We’re Consolidating County Groups to Become More Lean and Agile

/

-Helen Robbins-Meyer, Chief Administrative Officer

I’ve spoken much about us entering a period of change. That includes long, hard looks at our organization and seeing whether it’s as effective as it can be.

With that in mind, I’m announcing a significant restructuring of the County’s five business groups, consolidating them into four. We’ll transfer the departments of the Community Services Group (CSG) into other groups, and we’ll dissolve the CSG executive office.

These changes will be effective July 1, 2019.

The departments themselves will remain intact, and the reorganization will not affect departmental staffing.

We chose the new homes for each of these departments very deliberately. Each closely aligns with existing missions of those groups, so the moves mean better alignment with our overall County strategy.

Here’s where we are placing the CSG departments:

  • The Department of Animal Services will move to the Public Safety Group with a focus on animal safety and well-being.

  • County Library will transition to the Land Use & Environment Group to build on synergies with parks and recreational services.

  • The Department of Purchasing and Contracting will join the Finance & General Government Group to better serve customer contracting needs across the enterprise.

  • The Registrar of Voters will report to the Finance & General Government Group to meet the intergovernmental needs for election services throughout the region. 

  • The Department of General Services will report directly to Assistant Chief Administrative Officer, Don Steuer, but be administratively aligned to the Finance & General Government Group.

  • Responsibilities for the Countywide Redevelopment Successor Agency Oversight Board will transition to the Health and Human Services Agency.

Current CSG DCAO, April Heinze, will take a new position as DCAO for Special Projects in the Chief Administrative Office. She will focus on expediting the successful completion of affordable housing projects stemming from the Board’s Innovative Housing Trust Fund awards, oversight of the affordable housing projects being built on surplus county property, energy sustainability solutions, as well as other new priorities that are expected from the Board of Supervisors. The other members of the CSG Executive Office will be placed in various open positions in the County.

These organizational changes are meant to expedite our response times, increase cost efficiency and enhance service delivery to the region. They will be reflected in the FY 2019-2021 Operational Plan.

We’re going to keep reviewing the organization’s structure and make changes as needed to meet new challenges ahead. I appreciate everyone’s flexibility and hope you share my excitement as we better shape the organization to meet our customers’ needs.