted that the departments themselves had done the work on the committees. Conger said the County network and e-mail should help improve communication.

Mosher said the elected vs. non-elected department head issue was potentially divisive. When elected department heads speak of their special role, it can cause hurt feelings and resentment. He said there needs to be a unified process, and it is important to remember everyone is on the same team while still recognizing the special roles of elected officials.

Carpenter said the Supervisors should keep more contact with other elected officials. He said the Board had made decisions about his department without getting back to him, and he had to learn about these decisions through the Auditor's Office. Though the Board controls the funding, the voters had chosen the elected department heads, not the Supervisors, to run their respective departments. Carpenter said Supervisors should see elected department heads as equals and not look down at them.

Mosher wondered if meetings could be conducted by a "cabinet" of the Board and the other elected officials, and asked if there could other communication channels besides meetings. Conger said elected department heads have a mutual responsibility to communicate with the Board of Supervisors. Carpenter said he came to the Board more often than Supervisors visited his department. Shields said communication is just one piece of role clarification between the Board, other elected officials, and department heads. He said they can do their job most effectively if there is good communication.

Bolkcom said at the next department head meeting, there will be a separate meeting with the Board and the elected department heads. He said this should happen on an ongoing basis. He noted Carpenter's concerns that he was not being heard, and there needs to be a forum in which people feel the Supervisors are listening. Bolkcom said there were certainly differences of opinion between the Board and some of the elected officials on certain issues (for example, the human resources position), but he hopes communication is a two way process.

McGinley said most of his career had been outside of government. As a citizen, he looks at elected officials as the people he put in (whether or not they were the candidates of his choice). If one is unhappy with the job performance of an elected department head, it is possible to vote or work against them at election time. He sees non-elected department heads like himself as hired to do a job and answer to the elected officials, and that is very different than answering to the voters. McGinley said he does not know how to handle this difference. Shields said there is an internal contradiction in that the Supervisors are elected to prepare a budget while department heads set policy, but budget decisions are inherently policy decisions.

STAFF NEEDS

Slockett said staffing decisions were basically determined by the Board in the budget process. It will help the Board if there are more tools to help prioritize, and this will require a lot of communication. Dameron said the County needs to determine mandated services, look at the privatization issue, and look for grants (requirements of grants may affect staff needs). Bolkcom said as departments prepare their FY99 budgets, there should be some indication of staffing needs. Shields noted how space needs, strategic planning, and staff needs are inter-related, and said some growing communities he has worked with have developed long-range staffing plans.

White said there are unspoken reservations about the performance-based budgeting process. It will require extra time, the need has not been shown, and will have no significant impact. He added that it again raises the elected vs. non-elected department head issues. Shields asked if the performance-based budgeting requirements undermined the authority of elected department heads. Slockett said no one disagrees that the Board has the right to require performance-based budgeting information from the non-elected department heads. There may be an issue when they require such information from another elected official, yet the policy makes the point to the elected officials that this is the way the Board feels budget information can be best communicated. Slockett said rather than "pulling rank," elected officials who want to communicate in the performance-based system could choose to do so. Mosher said he's not sure there is a clear understanding what performance-based budgeting may mean for a department.

Shields asked what could be done to keep the strategic planning process active. Mosher said a short planning process to develop goals may be helpful. Redlinger said he is not sure what to do in a department such as his own where most activities were determined by State Code. Dameron said if mandates were stated as goals, there could be a sense of accomplishment. Shields asked the department heads for a show of hands on how many would be interested in a county-wide mission statement, and subsequently noted "a little over half" had replied affirmatively.

Duffy said he visits other departments often and felt some other Supervisors did not do so often enough. He said nothing fancy is needed, but a simple visit sends a good message. Slockett said forming committees is not the right answer to every problem, and good communication is two-way. He said it was his impression that communication at department head meetings had been one-way, from the Board to the department heads. Slockett said people may need to decide for themselves on the issue of elected vs. non-elected department heads.

Carpenter said that on the survey of overall county needs, he observed who raised their hands for each item and noted that some of the Supervisors had very different priorities than most department heads. He said this concerned him, as it would be difficult for department heads to act on their own priorities if the Supervisors were not on the same page. Carpenter asked if the Supervisors would change their own priorities. Dameron said there seems to be consensus that space and staff needs are critical.

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS: STRATEGIC PLANNING WORK SESSION

Recessed at 12:24 p.m.; reconvened at 1:16 p.m. without department heads and Supervisor Duffy present.

Shields asked the Supervisors how they felt the morning meeting went. Bolkcom and Stutsman agreed that they felt the morning went well and it was a good starting point. Jordahl felt that the morning went well and will have good results. Stutsman said she wished Lacina and Duffy could be present. Shields said that he felt the Supervisors handled the morning meeting well and they should continue to open communication doors. Shields stated that he processed the space needs issue the way he did because there was buy-in to that all around from the department heads, even though there weren't any solutions. He also stated that the key issues the department heads identified were all the same goals identified by the Board of Supervisors. Jordahl stated that in the past departmental staffing hasn't come up outside of the budgeting process. He said that all of the strategic planning issues seemed to revolve around the budget.

Shields stated that the Sheriff had some strong points to make and that was good. He said the Board of Supervisors was a policy-making Board. Shields said that the Board of Supervisors had policy authority in personnel issues. Shields said the budgetary process interests him and he was unaware of anything that prevented the Board of Supervisors from requiring a certain budgetary process. Jordahl stated he had been cited language from the State Code that the Board of Supervisors had the right to require reports. Stutsman said it seemed to her that the elected officials wanted to be at the table with Supervisors making decisions when it's to their benefit and that they see the Board as micromanaging their departments. Bolkcom said the decision to hire a human resource position and the salary survey were seen as something that was handed down. He said he thought the Auditor or Sheriff could decide what to pay people within budget and that the Board of Supervisors wasn't micromanaging. Bolkcom said the feeling is that the Board of Supervisors isn't listening to people's requests. Jordahl said that the rancor at the meeting was in relation to performance-based budgeting. He said that performance-based budgeting was little different than the budget in it's existing form, except some of the information is cranked out in advance. Stutsman said she didn't feel they had done a good job with communicating how performance-based budgeting would benefit the entire County. Bolkcom said they moved too fast and noted County Attorney Pat White's point that they have taken on a lot of goals. Stutsman said they might need to step back and do more prioritizing. Bolkcom said they need to give performance-based budgeting more time and develop a structure that would allow them to do it in-house, which means including all the Board, elected officials and department heads. Stutsman felt that she would agree with that process, but they still needed to have an outside person come in because of the lack of staff to do it. Jordahl said they shouldn't focus on specific items without Duffy and Lacina present and suggested there should be another work session. He said their purpose in this meeting was unclear.

Shields advised the Board to do what was most effective and make sure they have communication in the organization. Shields stated that there never had been an organization where communication was perfect, but that the Board of Supervisors could do some things to improve this area. He said that roles and relations were more difficult; that the Board of Supervisors needed to have a fair consensus on what they think they should be. Shields said that the Board needed to decide how they want to work with people and work that way in a unified fashion. Shields said he loved the differences of opinions on the Board of Supervisors, it worked well, but in the area of roles and relations they needed to be in agreement. Shields advised that the Board decide what their role is and articulate that. He said any organization needed to have clarity in roles and relations. Jordahl pointed out how County Attorney Pat White was relatively silent on the issue. Shields said the Board as a group should talk about it. Bolkcom said there could be a legalistic opinion and also a practical approach. Shields said if the Board couldn't reach a consensus they at least needed to have a working relationship.

Shields asked where the Board wanted to go with strategic planning. He said there was real excitement about what strategic planning could mean to the County. Jordahl said that strategic planning was goofy if it was just an exercise in how to phrase something and Shields agreed. Jordahl said strategic planning should be a way of addressing issues such as staffing needs. Shields said to not ask him to do an artificial exercise.

Duffy returned at 1:43 p.m.

Shields said what was important was integration on key issues and a method of agreeing about participation and involvement. Shields asked if the goals developed by the Board of Supervisors were distributed widely with department heads and discussed with them. Stutsman said they were distributed, but there hadn't been much discussion. Jordahl said it hadn't been a process of engaging the department heads about this. Bolkcom said that is likely one of the roots of the concern about the role of the Board and their relationship with the elected officials and department heads. He thought some people would say the Board is doing their own thing and he felt that was a reasonable complaint. Stutsman asked if in retrospect it would've been better if the department heads had been involved from the beginning. Bolkcom said maybe, but getting the 5 Supervisors working together on strategic planning was a watershed and may have been more difficult with 20 more people in the room. Jordahl said he'd like to see the process move forward. Duffy stated that he thought it was a positive meeting and Shields did an excellent job.

Shields said the new emerging issues were role clarity, organizational communication, strategic planning process, and the interrelated issues of staffing, space needs, fiscal planning, and the comp plan. Shields said the strategic planning process was a concept for integrating all these key issues and was also a process of involvement. He said he may have left information technology and economic development off the list of big issues. He said that organizational capacity had been an area where the Board was real busy. Shields stated that a lot of people may be in agreement with Pat White's comments about the Board moving too fast. He asked, beyond the Board, how much change does the organization have the capacity to manage. Shields advised the Board that they've got the right idea, but they have to have timing and they've got to package it right. They have to have not only the desire to do it, but the ability to do some of the things. He said members of the Board may decide to respectfully disagree with some ideas.

Shields asked the Board what they wanted to do as a group and how they wanted to proceed. Jordahl said this process was going on at the same time as the process for the comp plan. He mentioned that the League of Women Voters had suggested a full County comp plan, not just a land use plan. He said pursuing strategic planning on its own merits may produce something that might be used as part of the comp plan. Bolkcom felt that they should be separate processes. Jordahl said, if they have a comprehensive overall County plan, the land use plan should be consistent with the overall county plan. Bolkcom said the Board of Supervisors needs to get together and revisit and prioritize goals. He said they need to slow down and let people catch up. He pointed out that making progress in computers required that department heads help the Board. Stutsman said she agreed, but she didn't want to slow down so far that the process stops. Bolkcom said he wasn't for abandoning anything.

Jordahl said there was also resistance to the idea of more committees. Stutsman said they might prioritize and have only one committee at a time for a project and not create a space needs committee or personnel committee, for example. Jordahl said citizens' committees could be used for things such as space needs and they would not have a vested interest in the issue. He asked how would they continue to move forward without committees. Stutsman said that they had made a big change and people were overwhelmed. Bolkcom said they are backing off on committees. Shields asked about their staff capacity and Bolkcom said that is a central issue. Stutsman said they need a work session on staffing needs and all of their goals really need work sessions. Jordahl said the additional meetings could be productive with agendas that are clearly defined and have more background information as suggested by County Auditor Tom Slockett. Peters asked if department heads should also provide more information for agenda items they put on for department head meetings. Shields said as part of discussion of organizational communication they could rethink department head meetings. Shields said in their next session they could talk about the emerging issues, review goals and see if there are adaptations to make in their goals, and re-determine priorities. Shields and the Board set up the next strategic planning work session for Monday November 17th at 8:30 in the morning. Monday January 26, 1998 was set as the date to meet again with department heads for strategic planning.

Adjourned at 2:16 p.m.

Attest: Tom Slockett, Auditor

By John Deeth and Casie Parkins, Recording Secretaries