Travis County Commissioners Court
September 16, 2008
Item 26
It makes sense to go over 26 first and then go back to the personnel amendment because they're related.
26.
discuss and take appropriate action on proposed assignments for the special assistant to the Commissioners court.
>> and I think there's just one special assistant, correct?
>> right.
>> okay.
and the other, looking at the page two, the proposed assignments, um, it's -- I red through it and it's a lot of support for other exec sieve managers -- executive managers.
certainly for anything having to do with star flight or danny hobby, rogers jeffreys, alease pede-s and certainly to rodny.
>> where there's some of that but in bullet number four's a little different.
>> right, those are commitments that Commissioner's court has made and we'll need some assistance with that.
>> one and four, and to be honest by the foreseeable future there's a lot whot lot of work to be done in bullet number one to get it back on track.
the other thing is this special assistance here for a few months gone for a few month, you know what I'm saying?
>> that was my other question, this is full time for how many montes.
>> he's kind of here two or three months and gone two or three months over a period it's about half time.
>> so it'd be six months?
is this going two for six months?
>> well it goes through like may of '09.
but practically speak k I think we're looking at the next couple of montes.
because the ones we don't have is other duties as assigned.
so if there's something that ought to be given priority over these and we agree on it then all we have to do is put it or not agenda and do it.
>> I needed to have information for myself and understand.
I wanted to make sure that we don't leave out any coordination, collaboration and communication that we always have considered very important in county government so that there's an exchange of information going on back and forth, not only between elected officials but between department heads and other executive managers.
I mean if we're going to make this really work well, I mean this is what I would feel comfortable with, so if we can write in that he will coordinate, collaborate and communicate the w all of the parties involved to make, to reach some successful outcomes on all of these assignments, and certainly the first one, the downtown master planning, um, I think that's going to take more than three to six months, isn't it?
of full time work so that we can get, bring everything together and get it before us and we don't waste anymore time.
>> I think it might be that on any one of these bullets that this would take us beyond a six-nine month time frame.
I think none of these -- I doubt that there's a sing p one of them with maybe the exception of bullet four that can actually be accomplished and put to bed in the next quarter.
>> I think all of them are on going task that require coordination, collaboration and communication.
>> that make makes sense to me the only thing was bullet number one was the one I think's going to be most time-consuming an that's going to take a lot of coordination, collaboration and communication with a lot of parties to make sure that we come together with a plan that gets us moving on all of this, and so whatever time that takes.
what is the estimated period of time that that would take to finalize something that then this court will be able to vote on and move forward on?
>> I think this court's going to have to get a lot more definitive than what it is because I don't think that project's going to get done unless we say this is what we done and we want it by this date and we find out who's responsibility it is to get that done because otherwise we're going to be bhak here in six months doing the same thing we've done for the last year, which is in my opinion, very little.
so I think the court is going to have to get very definitive about saying, this is the timeline that we want the thing done by and let's identify what the resources that we are going to need to put forward goat the thing done and do it because I'm all for collaboration, but I'm about collaborated to death.
I mean, because obviously that's not getting us where we need to be with this particular subject matter.
>> well, but you know that always might say that we've wasted a lot of time on maybe there have been too many meetings and not enough good outcomes of those meetings, and then the other thing is, meetings are held and sometimes not everybody comes to the meetings, and so you can't make any headway that way either.
so you know f you want to put some dates on this and to tell everybody, especially that number one, if you want to put a date on it, we want something by, you know, such and such a date and we want all of this, it's unfortunate we have to collaborate a lot but that's how county government is organized.
>> I think to be fair --
>> and so, but I think we need to have some time and we f we have a special assistant who's available to help us get this work done, then I need to see something or some kind of plan, what, within the next month?
judge?
>> well the committee did meet again yesterday and had a few meetings before then, and I was given a document that is supposed to represent the results of those meetings.
>> okay.
>> and I sent out an e-mail on Friday saying that I would ask Commissioner eckhardt to meet with me and let's have something on the agenda on the 23rd.
she and I should meet later today or tomorrow and try to figure out whether to have on the 23rd tor 30th.
a lot depends on what's in it whether we think it's ready, but either next Tuesday or the Tuesday after that we ought have to something spik on the agenda.
>> okay.
now, judge, I understand that, you know, when ju jou two members of the committee getting all of the information and being informed that it's not good idea to meet them with a third member or even if it's just for a briefing, but can I at least see some of the material through e-mail so ki read it on my own to see where we're headed, and I really want to see some, something come out of this bullet number one.
and if we have a special assistant who is willing to do all this, I think lots of work is getting done already, we just need to bring it together to see what needs to be done, then let's do it, please.
>> three of us cannot get together legally (laughter).
but I can share with you what you seed.
>> but the third person can read the e-mails.
>> ki give you what I got today.
>> (inaudible).
individually post that.
>> and then others members can come to the meeting because if you say a potential third member may show up --
>> right.
>> and Commissioner just for clarity.
>> still got to post it.
>> yeah, and that's okay to post.
it.
>> I'm trying to understand that instead of saying support coordination we should just strike support and say coordination of downtown master plan.
>> support is fine if you support what the coordination and collaboration and communication that has occurred, you know, and we're not going to leave anybody out or the work that anybody has done already out, you know, we're not going to leave that out because we certainly don't -- I don't want us starting all over again from scratch, you know.
let's pick up where we are and bring everything together, coordinate it, collaborate it, and let's communicate it because we need to get moving together on this thing.
>> this coordinator set to have magical powers, we'll see if he does.
(laughter)
>> and how long does it take for those magical powers to work?
>> to be fair, I don't think we can put a timeline on the special assistant accomplishment unless that special assistant actually has, is tasked with the authority to get, to accomplish them.
>> I'm hoping that after the next full open court discussion we'll be able to land more specifically on schedules, specific activities, who's to do it.
right now, I think this and other stuff are being circulated to the judges so they can provide input.
in addition to civil judges now criminal judges want to participate on this also.
>> that's a lot of communication.
>> so you're look alth ten departments and that's probably more people than that.
>> absolutely.
>> but I agree you got to collaborate, but I don't know, you know, at some point we may have to decide whether we want to empower somebody to move it.
what that means is kind of saying, hey, when so and so say this is, committee's got to do it.
you disagree with that, bring it back to the court.
but I don't know that we're ready to do that yet.
>> well, and whatever plan is developed has got to come back to this court.
and when I vote on it, I want to be fully informed of everything that's going on.
>> now you will get what I receive, you'll get that over lunch and we have to decide whether to put it on the court's agenda next Tuesday or Tuesday after that to move it.
>> okay.
>> but we're --
>> so do you want to hold this until this afternoon?
>> let me look at it.
>> if there's additional language that you'd like to recommend for court consideration.
>> thanks and then we'll follow up with the --
>> follow up with the other one too?
okay.
>> thanks.
Let's call back to order the voting session of the Travis County Commissioners court.
and christian smith, Commissioner Gomez would like to take another week on the item we were discussing prior to the lunch recess, and that is item number 26.
we will have that back on the --
>> next Tuesday.
christian and I talked over the lunch hour and we're both in agreement.
>> okay.
another outstanding example of collaboration.
>> absolutely.
and communication.
>> and communication.
all right.
>> does that mean we can go ahead and do 9?
>> actually 9 is tied to 26, I think.
in my view it is.
>> how about 9 excluding that one item?
>> that's fine.
I move approval of number 9 except for the p.b.o.
special assistant.
>> second.
>> discussion of that motion?
all in favor?
that passes by unanimous vote.
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Last Modified:
Friday, September 19, 2008 12:34 PM