Council Schedule Highlights Week of July 1st, 2019
Tuesday, July 2nd, 2019
9:30 am Human Services Committee
Connie Ladenburg, Chair
Marty Campbell, Vice Chair
Douglas G. Richardson
Dave Morell
Derek Young
Regularly scheduled meetings are broadcast live and replayed on channel 22 (Comcast and Click! Network) and channel 20 (Rainier Connect). Access meeting materials at www.piercecountywa.org/councilcommittees.
Mid-Adopter Report
Presenter: Steve O’Ban, Senior Counsel for Behavioral Health, Executive’s Office
Last year the County embarked on integration of our Medicaid behavioral and physical health systems. Mid-Adopter means that we decided to proceed ahead of the State’s schedule which granted us a degree of control.
As of January 1st, we are fully integrated, but we’re hearing about some bumps along the road.
Most concerning to me is that all other counties and regions chose to be their own Administrative Services Organization (ACO). Pierce County decided not to go that route because, unlike our peers, we don’t have local behavioral health funding to fall back on. But as a result, we have a private provider doing this work. A number of challenges seem to indicate that was a poor choice.
Strategic Alliance to Strengthen Family and Domestic Violence Prevention Services
Presenters: Carol Mitchell, Executive, Senior Counsel for Justice Services
In this year’s budget, we funded a study, requested by the Executive, to look into partnerships and organizational changes that could be made in Pierce County’s system serving victims of domestic violence. This will be an update on their progress.
Regularly scheduled meetings are broadcast live and replayed on channel 22 (Comcast and Click! Network) and channel 20 (Rainier Connect). Access meeting materials at www.piercecountywa.org/councilcommittees.
Proposal №2019–27, Public Records — Fees and Fee Waiver
Sponsored by: Councilmember Douglas G. Richardson
In 2017 the Legislature amended the Public Records Act to allow agencies and local governments to charge for electronic records. Previously the act anticipated delivery of record requests by paper and charged by the number of pages copied.
While cheaper, most of the work behind fulfilling record requests is the actual work of locating them and then determining if redactions are necessary. It’s labor intensive so we spend a lot of tax dollars to employ people to do the work.
This proposal would also allow the county to waive the fee for small requests that the average person might request. On the flip side, the larger nuisance requests would entail a fee if the scale of the work got out of hand. For example, a disgruntled former employee requested all of Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department emails.
This is our second run at adopting the state’s new rules. The previous ordinance was vetoed by the Executive.
Proposal No. R2019–74, Pierce County Broadband Initiative
Sponsored by: Councilmembers Derek Young, Marty Campbell, Dave Morell, and Douglas G. Richardson
High-speed broadband infrastructure is an essential utility necessary to foster a thriving community. As we look into the future, the demand for broadband will only continue to grow.
This resolution is the first of many steps launching our effort to improve access to high-speed broadband service across the whole county, implementing recommendations of the study I sponsored along the way. I’m particularly proud of the bipartisan support we have for the initiative and believe it shows the Council’s commitment to see major improvements.
The resolution directs the hiring of a short duration employee in the Council’s office to oversee the development of new policies and regulations outlined in the study recommendations, build public and private partnerships, and seek funding opportunities.
We know that residents, schools, hospitals, and businesses need access to high-speed broadband to thrive. Like rural electrification a century ago, this effort will be central to Pierce County’s economic future. To achieve that, county government must provide regional leadership.
Council will continue to roll out future steps as the process moves forward.
Thursday, July 4th, 2019
Office Closed for Independence Day
My Weekly Calendar
A couple of years ago we got a request for my forward-looking calendar. Rather than have staff waste their time on public record requests, I decided to publish screenshots. Now I’m adding a link to the calendar as well. If you have questions, feel free to call. Keep in mind, my schedule isn’t static. Things will get added, deleted, changed, etc. There are conflicts that I have to pick between. But if people want to see where I’m at and who I meet with, that’s fine by me.
