The nice thing about goal setting is it makes you feel governments can make actual progress
We appreciate that Sutter County supervisors and staff are putting their top priorities in writing, setting goals that everyone can see so that everyone can measure the progress over time.
That is, after all, one of the reasons people don't totally get local government … there's not much notice of accomplishments. What does government do? What do supervisors get paid for? What do all those bureaucrats do for us? Of course there are duties lined out for everyone in county government. But constituents like the feeling that progress is being made, and the county building is perceived as mostly a place that houses offices that do things over and over again … assess value, notify taxpayers, receive taxes, provide specific services … But what headway is made? A top 10 list gives you the feeling that county government isn't just a bureaucracy, but is actually making plans to get some big things done.
Sutter County's list as of this date:
Develop a customer service philosophy.
Put a long-term homeless management plan in place.
Move the district attorney's office and child support services to a new building and complete the jail expansion.
Accommodate development of Sutter Pointe.
Review the marijuana cultivation ordinance and recommend changes, if need be.
Starting fiscal year 201819, have the county's first comprehensive annual financial report.
Review land use plans and look for needed revisions in certain areas.
Continue work with flood control agencies and complete countywide levee improvements.
Improve communications with residents, businesses and other governments.
Resolve Sutter County Airport land use issues.
A couple of those are nobrainers … developing a customer service philosophy. But a few of them seem significant - an actual financial report, for instance.
The idea that progress can be made in local government … that's nice. It invites transparency and accountability and we like that. County Administrator Scott Mitnick mentioned that the goals can be used in delivery of employee evaluations.
It's not unusual for government organizations to do some goal setting … but usually they're more general and the whole exercise is used more to communicate within the organization. Here, they're setting actual goals and putting them out there and planning on getting them done. We can watch.
At least that seems to be the idea.
Are they all the right goals? They don't look bad, just as long as they don't end up in one of those spiral-bound booklets that goes on a shelf somewhere.
The goals will be before the board June 13, and the public will have a chance to weigh in. And when they're finally adopted, we can all check on them from time to time.