REPORT
April 4, 2008

County Government Overlooked

By Laura Petersen

This report was printed in the Del Mar Times

Del Mar and Solana Beach residents interact with local government on a regular basis, whether it's applying for a permit, voicing concerns at city council meetings, running into representatives at the grocery store or passing City Hall on the way to Dog Beach.

Residents are often far less familiar with county government.

While intimately acquainted with the property tax collector, residents may not realize the award-winning county is responsible for an incredible range of services from law enforcement and the courts, to foster care, animal services and elections. The county even makes sure drivers get the full gallon of gas they pay for.

One Del Mar resident who can expertly explain the inner-workings of county government is Pam Slater-Price, a county supervisor since 1993.

Though the historic County Administration Center is located on the San Diego harbor, it works for all 3.1 million residents of the 18 cities and unincorporated areas of San Diego County.

"The county of San Diego is a branch of state government at the local level," Slater-Price said. "Programs are born and funded, to some degree, in Sacramento, and our job is to implement them."

The county operates a $5 billion budget, largely as a pass-through organization providing local citizens state-mandated programs and services. Local taxes, fines and fees provide a 15 percent local match.

Overseeing that budget is the county's legislative body, the Board of Supervisors. The county is divided into five districts roughly equal in population, each represented by a supervisor. Supervisors Greg Cox, Diane Jacob, Slater-Price, Ron Roberts and Bill Horn make up the board, providing leadership, policy direction and allocating resources.

The administration follows basic strategic initiatives including fiscal sustainability, accountability, essential infrastructure and customer satisfaction. The supervisors also establish five-year initiatives, which in 2008 include improving opportunities for children, preserving the environment and promoting safe and livable communities.

The county's chief administrative officer implements these policies and manages the day-to-day operations of 40 departments with more than 17,000 employees.

"The county is well run," Slater-Price said. "We're not on the verge of bankruptcy, the employees are happy."

The proof is in the numbers. San Diego has the highest credit rating of any urban county in the state with an Aa2 rating from Moody's, and two recent upgrades to AA+ from Standard and Poor and Fitch Ratings.

The county also received 41 awards from the National Association of Counties in 2007, more than any other U.S. county for the second year in a row. Employee turnover is 8.3 percent.

For such an award-winning county, it seems more citizens would be aware of who they've elected to run it. But the Board of Supervisors is often cited as one of the lowest profile bodies in government.

While she says voters who follow politics can name their supervisor, Slater-Price attributes their relative anonymity to two things: lack of controversy and corruption.

"If we had negative headlines, believe me, people would know who we were," Slater-Price said.

While an active arm of the more powerful state government, the county does not have much oversight of cities like Del Mar and Solana Beach, which incorporated specifically to get out from under county control.

With much of the urbanized areas regulating their own development, the Board of Supervisors only oversees hot button issues for unincorporated areas, serving as the city council for the 500,000 residents living in those areas.

"We make land use decisions in the unincorporated backcountry," Slater-Price said. "If we were doing land use for the cities, we'd be packed down here all the time."

The county wasn't always such a cheery place.

Before the current administration was installed by 1995, the county was making all sorts of bad headlines: welfare fraud, on the verge of bankruptcy, poorly maintained facilities. Supervisors presided over 181-item agendas in daylong meetings.

"The county was not the City of San Diego, but it was a close second," Slater-Price said. "The board did not have a policy of upkeep and maintenance."

When Slater-Price and Jacob were elected in 1992, and then Cox, Horn and Roberts in 1994 (all five graduates of San Diego State University) they made some much-needed changes.

They fired the chief administrative officer, bringing on Larry Prior, who promised to be an agent of change for two to three years and train long-term replacement, Walter Ekard.

Much has changed since then and in 2007, the county boasted "A Decade of Excellence," becoming a model for others to follow.

The board meets two days a week, every other week, and meetings last an hour on average. The shorter agendas are more cost-effective and most items are placed on consent, but can still be pulled for discussion by the supervisors or public.

Supervisors, who are paid $142,000 a year, have offices in a communal wing of the building. While their chiefs of staff and policy aids interact on a regular basis, the supervisors limit most of their interaction to the dais, Slater-Price said.

"The board has developed a level of cooperation," Slater-Price said, explaining supervisors do not rubberstamp pet projects, but each individual approaches issues from a different point of view. "We all look at the same thing through a prism."

Day-to-day, supervisors are out and about in their districts, meeting with constituents, speaking at events and attending numerous board and committee meetings.

Each supervisor has a discretionary fund of $2 million to spend on important, one-time projects in their communities, such as parks and libraries.

For example, Slater-Price funded $200,000 for Del Mar Library upgrades, and $10,000 towards the improvements planned for Plaza Street in Solana Beach. These community grants require a rigorous application process, the supervisor said.

In the 2008, Slater-Price, Cox and Jacob are up for reelection. There are no term limits for supervisors, which Slater-Price said have never been widely demanded.

"I think term limits are a bad thing," Slater-Price said. "They were instated with good intentions, but the person in the job is constantly looking for their next job. Whatever is left undone will be on the other person's plate, overspending, goofy legislation."

For more information go to sdcounty.ca.gov.