At the upcoming Marin County Board of Supervisors meeting on Oct. 24, the supervisors will consider changing the title of “County Administrator” to “County Executive.”
The change is being made, along with other tweaks to the job description, as the current holder of the job is retiring.
The recommended ordinance is as follows:
Approve introduction of an ordinance replacing the Office of County Administrator with the Office of the County Executive and direct the Clerk of the Board to place the ordinance on the November 7, 2023 consent calendar for adoption.
SUMMARY: Earlier this year, upon the announcement of the forthcoming retirement of the current County Administrator, your Board formed a subcommittee to review how other counties across California were organizing their lead executive position and to consider changing Marin’s approach in time for the forthcoming recruitment. The Board Subcommittee, consisting of Board President Moulton-Peters and Supervisor Rice, reviewed the current description of the County Administrator in the County Code, researched the structure in nine comparable California counties, interviewed three veteran county executives, and discussed possible changes with County department heads.
At the request of Supervisor Moulton-Peters and Supervisor Rice, it is recommended that your Board revise the current County Code description of the County Administrator’s role to align with the current practice and Board expectations. The Subcommittee anticipates that improved clarity will result in greater coordination and accountability for cross-departmental performance to address the top community priorities.
Therefore, the Subcommittee recommends the following structural and administrative changes:
The title of the position will change from County Administratorto County Executive.
The non-elected department heads shall report to the County Executive but will continue to meet with the BOS and individual Supervisors for policy direction, dialogue, and project and program updates.
The BOS will interview and confirm the appointment of non-elected department heads. The County Executive will conduct the recruitments for department heads and shall offer an appropriate number of finalists and recommendations to the Board for confirmation of appointments.
The Board of Supervisors delegates to the County Executive ongoing management oversight of all appointed department heads (except for County Counsel). The County Executive will be responsible for coaching, mentoring, discipline and potential dismissal.
The County Executive shall be responsible for evaluating the performance of non-elected department heads with input from the Board.
The proposed changes seek to better align the responsibilities of the County Executive with accountability to the Board of Supervisors for results. The proposed changes clarify that the Board expects the County Executive to manage the department directors to carry out the Board’s policy direction with effectiveness, efficiency, and equity. The proposed organizational change builds on the County’s existing collaborative strengths and philosophy and is needed to address the increasing complexity of the issues the County is facing and the need for multi- departmental collaborations and solutions to address these complex issues.
The changes largely formalize the way that Marin County government has worked for the last ten or more years. The Board of Supervisors retains sole authority for a collective county vision and priorities, policy direction, adoption of strategic goals, budgets, policy statements and ordinances. The Board will continue to meet with non-elected department directors for information on programs, activities, and projects.
The upcoming recruitment of a County Executive presents an opportunity to better conform the written description of the position with the current practice and the Board’s expectations. The Board will actively monitor the first-year implementation process along with the outgoing County Administrator/County Executive and the new County Executive to ensure a successful transition to this new organizational model.
The proposed ordinance provides for the above-described changes and provides for the new “county executive” name. The ordinance does not supersede requirements of state law or other legal requirements regarding certain department heads such as Finance and Probation. Human
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