Dear MCCGJA Member,
Over the past five years, Larry Bauer, a member of the 2014-15 Civil Grand Jury has been following up on their report “Managing for Results: A fine tool in Need of Sharpening”. He has been meeting with County officials including Supervisor Damon Connolly and County Administrator Matthew Hymel as well as other county managers. This has resulted in a unique opportunity for our members. Please read Larry’s letter, which is below. It would be great if some of us were able to participate in this vital program.
Tom Borden
President, MCCGJA
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Dear Member,
As a member of the Marin Chapter, California Grand Jurors’ Association you have dedicated at least one year to serving the county. Many of you, I believe, found that service rewarding, and in many respects, life changing. And I also believe that many would like another opportunity to serve especially if it was not as much of a time commitment. If you are one of those please read on.
Five years ago, the 2014-2015 Civil Grand Jury conducted an investigation of the management system of the county and found it to be lacking. In the ensuing years there have been numerous discussions regarding the management as well as other evaluations of county government. These and internal actions resulted in the Supervisors adopting a new High Performance Organization model chosen by Matthew Hymel, the County Administrator. This model, called the Marin Compass, is in its formative stage. The primary vehicles for change are teams in each of the County’s departments. In recent discussions it became clear that the departments feel that a citizen representative would be a welcome addition to the team, in specified cases. MCCGJA leaders have been discussing, with the County executives, the possibility that our members would be a natural fit for that role given their jury and life experiences.
Recent meetings with County executives led to an agreement for interested MCCGJA members to prepare resume’s, delineating their relevant skills, management experience, collaborative working aptitude, problem solving backgrounds, etc. The opportunities may exist in all departments of the County so there is a need for a wide range of skills. For example, during recent discussions, the Deputy Administrator, Angela Nicholson, mentioned that her team, dealing with County metrics, would appreciate outside input on countywide indicators before finalizing their work. I volunteered and am now a team member. I had the advantage of being a known entity; for others, the resume’ will have to serve as the introduction. From our discussions it is very clear that the volunteers should convey a strong interest in collaborating with the teams and have an expertise appropriate to the challenge. I would encourage viewing the opportunity with all the importance of any challenge in your career.
In summary, I believe we can make a real difference with this opportunity. I’ve been using the word introspective to describe the situation in the County government. I believe we can help open up departments to new viewpoints with our position as customers and with expertise in relevant business and technical practices. Come join the fun! Contact me at ltbauer1gj@gmail.com with any questions and/or to join in.
Warm regards,
Larry Bauer
Chair, Implementation Review Committee (IRC)
Marin Chapter, California Grand Jurors’ Association