Minutes - 20040131 - Laserfiche WebLink

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costing the County for legal services right now and what it will cost to hire a staff attorney (office, secretary, paralegal, etc.). He would like to know what other counties our size were doing with a position like this. John Link will include this as part of the budget. Commissioner Gordon would like to know Geof Gledhill's proposal on the allocation of his time and the new person's time. She asked if Geaf Gledhill would envision less work far him after this position is created. Geof Gledhill said that he does not expect that he will do less. His expectation is that things will be done in part differently in that there will be additional services available to the County. For example, the staff attorney would be available for projects related to citizen inquiries. Another example is the ability to set up an institutional contract system. Also, the staff attorney would better be able to attend advisory board meetings as needed. Commissioner Gordon asked how the institutional memory would be served since the person would not be in training to be the County Attorney. Geof Gledhill said that the answer to that has to do with the degree in which this position may result in Orange County's changing its view on how it provides legal services. At some point the County may decide not to employ a law firm, but to have an attorney on staff. Commissioner Gordon said that this has to do with how you perceive a County Attorney, such as there is a certain leadership, a higher level of law services, the ability to go to court that is associated with a County Attorney. A position like this staff attorney does not require a lot of leadership. She feels that this is an entry-level position. She asked Geof Gledhill to conceptualize this position a little bit more. John Link said that it is extremely rare that the same County Attorney has been with a county far 30 years. This is reflective of the stability of Orange County. He said that this could be done in Orange County where in many other counties it could not be done. Geof Gledihll said that the aspect of the position would grow as the person's longevity continues and he thinks this position would change over time. He said that 20 years ago, 40% of his work was Orange County; now it is 250°~. Commissioner Brown said that she is interested in understanding same of the processes that might be developed. For example, the contract issue. Also, someone in this position would need to be extremely sensitive to a county situation. This person would need to have subtlety in dealing with public issues. Commissioner Halkiotis added that one of Geof Gledhill's greatest strengths is how he relates to urbanites and rural citizens. He thinks it will be a sad day when Geof Gledhill is no longer representing Orange County. John Link will bring a proposal back in the Manager's Budget in the new position request process, which will be in April/May. At this time, the Board took a 5-minute break 2. UPDATES MENTAL HEALTH Commissioner Brown asked OPC Mental Health Director Tom Maynard to join the Board at the table. Tom Maynard made reference to the report and said that the steering committee has been working over the last year on the plans far implementation of mental health reform. The business plan went forward to the State and was approved. The State designated OPC as a local management entity LME}. This was effective July 1, 2003. Yesterday they spent all day with the State director and associates explaining some of the decisions. One is the funding formula for the LME. The LME administrative functions will be funded directly by the State with State and Medicaid money. There will be no County participation required far this. The Medicaid portion also does not require a County match. The funding formula is $2.03 per