| Contact Us: |
Kern County Taxpayers Association
331 Truxtun Avenue
Bakersfield Ca 93301
Phone:661-322-2973
Fax:661-321-9550 |
|
| Announcements |
Posted by: mturnipseed on 03/03/2009 12:15
Updated by: mturnipseed on 03/03/2009 12:15
Expires: 01/01/2014 12:00
Crisis as Catalyst: Reinventing the County of Kern
Comments to the Kern County Board of Supervisors
Crisis as Catalyst: Reinventing the County of Kern
Presented by Michael Turnipseed, Executive Director
Kern County Taxpayers Association
March 3, 2009
Can Do Attitude
"Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom." – Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning.
It is reasonable to assume that the State of California will remain dysfunctional for some time. The national recession is also not likely to end soon. Thus, the County of Kern will face tough financial times for the foreseeable future.
Comments to the Kern County Board of Supervisors
Crisis as Catalyst: Reinventing the County of Kern
Presented by Michael Turnipseed, Executive Director
Kern County Taxpayers Association
March 3, 2009
Can Do Attitude
"Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom." – Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning.
It is reasonable to assume that the State of California will remain dysfunctional for some time. The national recession is also not likely to end soon. Thus, the County of Kern will face tough financial times for the foreseeable future.
In response, the County can retreat into a defensive shell to wait out the storm – fielding a dispirited work force, providing poor services, with a “what else can we do?’ attitude. Or – the County can seize this opportunity to “reinvent” itself. With a true focus on the customer, there is a wide range of options for new and different ways to meet the needs of our residents.
But to do so, we have to believe that we can.
The most important action the Board can take in the next few months is to reject the “Kern County is a victim” (of the economy, of the state, of circumstance) attitude surrounding our fiscal conversations and replace it with a “can do” attitude. This does not mean a denial of our fiscal constraints, but a rejection of them as predictors of the future.
The Board and CAO must seize control of the future. Accept the reality of fiscal limitations – but refuse to accept limitations of the mind. Our new CAO needs to “break the mold’ and choose a response to circumstances that identifies opportunities for a better future – and demands engagement by all stakeholders (internal and external) in its pursuit.
Outside the Box Thinking
“Reinvention” is hard. Some services will have to be eliminated – and others delivered differently. But there are tremendous opportunities to re-think how to deliver services in more effective, productive ways.
This process will take several years to bare substantial fruit. But, it can be jump-started in a variety of ways.
First, the tired old “step down” departmentally based, incremental budget model must be scrapped. That model works very well in periods of financial stability, with modest adjustments up or down in resources. But it is counter – productive when large shifts in resources are required.
We need to look comprehensively at the various delivery “systems” (criminal justice system, health and human services system, land use and facilities system, etc.) of the County if we are to gain efficiencies.
There are a variety of models that can be used to force systemic analysis. A relatively easy and quick option might be the creation of “block grants’ for each system.
In this model, the Board would set a “block” of expenses for each system in the 2009/2010 budget. The initial amounts can be set based on the recent work to set relative priorities during the “step down” process used for mid-year adjustments. Individual departments w/in each system would understand that the total amount of funds for the system is fixed – no exceptions – for the year (and maybe even for 2010/2011 as well). “Plug” salary savings can be used to balance individual budgets in the short term.
Then the real work would begin. Lead by the CAO’s staff, each system must evaluate opportunities for more effective service delivery – with quarterly implementation reports to the Board. Initially, “turf’ will reign supreme, but as time passes, the pressure will mount for solutions to be developed to improve efficiency across departments – or salary savings will have to be taken.
This process will not be smooth – and must be skillfully lead – but a process like this “changes the game” to force critical examination of options – not just incremental damage control.
In some systems (like public works), there will be relatively easy opportunities for restructuring and streamlining. In others, like the criminal justice system, the elected leaders of those departments will be prone to playing “chicken”. If they choose to do so, the Board at least has a framework within which to hold the line on overall expenditures (as the departments will choose to cooperate or not) – rather than being overwhelmed by individual “exception” requests that are not easily denied.
This particular model may not be the best – but the central idea is sound. We must move away from a department-centric, survival model to one of fundamental focus on the customers of each service system – not our institutional needs/desires -- if we are to have any hope of delivering quality services to our community in the near term.
Resolve
The Board needs to hire a creative, skillful CAO capable of infusing the organization with a “can do” - we will not be defeated - attitude. That CAO needs to have the ability to surround himself with a quality Fiscal Officer, County Counsel, and other key staff.
But no CAO can succeed with out a clear, consistent Board commitment to a new order of business. The Board must be resolved to take a multi-year approach – and to take tough decisions along the way.
The toughest decisions will not be fiscal.
The toughest decisions will involve people. There will be senior managers who simply cannot take the long view, that cannot “give in order to get”, and who will refuse to change. They will be sincere, nice people. But if the Board does not ultimately show the resolve to hold everyone accountable, then no one will be accountable. The CAO’s bold talk will be just talk – and the cynics will win.
Summary
This idea that we need to “reinvent” the County all sounds very nice – and very theoretical. And, on one level, it is – since we cannot know the ideas that will emerge for system change in advance.
But on another level, it is very practical. All organizations (and people) respond to incentives. Sometimes, it is unintended responses – or poorly articulated incentives – but in the end – organizations seek to meet expectations as they understand them.
Our current budgetary model rewards incremental, individualistic “make due” actions. And that is what we will get – unless we choose something else.
There are no easy “globs of fat’ to cut from the County budget. But there is still lots of “fat” (if we define fat as low priority activities and/or high priority activities done inefficiently). The problem is that this “fat” is marbled throughout the organization – and with out a redesign of the service delivery models in use today – impossible to get at w/ incremental budget adjustments.
The Board must ultimately decide whether the risk inherent in an approach like this is worth the potential rewards. But without prudent risk taking, we know the “reward” will be the incremental decline in our services to the public.
|
| Comments |
| The comments are owned by the poster. We are not responsible for its content.
|
|
| What's Related |
| These might interest you as well
Announcements
|
|
