This item is timely. Due to a lack of county executive capacity, the Commissioners Court becomes embroiled in day-to-day management issues. These decisions take attention of the Court away from policy development and prioritizing action of the organization.
I believe the way forward includes adding additional management capacity at the executive level. Item #8 lays out a roadmap forward in 4 parts:
A. Scope of authority for the County Executive of Operations Management;
B. Job description and job title for the County Executive of Operations Management;
C. Plan for filling the position of County Executive of Operations Management; and
D. Appointment of an interim County Executive of Operations Management.
I remain concerned about decisions that stretch our managers thinner without actually adding management capacity. There are some additional questions/actions that could be contemplated within the four outlined above that impact whether we are spreading or adding management capacity:
1. Will we recruit internally and externally for this position?
2. If we select an internal candidate, how and how quickly do we backfill that candidate’s departure from his/her current post (an issue that is relevant to D above, Question 4 below and the PBO recruitment as well)?
3. How soon do we anticipate this position being filled?
4. If we appoint an Interim Executive to manage these departments, will that Iterim come from the ranks of the current executive managers? If so, how will we support this Iterim’s additional duties?
