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Diversity in the Job as Commissioner
Posted 08-22-2001
The job of county commissioner is varied and diverse. It is one in which a
person simply cannot be an expert in every area. Rather, one must labor very
hard to develop a working knowledge of a broad range of issues. Recently the
County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania (CCAP) held its summer
meeting in southwestern Pennsylvania. The conference agenda is a great
example of the diverse topics for which commissioners have responsibility. I
would like to share with you some of those topics to give you a greater view
for what our job entails.
There were a variety of
sessions with speakers related to human services. Discussions included
Retention and Recruitment for the Long-Term Care Workforce, Transportation
for Persons With Disabilities, HealthChoices and the CCAP's County Managed
Care Resources, and the Launching of H-Net for Counties as IT Business
Partners with the Department of Public Welfare. As with the entire health
care industry, counties are struggling to recruit and retain workers in
county nursing homes. Often counties offer less compensation, so the
challenges are more pronounced. Westmoreland County has been involved with
Health Choices for several years, but for many of the more rural counties.
the initiative is a daunting task to implement. HealthChoices is the
Commonwealth's transformation to managed care for behavioral health care,
and CCAP is working with counties to make the change.
Prisons are another area of
importance to county commissioners. A growing challenge for county prisons
is the increased number of mentally ill offenders held in county jails. A
session was held detailing the efforts of several counties who have
implemented diversion programs to deal with this challenge. Many counties,
particularly the smaller ones, are simply not equipped to deal with the
problem. Sessions such as the one at the CCAP conference can often identify
a possible course of action for counties who otherwise do not have a
solution to their problem.
There was also a session on
how to effectively deal with the challenge of providing employee benefits
featuring CCAP's Best Flex program. A program on Open Spaces explained how
counties must deal with the challenges of development. It discussed such
issues such as agricultural and rural economies, debt issuance referendums,
and the public relations campaigns that ultimately accompany land use
issues. There was a session on energy issues that discussed the current
status of electricity and natural gas deregulation in Pennsylvania. It
featured a discussion on recent PUC decisions that will have an impact on
future costs for counties. Also discussed were purchasing strategies,
conservation issues, and ways for counties to develop savings and better
budget for energy costs.
The National Tobacco
Settlement and counties' role in Pennsylvania was discussed. How
Pennsylvania will expend the funds and the effect on services that are
already the responsibility of counties were elements of the session.
Deploying Technology to Streamline County Governments, a subject I've often
said will be the key to our successful management of our county government
featured a discussion on the Keystone e-Government initiatives. A very
important issue on the horizon for county governments, the implementation of
GASB 34 (Government Accounting Standards Board), was presented to discuss
how counties should establish values for such things as roads, bridges, and
parks, and their related depreciation charges. This issue alone may be one
of the biggest accounting challenges counties face. And while we've been
working on it in our county, there is still much to do.
CCAP also works to help
commissioners interact better. A session was held on Power Networking that
reviewed the eight hallmarks of successful networking. Also the conference's
keynote speaker, Jeff Tobe, made a presentation on creativity and how we can
revamp our traditional belief system, both personal and professional, by
looking at it from a whole new perspective. Mr. Tobe challenged attendees
to, "stop looking in their rearview mirror to see how things were done in
the past."
The job of county
commissioner is as diverse as any in the public sector. We are the executive
branch of county government and a quasi-legislative branch that passes
ordinances that govern county property and policies. The areas we deal with
vary from prisons, to parks, to a nursing home. We must deal with energy
issues, the tobacco settlement, technology, and accounting changes. We need
financial management skills, communications skills, and a great deal of
common sense. The job is a dynamic one that provides us with an opportunity
to serve the public and continue to learn. |
