Board Games

Meetings Are Hard Work Or Hardly Working

Serving on the Board of Supervisors requires more than attending meetings.

Each supervisor is assigned additional duties to represent the county on a number of regional boards and commissions that deal with issues such as transportation, air quality and criminal justice. There are assignments that involve internal committees within the county bureaucracy.

The board typically convenes to divvy up meeting assignments. This year was no exception.

The board clerk lists approximately 48 appointments that supervisors must fill from their ranks. The selection process involves going over the assignment list and seeking consensus on who is going to serve on what.

Those appointments involve attending many meetings separate from county board meetings. Or do they?

When the subject of serving on the County Leadership Advisory Committee surfaced this year, County Executive Ann Edwards acknowledged there hadn’t been any meetings of that group since she took charge. Newly elected Supervisor Pat Hume quipped, “Happy to take that one.” His colleagues agreed, but he still has more demanding assignments.

Regional boards, including the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency, require the participation of each supervisor. Same with boards overseeing the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Agency, Sacramento Area Sewer District, Sacramento County Water Agency, Sacramento Metropolitan Cable Commission, Sacramento Transportation Agency, Sacramento Regional County Sanitation District, Area 4 Agency on Aging, Sacramento County Water Financing Agency and Sacramento Public Library Authority.

By Howard Schmidt Inside The County

Some of these boards allow supervisors to appoint alternates to attend those meetings. But not all have an escape mechanism.

Typically, supervisors find others to fill in for them on the cable commission.

They also can exit meetings of the flood agency. Most delegate their staff to attend. The transportation agency and library say substitutions must be other elected officials.

Hume, who represents rural parts of south county, sits on the Capital Southeast Connector Authority Board of Directors, Delta Protection Commission and Freeport Regional Water Authority.

Because Supervisors Patrick Kennedy and Phil Serna represent most of Sacramento’s central urban core, they serve on the Sacramento Regional Transit District.

Supervisors Sue Frost and Rich Desmond, who represent most of the urbanized unincorporated area, are assigned to the Sacramento Local Agency Formation Commission, which reviews various municipal services. In 2010, LAFCo processed the proposed incorporation of Arden Arcade. It was soundly rejected by voters.

And there are bodies such as the County Law Library Board of Trustees. No supervisor wanted that, so they assigned County Counsel Lisa Travis.

The Northern California World Trade Center requires two supervisors, usually the chair of the Board of Supervisors and the vice chair as alternate.

Desmond is this year’s board chair so he got the assignment. Kennedy humorously warned the job is a “huge suck of time,” joking for eight years there has never been a meeting.

Howard Schmidt worked on federal, state and local levels of government, including 16 years for Sacramento County. He can be reached at howardschmidt218@aol.com. Previous columns can be found and shared at InsideSacramento.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @insidesacramento. n

City Fumbles Efforts To Solve Homelessness

Progress on the homeless crisis needs five components: monetary resources, political will, a model for housing and services, a place to implement the program and adequate service providers. asking for cleanup and enforcement efforts, then reverses the directives.

With collaborative effort, the city and county can make real progress.

But first, elected officials must admit homelessness is a crisis. We often hear the words “crisis” from the City Council. But the actions enable people to camp in squalor on our streets.

That’s not compassion. And it’s no way to solve a crisis.

An example is “Camp Resolution,” where staff was told to move people illegally squatting on land deemed unfit for humans by state water authorities.

This was a tremendous waste of money. Staff was demoralized. An opportunity lost.

Not enough resources have been allocated to programs that create real change. With state and federal pandemic funds, we had opportunities. But much of that money was spent on other projects. Homelessness was not effectively addressed.

Many models have been built to address the housing and behavioral health needs of homeless people. Permanent housing and supportive housing are a piece of the puzzle, but extremely expensive.

By Jeff Harris City Skeptic

City staff did outreach at the camp. But on the night before cleanup, Councilmember Katie Valenzuela brought so-called homeless advocates to a City Council meeting. The work was canceled.

The city can’t bear the financial burden alone. Private philanthropy needs to engage. City Council needs to stop tossing out one-off projects and create a cohesive plan to shelter and treat as many homeless people as possible.

A lot of money is squandered on knee-jerk reactions to storm events for underused respite centers. As the “Camp Resolution” story shows, City Council gives staff the runaround,

The city has supported a lot of affordable housing. But to deal with the sheer numbers of unhoused people, the best option is interim housing. Our congregate shelters are only marginally successful and difficult to manage.

For interim housing, I’m talking about small structures such as pallet shelters, modular stackable shelters or tiny home communities where behavioral health needs can be addressed. In a declared emergency, building code restrictions are relaxed, which brings down costs.

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