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COUNTY OF SAN MATEO
Inter-Departmental Correspondence
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County Manager’s Office
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DATE:
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September 1, 2006
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BOARD MEETING DATE:
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September 12, 2006
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SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:
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None
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VOTE REQUIRED:
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None
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TO:
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Honorable Board of Supervisors
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FROM:
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John L. Maltbie, County Manager
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SUBJECT:
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2005-06 Grand Jury Responses
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Recommendation
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Accept this report containing the County’s responses to the following 2005-06 Grand Jury report: “Old Myths and New Realities – Who’s Responsible for Taking Care of Business.”
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VISION ALIGNMENT:
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Commitment: Responsive, effective and collaborative government.
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Goal 20: Government decisions are based on careful consideration of future impact, rather than temporary relief or immediate gain.
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This activity contributes to the goal by ensuring that all Grand Jury findings and recommendations are thoroughly reviewed by the appropriate County departments and that, when appropriate, process improvements are made to improve the quality and efficiency of services provided to the public and other agencies.
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Discussion:
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The County is mandated to respond to the Grand Jury within 90 days from the date that reports are filed with the County Clerk, and Elected Officials are mandated to respond within 60 days. It is also the County’s policy to provide periodic updates to the Board and the Grand Jury on the progress of past Grand Jury recommendations requiring ongoing or further action. To that end, attached are the County’s responses to the Grand Jury’s report titled “Old Myths and New Realities – Who’s Responsible for Taking Care of Business.”
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Old Myths and New Realities
Who’s Responsible for Taking Care of Business?
Allocating Property Taxes in Times of Scarcity
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Findings:
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Concur.
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Recommendations:
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4.1.
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Take the following steps to assure that cities, schools, and special districts in the County can rely on figures generated by the County Controller:
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Provide funds for the Property Tax and Special Accounting Manager to actively and consistently participate in the County Property Tax Manager’s subcommittee of the CAAC.
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Response: Concur. In future budget submittals provided by the Controller’s Office, the County Manager’s Office will request a budget for out-of-town travel to County Property Tax Manager’s subcommittee meetings of the CAAC. The County Manager’s Office will review and consider the CAAC travel request as part of the annual review of the Controller’s budget.
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Monitor the results of customer surveys conducted by the Controller’s Office and bring concerns to the Controller’s attention.
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Response: Concur. All County departments are required to survey their internal and external clients each year and report back to the County Manager’s Office on the results. As such, the Controller’s Office sends customer service surveys to all its customers each year, including all taxing agencies in the County. The results of the survey responses are then summarized by the Controller’s Office and the results are reported to the County Manager’s Office. The County Manager’s Office reviews both the response rates and the feedback and relays any concerns back to the Controller’s Office. The County Manager’s Office also consolidates the customer service survey results by County department into an annual report to the Board of Supervisors.
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4.2
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Extend the responsibilities of the Deputy County Manager for Legislative Affairs and County Counsel to include informing elected officials of the County of legislation that might impact their departments.
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Response: Concur. The Deputy County Manager for Legislative Affairs monitors all legislation that could impact County operations or revenues. It is normal operating procedure for the Deputy County Manager to request assistance from County Counsel as well as the County’s Legislative Advocate in Sacramento to analyze legislation for potential impacts.
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4.3
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Monitor the progress of and review the results of the Controller’s mini-compliance audit of current property tax allocation practices and take further actions as deemed necessary to assure that the County accurately allocates property taxes.
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Response: Concur. The Controller’s Office will be conducting a mini-compliance audit of its current property tax allocation practices. The scope of the audit will include a review of the Controller’s current practices to ensure compliance with policies and procedures in the Property Tax Manager’s Reference Manual. The audit is scheduled to begin before December 31, 2006. Once completed, the results will be reported to the County Manager’s Office.
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