By Jennifer Poole/TWN Staff Writer
Posted: 07/08/2011 11:47:43 AM PDT
"Cover Your Asphalt," the Mendocino County Grand Jury's 2010/2011 report on the county Department of Transportation, says an investigation into employee complaints about management style confirms that problems have led to a high turnover and low staff morale.
The report asks the county Board of Supervisors to take an active role in resolving "pervasive job discontent" at MCDoT and to "initiate an independent internal review of the operations." More than 70 employees have left, transferred or retired from MCDoT since 2006, and the report alleges there are "a number of current employees at MCDoT that are considering retiring, transferring, or seeking a new job outside MCDoT because of management practices."
The grand jury report's No. 1 finding on management was: "There are significant inter/intra-departmental barriers, communication deficiencies, and poor decision-making practices." The report found that "management is performing routine clerical support tasks and errands that are typically performed by subordinates," that "division stakeholders are not allowed timely input, resulting in inefficiency and mistakes," and that "the routine shifting of priorities within MCDoT is unnecessary and leads to inefficiency."
The report also suggests the department is top-heavy, with an assistant director and four deputy directors in addition to Director and Road Commissioner Howard Dashiell. The grand jury recommends the county review levels of management to determine if these positions are critical to the department. Each deputy director covers a different area: road maintenance, engineering, administration and land improvement.
Dashiell told The Willits News he was still working on his required responses to the grand jury on the findings about management issues, and he had no comment on that part of the report.
Dashiell did have a preliminary response for another issue discussed in "Cover Your Asphalt."
The report implies although it does not "find"--that there is a relationship between the poor condition of Mendocino County's roads and "a reserve in excess of $4.6 million" in MCDoT's accumulated fund balance.
The county's road system had an overall index of 45 out of 100 in 2010. An index score of between 24 to 50 means "poor" road conditions. Roads in the City of Willits have an overall rating of 54, still "at risk," but higher than the county average.
MCDoT's Dashiell emphasized that the $4.6 million fund balance was "NOT a reserve, but rather a snapshot in time of cash in the account."
Gas tax payments from the state have been held for up to seven months before being released to counties, "causing large swings in the road fund balance" over the last three years, Dashiell said. In 2006, the county was awarded $6.5 million in Prop. 1B funding (bonds approved by the voters in 2006), and the final payment of $3.1 million was received in 2010.
"Thus, the road fund changes over time with fluctuating payments and expenditures," Dashiell wrote, "but the budget allocates all the funds to proper use in the road system."
According to an April report to the Willits City Council by the Mendocino Council of Governments, there are 19.8 miles of paved roads in Willits; 37 percent of the pavement area is in good condition, 9 percent is in "at risk" condition, 21 percent is in poor condition, and 33 percent is in failed condition.
MCOG senior planner Nephele Barrett said conditions of roads in Willits have improved significantly from a score of 38 in 2001, "due largely to the transportation sales tax."
http://www.willitsnews.com/ci_18440662
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