HomeMy WebLinkAboutProposal Brief County Governace Structure Discussion Mar 16 2022 (2)
KITTITAS COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PROPOSAL BRIEF
DATE: March 16, 2022
POLICY TOPIC: County Governance Structure Discussion
BOCC-Administrator Form
BACKGROUND
Kittitas County has experienced rapid growth in the last 20 years. Commissioner tasks
around county executive administration duties, policy development, legislative advocacy,
and participation in multiagency forums has grown significantly during the same span.
Under the Washington Constitution, our form of county government is considered the
“default” structure with independently elected officials administering discrete
departments performing duties defined by statute – aka a commission county. Seven
counties in Washington have adopted home rule with processes outside of the common
commission structure. These counties have separated the powers of the legislative and
executive branches into codified elected and appointed positions as well as redistributed
the duties of other county officials in commission counties. Of the remaining 32 counties,
15 have county administrators with primary executive authority for county operations and
5 have administrative directors with limited authority mainly over internal and budgetary
management. There is no approximation to organization or population size as some
similar or smaller counties (e.g., Douglas and Jefferson) have full county administrator
positions while much larger counties (e.g., Yakima and Grant) have no central authority
structure.
MRSC’s article, Your Responsibilities as a County Commissioner (appendix 1), define
the major parts of the commissioner job description. Along with those areas highlighted
in the first paragraph of this background, Environmental and Land Use Planning is also
raised as a key component of the position, and this is especially pivotal in Kittitas
County. The article also discusses the executive administration portion of commissioner
duties and the many forms it can take. However, it closes with the following, “A
commissioner’s executive and administrative responsibilities are very time-consuming;
consequently, boards of commissioners should seriously consider hiring professional
staff for managing the day-to-day affairs of the county.” As we have come to experience,
the majority of our working hours are devoted to managing internal operations which
comes at the expense of other critical job requirements that reduce our ability to act
strategically in the interests of Kittitas County.
But how does this position translate to ultimate benefit for the organization? IBM
conducted a study in 2013 among the nation’s 100 largest cities and published the
findings in Smarter, Faster, Cheaper: An Operations Efficiency Benchmarking Study of
100 American Cites (appendix 2). In it, researchers worked to determine how efficiency
across different cities could be measured by normalizing multiple service delivery points
to account for population, geographic size, and other variables independent of
administrative control. After analysis, the report concluded that those cities with council-
manager forms of government were 10% more efficient than elected strong mayor
administrations based on per capita cost of service delivery. The report states,
“…investing executive authority in professional management shielded from direct
political interference should yield more effectively managed cities.” Further, when
discussing organization-wide efficiency initiatives aimed at streamlining systems and
reducing cost, “In our experience, a four-year program of designing and implementing an
efficiency program is not an unreasonable timeframe; it may take longer to fully realize
all the projected savings.” For our long-term aspirations of a leaner county government
able to strategically deliver services, it is imperative that longevity and consistency is
achieved at the top level. For that to occur, this report directly points to an investment in
professional administrative leadership.
A professional manager is responsible for ensuring the priorities of the board are
resourced and executed appropriately. Professional County Management (appendix 3)
published by the International City/County Manager Association identifies the following
values that a county manager offers:
• Work in partnership with elected officials to develop sound approaches to
community challenges by bringing together resources to make the right things
happen and produce results that matter
• Bring a community-wide perspective to policy discussions and strive to connect
the past and future while focusing on the present. They help the governing body
develop the long-term vision for the community that provides a framework for
policy development and goal setting
• Promote ethical government through commitment to a set of ethical standards
that goes beyond those required by law
• Encourage inclusion and build consensus among diverse interests (including
those of elected officials, the business community, and citizens) by focusing on the
entire community rather than the centralized interests of one or two individuals
• Promote equity and fairness by ensuring that services are fairly distributed and
that administrative decisions (such as hiring and contracting) are based on merit
rather than favoritism
• Develop and sustain organizational excellence and promote innovation.
Professional managers focus relentlessly on efficient and equitable service
delivery, policy implementation, and evaluation. They align the county’s
administrative systems with the values, mission, and policy goals defined by the
community and elected officials.
So, is this the right choice for Kittitas County? This is a landmark decision point, and it is
important for this Board to consider it in the most informed way possible.
Critical examination must be made of county policies and procedures an initial step to
any path forward. Of utmost importance is review of budgetary process and personnel
management in its present form with recommended amendments developed for
commissioner approval. The shifting of personnel evaluation, recruitment and
termination to an appointed position will be especially challenging, but a high level of
opportunity exists for organizational improvement through building a culture of high
performance, standardized processes, and common standards. From a financial
perspective, this Board has already discussed the need for more strategic budget practices
and the shift from line-item review to a higher-level resource allocation method. For both
of these objectives to be achieved, significant analysis must be completed, and findings
returned for board review.
RECOMMENDATION
My desired action is Board approval of a select advisory committee to recommend a
course of action and possible amendments to Kittitas County code, policies, and
processes for implementation of BOCC-administrator governance structure. This
committee would be formed and revert findings by end of 1Q 2023. This timeframe
would allow for recruitment of a potential candidate by end of 2023.
A consultant with experience in governance structure and modification should be
considered for this project.
This committee would issue a report on the following:
• Recommendation as to whether current county governance structure is sufficient
and, if so, any advised improvements
• If a BOCC-administrator form of government is recommended, the committee
shall analyze and return findings on:
o Recommended codification enactment (i.e., resolution, ordinance, or
other) for administrative authority and limitations thereof (see appendix 4
as example – Jefferson County Code)
o Proposed amendments to all current Kittitas County policies with an
understanding of administrative authority conveyed to a county
administrator and legislative functions retained by Board
o Proposed organizational chart with county administrator included
o Proposed strategic financial management and budget planning structure
with oversight of process under county administrator
o Proposed job description for county administrator
I proposed that this select advisory committee consist of the following members:
• Kittitas County Commissioner (to be determined) as a non-voting chair
• Two Kittitas County Elected Officials
• Two Kittitas County Department Heads
• Kittitas County Budget and Finance Manager
• One present or former city or county manager
• Three citizen participants (one from each commissioner district)
ATTACHMENTS
Appendix 1 – Your Responsibilities as a County Commissioner (MRSC)
Appendix 2 – Smarter, Faster, Cheaper: An Operations Efficiency Benchmarking Study
of 100 American Cites (IBM)
Appendix 3 – Professional County Management (ICMA)
Appendix 4 – Jefferson County Code Chapter 2.01
Appendix 5 – An Overview of County Administration (NACO)
Appendix 6 – Various Washington County Administrator Job Descriptions and
Organizational Charts
Appendix 7 – Recruitment Guidelines for Selecting a Local Government Administrator
(ICMA)
PROPONENT
Commissioner Cory Wright