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64 <br />County vehicles come in a wide arrangement of colors, condition and <br />identifying icons. It should be with some consistency that vehicles are <br />identified as county vehicles; clearly numbered; kept in presentable <br />condition (fresh paint is not that expensive); with a common icon and <br />departmental identification placed in a similar location on each vehicle. <br />Among county departments there is no common approach to identifying <br />county employees. Some use a uniform approach (Sheriff and EMS), some <br />use identification badges and many have not recognizable identity to tell the <br />public they represent county government. Dress down Fridays mean little if <br />some staff never has to dress up. <br />My approach to this issue might be too formal in view of past practice here, <br />but because we do pay well and county employees do represent the image of <br />county government that the public encounters, first impressions do count and <br />last. I am not stressing a coat and tie approach for all staff. I do think <br />uniform style golf shirts for men and women; minimum standards on foot <br />ware for safety purposes and determinations of acceptable daily wear for <br />county employees will build upon a positive image with the public. Again, <br />dress down Fridays mean little if you never have to dress up. <br />Il~iero-management by the B®CC <br />I have not personally experienced this issue during my brief time here. I am <br />told BOCC members sometimes become directly involved in the details of <br />delivering county services. <br />I welcome BOCC input, but reserve the authority to act where NCGS, <br />federal law or direction by the BOCC consensus has established <br />responsibility. I understand the role of the manager in a local government <br />organization. I make mistakes. When I do, I accept responsibility for those <br />errors, attempt to make the appropriate adjustments and move on. <br />In the end, if the BOCC wants change within the organization to occur, it <br />will need to support those changes in the broader sense not on every single <br />factor impacting a decision. Many of the items outlined in this report will <br />not be addressed if each item must have intensive BOCC involvement before <br />action can be implemented. The broader scope that the BOCC assumes in <br />its policy development processes, the more effectively the manager and the <br />organization can respond. <br />3 <br />