2010-07-30 Cost of Government Commission Minutes

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MS. NICHOLSON: I quite frankly don’t think we’re going to have time to talk to everyone and compose the report. MR. TAKABA: Maybe a smaller department we can make sure they submit something, but not necessarily to interview them unless we have questions. MS. NICHOLSON: So, if we are trying to identify core services, then perhaps we really want to focus on those departments that provide those core services first. MR. TAKABA: It would probably be the larger departments. MS. NICHOLSON: But then there are some core services which you said like Data Systems which is MR. TAKABA: We have to separate the staff departments from the line departments. It’s the line departments that provide the services to the public. I think these are the ones that be identified with a services. But internal ones like Corporation Counsel, Finance, and there are parts of Finance that deal directly with the public, like Auto Registration. But the ones you really want to focus on in terms of services to the public like, Police, Fire, Public Works, Planning, Aging, things like that. The ones that provide services to other departments like Data Systems, they still need to be interviewed to determine how they can cut their operation and make more efficient about spending. But you look at it a little differently. We still need the operation. Like Finance, you’re still going to need Finance, but is there anything within Finance that we could make better serving the county operations. Because I think it talks about operations a well as the public. MS. NICHOLSON: Does anyone need to take a break or do you just want to plow ahead here? MS. GARSON: Break. MS. NICHOLSON: Let’s take a maximum ten minute break and reconvene at ten to 11 so everyone can ponder some of these questions that we want to compose. Break started at 10:40 Meeting reconvened at 10:50. MS. NICHOLSON: We’re all here so I’d like to call the meeting back to order. Are we ready to actually start working on some questions, specific questions? MS. WONG: I have a couple comments on the approach. Two of the things I want to bring up. Because we’re short on people on the commission, I’m wondering if we could perhaps bring in an outside, someone not from the district, say someone from the university, to help us look at either from Political Science or Management or something, the schools at the university, to help us look at some of these departments just cause we are short handed or we could get a whole commission. And the other things that we talked about, giving the public input, would we have a workshop? How were you 27