2007-01-09 Cost of Government Commission Minutes

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SPECIFIC TO THEIR DEPARTMENTS, WITHIN THREE MONTHS OF HIRE DATE" Ms. Noda explained that in reviewing the December 19, 2006, minutes and discussing the meeting with Katherine Garson, she realized that she answered the question regarding whether new departmental managers receive training on legal, contractual, and procurement issues specific to their departments cold, without knowing what Barbara Bell had said about the issue. However, after reviewing Ms. Bell's input, she realized what Ms. Bell was asking for and wanted to clarify the Office of the Corporation Counsel's policy and procedure for the Counseling and Drafting unit and the Litigation unit. The Office of the Corporation Counsel does have goals and mandates, and the attorneys provide training constantly, whether through a one -on -one session, by telephone on a specific issue, or more formally. The training is constant and ongoing. Ms. Bell had felt that when a new director, deputy director, or administrator came on board, there was no comprehensive program to train them. When she discussed the issue with Ms. Garson, they came up with a suggestion for the recommendation, which is in Rough Draft 2 of the final report. Ms. Bell seemed to want training on specific needs and concerns, such as how to get a design consultant. The Corporation Counsel does not provide training on all issues, but could coordinate with the appropriate parties to provide the needed training. Since Mr. Joseph had stated at the last meeting that he wanted a department to be in charge of the training, she was suggesting that the recommendation be worded so that Corporation Counsel would be primarily responsible to assist a department in training, but would not necessarily be the agency to do the training, depending on what the needs were. There being no comments or questions from the commissioners, the Chair moved to agenda item 6. 6. DISCUSSION /ACTION BASED UPON DRAFT 2 OF FINAL REPORT AND ALL RECOMMENDATIONS THEREIN AND REVISIONS THEREOF The commissioners had no comments on the Table of Contents and continued to page 1. Mr. Joseph said he was not trying to offend anyone, but asked why Dixie Kaetsu's name was on the list of members /staff, as she never attended any of the meetings. Ms. Noda explained that there is a requirement that the County's managing director be an ex officio member, which means Ms. Kaetsu is a required member of the Commission but does not have voting rights. Mr. Joseph said he would suggest her name be eliminated, as she briefly attended only the first meeting. The Chair asked what Ms. Kaetsu's function was. Ms. Noda said it was to provide input and information. Ms. Noda said that Section 5 -2.2 of the Charter states that the managing director shall be an ex officio member of the Commission. In having Ms. Kaetsu's name there, it shows that the Commission has fulfilled the Charter requirement for membership. This could prevent someone questioning whether the Commission's body was properly constituted. 2 = NOTE: These minutes are unapproved, as no further meetings of this Commis- - sion are scheduled.