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SAN JUAN COUNTY PLANNING DEPARTMENT |
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Community Development and Planning Department createdposted 09/10/03
The other change is a $15,000 reduction in former Planning Director Laura Arnold's salary. She was offered the position of Long-Range Planning Manager. That position and Francine Shaw's position as Deputy Director/Land Use Manager both report to Director McKenna-Smith. Commissioners Darcie Nielsen and Rhea Miller voted to offer the Long-Range Manager position to Arnold. Commissioner John Evans voted against the motion. The position still must go to the county's reclassification committee for review regarding salary.
Evans wanted to cut back to only one planner. Nielsen and Miller believed the work required two planners. Miller suggested reducing one building inspector. The other commissioners did not support the idea. The total reduction in the department totals $90,000. Nielsen said, "We will save more money as time goes by and we are able to recruit people with skill level to get more work done." County architects and builders oppose planning/permit mergerposted 09/09/03
The Association of Architects and Builders oppose the merger because:
The BOCC discussed the consolidation in the worksession with county staff. They then recessed into executive session (closed door). After the executive session the commissioners voted 2 to 1 to consolidate the departments. Commissioner Rhea Miller voted against the motion. The discussion of the exact nature of the merged department will continue today (September 9, 2003) at the BOCC's regular meeting in the county Courthouse. The BOCC also voted to terminate Planning Director Laura Arnold's employment. The commissioners had terminated her employment August 12, 2003. Because of a procedural question, a vote was taken on September 3, 2003. In August the BOCC agreed to offer Arnold a position in the consolidated department. Consolidation on the fast trackposted 08/19/03
The three San Juan County Commissioners held a worksession on Monday, August 18, 2003 to discuss the merger of the planning department into the permit center. Commissioner John Evans had a list of changes he wanted made. He suggested a position be created called GMA (Growth Management Act) Manager. Arnold would be offered the position. (She was fired as planning director last week). The GMA manager would have a departmental assistant and no other planners. Evans would create a Code Enforcement manager equal to the GMA manager and the deputy director. All three would be under the permit center director. The deputy director would be in charge when necessary. He suggested the permit center director should have an assistant who was versed in the law. Alan Marriner who works in the prosecutor's office on GMA issues would move to the permit center under Evans' plan. "On the building side, we should have a lead inspector position and a lead current planner. Each position would have a departmental assistant attached to it. With what I think are the necessary adjustments, we end up with a total of 16 people (compared to 18 currently) and a savings of $150,000 to $180,000. Miller said, "This begins to sound like a shell game. 'By the way it is going to cost us $150,000 (for hiring consultants) to do that.' There is no need to fix something that is not broken. We are breaking it. If we are consolidating because we don’t like who is number one and number two let’s just say that. I find this very disturbing." Commissioner Darcie Nielsen found Evans ideas interesting but did not necessarily agree with the, She said, " I am hesitant to micromanage...We have a combination of skills that exist. We have a strong management approach (Permit Center Director Joseph McKenna-Smith) that has been desperately needed. Laura, if she decides to accept the position and the existing deputy director brings outstanding skills. We need to let those folks decide. I'd like to see these folks come back with a new structure." Evans stressed the reality of the financial position the county finds itself in. "We are facing a $550,000 shortfall," he said. BOCC discusses consolidation August 18posted 08/16/03
Nielsen presented her plans for a consolidated department last year and it was rejected by Evans and Commissioner Rhea Miller. Neither believed it offered the savings Nielsen suggested. As part of the Price of Government (POG) process the county is undergoing, the BOCC is taking a new look at a variety of potential cost saving measures. Nielsen presented a revision of her consolidation plan from last year and has also suggested getting rid of the county Fire Marshall, not funding recreation, 4-H and the WSU extension programs. Consolidation of the county Administration office and the BOCC staff has also been mentioned by Nielsen. She believes the consolidation of permit and planning would save over $150,000. The Planning Department which now has one director, two planners and a departmental assistant would be reduced to two employees. They would be part of the Permit Center. The BOCC will discuss the reconfiguration at a worksession set for 9 a.m. Monday, August 18 in the county Courthouse. At the August 11 meeting, Evans congratulated Nielsen on her proposal "but I don’t think it goes far enough. I think we can do better. We have some ongoing planning dilemmas some of which are self inflicted. We first need to understand what the statuatory responsibilities are for planning. I guess those can be met in a community development model." Miller opposed the consolidation of the departments. She didn't believe the savings were there and thought problems would result. "I want to bring to the board’s attention, one of the principal goals was to protect the environment," she said. "I think we'll find people thinking the priority we said we had in areas of protecting the environment would be lessened." She noted the work Arnold has done with the Marine Advisory Committee, the transboundary groups and the tribes. "Think of the amount of time the planning director represents the county," she said. "Would the Permit Center Director represent us with Canada, the State of Washington, the Town of Friday Harbor? The problem is with declining funds. I think there are ways to cut a significant number of funds from both departments without having to bring together." Planning Director firedposted 08/12/03
Nielsen has lobbied for years to combine the planning and permit center. She presented plans on Monday, August 11 to do so. Arnold will be offered a position in the combined department. The exact nature of the position is still to be determined. Under Nielsen's plan the position would be under the Permit Center Director and would oversee one senior planner. County manager idea not convincing to majorityposted 02/28/02
Nielsen believes the county would run more efficiently if the commissioners hired a county manager. While it may cost more in the short term, she said, "We can spend a little and potentially save a lot." In Washington, 34 of the 39 counties use the commission form of government. The Municipal Research & Services Center Web site has an explanation of the organizational structure:
Commissioner John Evans asked if Nielsen envisioned the manager having hiring and firing capability. She did not. Evans said, "A person cannot be an effective manager if they can't build their team. The person would have to have the ability to hire and fire. Otherwise they would be essentially a consultant or facilitator instead of a manager." Nielsen believed the manager could make sure the BOCC's directions and policies were carried out. "When the board sets policy, it doesn't necessarily happen in the order it should. Our staff expresses frustration. These folks are bringing us reports, ordinances done incorrectly. Our staff spends a lot of time on this." Commissioner Rhea Miller said, "It sounds like we're just redoing the administrative services director job. Why not just do that. Rewrite the job description." Miller asked how the position would be financed. During the discussion, the commissioners estimated the manager would earn $80,000 plus benefits. For the purpose of the discussion they tried to find ways to save $130,000 to cover all the costs associated with the new position. Nielsen said money could be saved by merging the planning department and the permit center. "We wouldn't need to administer two separate departments,"she said. " We could save $100,000." Evans and Miller expressed doubt about the savings. Only $20,000 could be saved if the two departments were combined they believed, since a deputy manager would be needed to help run the combined department. Nielsen expressed frustration with the discussion. "Sorry I feel shortchanged again," she said. "The next step is to invite one or two folks to come and talk to us again. And we need to create an ad hoc group to get the citizen's perspective. " Evans suggested the commissioners set up some discussions on April 10 with officials from other counties. The BOCC will be attending a Western District conference at Rosario Resort April 10-12. Sheriff BIll Cumming and County Prosecutor Randy Gaylord observed the discussion. Evans asked if they had any thoughts on the topic. Gaylord commented on the limits of what a county manager could and couldn't do under the organizational structure. Cumming's response garnered laughs. He joked, "A benevolent dictator who could make decisions has a lot of appeal." |
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