Stories indexed with the term ‘priorities’

Washtenaw County board of commissioners meeting (March 16, 2011): The bulk of last week’s county board meeting focused on mostly minor revisions to a document that outlines the board’s strategic priorities for setting the county’s 2012-2013 budget. It’s the culmination of several board retreats held over the past two months.

The discussion – along with the priorities themselves – highlighted the fact that county government will need to operate with diminished resources, making investments in a more targeted, strategic way. The budget priorities and decision-making principles developed by the board are intended to guide the county staff as they work to eliminate a projected $20.9 million deficit over the next two years.

The document gives guidance to the county administration to support programs that help residents feel safe and secure, that address the basic needs of children and families, and that increase economic opportunities for residents. The administration is also directed to integrate efforts across agencies to meet the county’s strategic priorities, and to ensure fiscal responsibility by focusing on long-term institutional stability.

Board chair Conan Smith, who led this year’s retreats and who drafted the budget priority document, told his colleagues that unless they make hard decisions to address the county’s structural deficit, they’ll be having these same discussions every two years. [The county operates on a two-year budget cycle.] Their decisions will have a human impact, he said – two-thirds of the county’s budget relates to personnel costs, and Smith didn’t think they could find enough non-personnel cuts to overcome the projected deficit.

Philosophical issues also surfaced during Wednesday’s discussion. Democrat Yousef Rabhi objected to a sentence stating that when the county emerges from this economic crisis, it should be smaller. Despite current rhetoric, smaller government isn’t necessarily better government, he argued. But he agreed with Republican commissioner Rob Turner that streamlining the county’s work was important, and that streamlining doesn’t mean the impact of county services will be reduced.

Kristin Judge raised concerns over a clause stating that mandated programs should initially be funded at their minimum serviceability level. She felt the language was too strong, and that the board shouldn’t be asking other elected officials – including the sheriff and judiciary – to start at that baseline level. Smith argued that elected officials, department heads and other staff are best suited to make decisions about which mandated programs and services deserve more funding – the minimum level is just a starting point.

The document is intended to give high-level guidance to the county administration, and at times during the discussion some commissioners expressed frustration that the board was too focused on wordsmithing. At one point, Wes Prater observed that they seemed to be arguing over “not much at all.” [Full Story]

Washtenaw County board of commissioners retreat (Jan. 29, 2011): A budget retreat for county commissioners last Saturday – also attended by other elected county officials and staff – laid some groundwork for tackling Washtenaw County’s two-year, $20.9 million projected deficit.

While no decisions were made, the group took steps toward reaching consensus on budget priorities. They identified among their main concerns: public safety, service delivery and human services. At the end of the five-hour session, several commissioners cited the main benefit of the day as building closer relationships with each other, which they hope will help the board and other elected officials – including the sheriff, prosecuting attorney and treasurer – work together more effectively as they make difficult decisions about programs and services to cut.

The retreat was led by board chair Conan Smith, who structured the day with time for sharing individual priorities and concerns, combined with small group work to discuss specific outcomes the commissioners hope will result from those priorities. For example, if public safety is a priority, a possible outcome might be the goal of responding to a 911 call in 20 minutes or less. The county could then budget its resources to achieve that outcome.

Though these kinds of examples emerged during the retreat, the work of setting priorities will continue. Smith said the goal is to develop a formal board resolution outlining their priorities, to guide the budget-setting process. The board will hold its next retreat on Wednesday, Feb. 9 from 6-9 p.m., immediately following its 5:30 p.m. administrative briefing. Both meetings are public, and will be held at the county administration building, 220 N. Main St. in Ann Arbor.

The county’s fiscal year mirrors the calendar year, and budgets are developed on two-year cycles. The current budget runs through the end of 2011. While there will likely be some additional cuts this year, most discussions are focused on the 2012-2013 budget, which commissioners will be asked to approve by the end of this year. [For additional background, see Chronicle coverage: "'State of County' Tackles $20M Deficit"]

This report summarizes Saturday’s discussions of personal priorities, aspirations for Washtenaw County, budget priorities, and reflections on the process. For breakout sessions, we covered the group focused on public safety. By day’s end there were threads of optimism – Yousef Rabhi, one of four new commissioners, said he felt inspired that they were starting to work not just as a team, but “almost as a family.” But notes of caution were sounded as well, as veteran commissioner Wes Prater told the group that “the most difficult part is yet to come.” [Full Story]

Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners (Feb. 17, 2010): In an extensive presentation to the board, sheriff Jerry Clayton laid out changes he’s made in his department since he took office just over a year ago, and discussed his goals and priorities for the coming years.

One of the most significant changes was financial. In 2009, overtime hours dropped 36%, leading to nearly $1 million in savings during the year. The department also raised $1 million in new revenues, exceeding Clayton’s projections.

Beyond that, Clayton presented his broad philosophical approach to managing law enforcement in the county, and discussed some of the challenges he faces in light of the current economy.

Law enforcement also came up in a separate discussion during the board’s Wednesday meeting, as commissioner Wes Prater raised concerns over the county’s internal financial controls. Though he’s been agitating for action on this front for several months, his decision to ask the board to form a review committee was prompted by the recent arrest of a county employee charged with embezzling over $100,000.

Commissioners also spent considerable time on Wednesday debating the process of formally revising their priorities. The effort is aimed at adapting the priorities to reflect the county’s diminishing resources. While commissioners agreed that community input was crucial, there was no clear consensus about what the process for gathering that input should be, or how much time it will take.

Finally, the board got a brief update on the Wireless Washtenaw project, a coda to a report given at their Jan. 20 meeting. The firm that’s handling the project, 20/20 Communications, is partnering with Southfield-based Internet 123 and plans to submit a revised business plan for Wireless Washtenaw within 60 days. [Full Story]

At its budget retreat held on Saturday at the Wheeler Service Center, city council set out its priorities for the coming year: land use policy (i.e., zoning), economic sustainability, plus improved communication and service delivery.

This, after getting a picture of where the city stands from the city administrator, Roger Fraser, and his key staff: unless expenditures are reduced or else revenues increased, the city will experience a shortfall of revenue against expenditures starting in fiscal year 2010. Staff also outlined some significant projects that the public will start to see implemented or else be expected to help shape in the coming year. Those include increased use of web technologies (e.g., Facebook), more zoning revisions, possible dam removal, and regional coordination of safety services.

Fraser also offered conceptual drawings of a conference center that could be built on top of the proposed Fifth Avenue underground parking garage, and floated the idea of constructing a roof over Fourth Avenue for a bus station to replace the Blake Transit Center. The retreat took place in a workroom outfitted with one of 11 plasma screens that had recently caught the attention of an auditor, because they had been purchased in a manner inconsistent with city guidelines on credit card use. [Full Story]