2011 State of Tulare County Address
January 25, 2011
2011 State of the County Address
By Mike Ennis, Chairman
Tulare County Board of Supervisors
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for your attendance at today’s meeting. It is truly a pleasure and honor to hold office as a public servant, and, this year, as your Chairman of the Tulare County Board of Supervisors.
It’s been quite a year since we last gathered to hear Supervisor Worthley talk about the state of Tulare County.
Like all California counties, there were many challenges in 2010. The State dealt with its budget woes and the economy continued to slump. Both obstacles created negative impacts, forcing most Counties to lay off or furlough employees and reduce state-mandated services to close growing budget gaps.
Many Counties struggled with these tough and inevitable solutions. Other Counties, like Tulare County, who has remained fiscally conservative for years, managed to keep the budget gap lower than most of our neighboring Counties.
I would like to publicly thank past Chairman Steve Worthley and my fellow Board members, other elected officials, our CAO and his staff, and County of Tulare department heads and employees for their collective efforts, contributions, and innovative ideas and leadership during 2010. Efforts from each stakeholder prevented deeper budget cuts.
While times were tough, there were many County accomplishments in 2010.
A few highlights include:
- County of Tulare government continued to carry out Strengthening the Bottom Line, a program which encouraged all employees to brainstorm cost saving and revenue generating ideas, along with ideas to improve work processes. Cost saving ideas included paperless newsletters and paychecks, which saved the County thousands of dollars.
- Tulare County’s Water Commission obtained $2 million in funding from the California Department of Water Resources to address the drinking and wastewater needs for disadvantaged communities in the Tulare Lake Basin.
- Tulare County libraries received three U.S.D.A. grants for the rehabilitation of the Ivanhoe and Earlimart Library branches and the establishment of a book machine in Cutler. These grants will continue to improve access to the public.
- The Sheriff’s Department’s 12 new Community-Based Officers (CBO) continued to serve the rural, unincorporated communities. The CBO’s kept in constant touch with school officials, students, parents, business owners, town councils, community-based and non-profit organizations, and others in the community to promote public safety.
- Staff has managed and continues to leverage Measure R, a half-cent sales tax approved by voters in 2006, to boost transportation funding for the county by 400 percent and doubled the amount of road projects started in its first three years. Some notable transportation projects that will start ahead of time include: improvements to Betty Drive, Bardsley Avenue, and Cartmill Avenue railroad crossings; improvements to State Route 190; and the early completion of Mooney Boulevard widening in Visalia.
- County staff began working on the Central Valley Next-General Broadband Infrastructure Project, which will provide high-speed Internet service through 18 California counties, including Tulare County. This type of project is important for all counties who have residents in rural communities.
There were many more noteworthy projects in 2010. I would like to commend all County staff for their hard work and dedication through tough times. As Chairman, I’m looking forward to more innovation and quality projects from all departments and employees in the upcoming year.
In 2011, I want to focus my work as Chairman to improving customer service, communication with the unincorporated communities and cities, supporting public safety at every level of county government, and updating the Tulare County Strategic Business Plan.
One countywide initiative that I’m excited to highlight is our customer service initiative.
Prior to being elected as Fifth District Supervisor, my decades-long career as an automobile salesman taught me many valuable business lessons. Those business lessons translate into public service.
Customer service is the lifeblood of any successful business, including local government. In the private sector, interaction with the customers is customer service. In Tulare County, our employees engage in customer service every day at work.
From seeking birth certificates at the Clerk’s Division in Visalia and checking out books in Orosi to applying for a permit in Porterville and getting a road paved in Pixley, thousands of residents utilize Tulare County services each year. These residents expect and deserve great customer service.
In 2011, the Board of Supervisors will partner with all County departments to strive for excellent public service.
How? Ongoing efforts have been made to provide all existing employees the opportunity to participate in customer service training over a one- to two-year period. New employees will receive training at time of hire as well as follow up training. The training will be tailored to department needs so that it is relevant and useful to each employee. The program will also be offered throughout County locations so that it is easily accessible and does not significantly impact the workload of employees. For current employees, this training program should be a refresher course. For new hires, this should set the tone for what Tulare County expects of its employees.
Included in the program will be identified goals which will be monitored at different points during the training to measure how well goals are being met and to make adjustments to the training as needed. I would like to commend HHSA Director John Davis, County Librarian Brian Lewis, Ag Commissioner Marilyn Kinoshita, Child Support Services Director Debra Olvera, and County Administrative Officer Jean Rousseau for laying the groundwork for this important program.
As leaders, the Board of Supervisors will match employees in providing excellent public service. Successful service initiatives include outreach programs that increase accessibility.
I’m pleased to announce the Board of Supervisors Office, with the help of County departments, will implement three new outreach programs in 2011.
- The Tulare County Speakers Bureau will include a diverse group of local government experts who are prepared to speak on a wide range of topics relating to local government issues.
- Each Supervisor has committed to conduct a town hall meeting in their District this year to improve community relations. We are the go to guys for our unincorporated communities, particularly those with no community or town councils.
- An online citizen request form will provide Tulare County residents another way to communicate with County departments about an issue that needs resolving. Departments will receive the communication and respond in a timely manner to the request/issue.
In addition to implementing three new outreach programs, Tulare County will also continue to work with community partners to promote 2-1-1.
2-1-1 is an important tool because it links residents to important services, promotes civic involvement, and serves as a social barometer for assessing where need is greatest in the community.
All of these outreach strategies are efforts to improve public service, as well as communication with our constituents – our key stakeholder.
Another key stakeholder is our incorporated cities and their elected officials. The Board of Supervisors must continue to work with city elected officials to create sound policy that will be beneficial to all residents countywide.
In 2011, working with our city elected leaders will be an important step to the passage of the Tulare County General Plan Update this year.
The General Plan update provides a vision for the future of Tulare County. Having frank, meaningful discussions with city elected leaders early in the year will ensure the General Plan is current, consistent, and beneficial to all. The Tulare County Board of Supervisors expects the General Plan to be passed this year.
In addition to improved communication, I am pledging my full support to public safety.
One of Sheriff Bill Wittman’s key goals this year is to reduce gang violence in Tulare County by 5 percent by utilizing several strategies:
- Implementing additional gang injunctions
- Establishing a target list of “Top 10” gang violence offenders
- Increasing patrol of high-crime areas
The Board of Supervisors will continue to support any efforts by Sheriff Wittman to curb the negative impacts of gangs in our communities.
One other item that must be achieved this year is updating the County’s Strategic Business Plan.
In 2006, the County adopted its Strategic Business Plan for 2006-2011. This year we will update our plan in order to ensure continued alignment between community priorities and County services. County departments will identify their contributions to these priorities through department level goals and, as part of the annual budget process, will begin developing performance measures to communicate to the public their level of goal achievement.
In addition to countywide goals, there are a few goals and projects that I am looking forward to in District Five.
- I will work with the Forest Service and residents in the foothills and mountain areas to encourage wise forest management. Properly maintaining our forests and underbrush will help avoid a catastrophic fire.
- Talks have begun with school districts to bring localized Step Up gang awareness forums to different neighborhoods in Porterville. I will also continue the dialogue with City of Porterville officials to host a Step Up event in Porterville. Our offer for assistance and support of a Step Up Porterville event remains strong.
- Planning for the construction of the South County Justice Center should begin this year, which will provide an economic boost to the Porterville area. We will continue to work with the state to move the project along, and the County will research how to remodel the existing courthouse to accommodate court personnel, including the district attorney, public defender and other departments.
- Securing funding for the Lake Success remediation project has been and will continue to be one of my top priorities. Next month the Board will travel to Washington, D.C. to lobby for these funds, and I will remain active in every effort to bring these important funds to Lake Success.
There is no doubt there will be more fiscal challenges in 2011, particularly with the State’s budget crisis and steady decline in property tax revenues. The Board will continue its philosophy of administering State programs to the extent that they are funded. We have no desire to discontinue services to the residents of Tulare County, but we do not have the resources to act as a bank for the State of California. It is the State’s responsibility to fund these programs.
With strong leadership, however, Tulare County will continue to stay fiscally conservative and provide critical County services.
Again, I would like to commend and thank all County employees for their dedication and hard work.
Thank you to all in attendance. May God Bless You.