Minutes 01-27-2017 - Laserfiche WebLink

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23 see an official from another jurisdiction at the Pauli Murray Awards, for example, and very few at the Human Relations Commission gathering unless it is held at the Century Center. Do they have events like that that we should be going to? The schools should be included in this as well. They should be included when we celebrate "Orange County First," because they are doing a lot of things that are unique, innovative, exceptional, and pride worthy. Commissioner Jacobs said how many elected officials or residents even know about the Joint Planning Agreement anymore. It is a central pillar of our land use planning and in our relationships with the other governments with regard to annexation and providing public services. But they assume everything is good; that the Managers and Planning Directors will take care of it. Then something pops up, and they wonder if it covered. It used to be that the governments would keep each other informed about what they were doing through an email. If you didn't see the email you wouldn't know what the other governments were doing. Now we at least put things in writing. It is that kind of casualness; if we want to stand together you actually have to put some effort into it. Commissioner Price said there is a divide between the Haves and the Have-Nots. The middle income has dissipated since the recession, creating a huge divide. Our policies seem to forget sometimes that they have people with lesser means. Commissioner Price said they need to remember that people in this county have different values. Some are values that they share and some that are different. They need to respect other people's values. Commissioner Marcoplos cited the lack of home rule as being a large barrier to achieving many of the goals being discussed by the Board. They would be in so much better shape if they had the powers like California's municipalities. Sometimes he said he wondered if they could band together with other progressive counties in a lawsuit. They are getting down to crunch time for civilization, if you look at some data. It's a real impediment that they cannot do a lot of stuff that they need to do. Continual Monitoring and Evaluation of the County's Goals The Board reconvened after a stretch break to consider how the County evaluates its progress. Travis Myren called attention to a handout prepared by staff with a table containing each of the goals prioritized during the Board's 2016 retreat and, under each policy priority, what staff believes has been accomplished and what is left to do. Commissioner Burroughs said she appreciated the planning group putting this item on the agenda. She said the staff's handout was great, showing the goals, progress, and remaining efforts. She also credited staff with the Master Aging Plan process. The Board agreed, in reply to a request from Travis Myren, to add Public Safety as a priority area. Travis Myren said there is a lot going on in Public Safety/Criminal Justice even though it was not a priority from last year's retreat. Commissioner Jacobs asked that the Detention Center and body cameras be included under Public Safety. Travis Myren also suggested the inclusion of the Training Center and Emergency Radio network. Bonnie Hammersley added that this was the first year for tracking these goals. She said there is always the wish that things can be done faster. She said she is hoping that within the next six months to a year they will see additional progress on affordable housing. One achievement that does not show on the handout is the improved relationships they have built with the affordable housing providers. Staff will also be bringing a Housing Affordability policy to the February 16 work session. All the providers have had their say on that. Sometimes it does not look like a lot is happening, but behind the scenes they have made good progress.