The unanimous vote at Tuesday's board meeting followed a staff presentation and board discussion that focused on potential savings, better communication and a higher priority on lake-related issues.
Still to be decided is whether the county will recruit for a new director or instead elevate Water Resources Deputy Director Pam Francis to the position.
Deputy Administrative Officers Matt Perry and Debra Sommerfield presented to the board an analysis of splitting Water Resources into its own department, which they recommended doing.
Their report explained that the county's watershed and lakebed management program had been part of Public Works since 1993. Before that, they were separate departments, and at one point lakebed management was part of the Community Development Department.
One of the main concerns for board members related to potentially slower responses for service due to fewer clerical and accounting staff. Perry and Sommerfield recommended using $85,000 in anticipated savings to increase staff.
Supervisor Rob Brown noted he's brought the suggestion to the board twice before. Water Resources in Lake County is very important, he said, and it's their job to do what the private sector can't, including taking care of the lake.
Cost savings was a secondary concern for Brown. He said the board needed to step up and provide whatever additional resources were needed.
Supervisor Jeff Smith said he hasn't supported separating the division in the past, but with new concerns like quagga mussels, and with the county being unprepared for this summer's big algae bloom, there's more need for extra resources.
Board Chair Denise Rushing said Public Works Director Brent Siemer has done as good a job as can be expected with all of his responsibilities, including needing to oversee the Middle Creek restoration project.
She said they don't just need workers, they need focused leadership, and added, “We're always looking for cost savings, but that's not what this decision's about.”
Rushing said she believed the right leadership for the department could help harness public interest in the lake.
On the matter of choosing the new department's leadership, Rushing and Smith supported having the advice of the county's Reclassification Committee.
Francis told the board that “water resources is pretty specific” as a discipline. That's made it hard to fill engineer positions in the department, which has resulted in a drop in service. They're also not aggressively applying for grants, and she said she has had to carry several additional job functions.
There's also been the “huge, huge problem” relating to the threat of the quagga mussel, plus an unusual algae bloom the likes of which they've only seen three times in 40 years. “It did take us by surprise,” Francis said.
Brown said it wasn't the board's desire to cut back on the division, but to put more focus on its responsibilities and restructure it.
Francis said she had ideas for redesigning the department, including creating a succession plan in which veteran staffers train new hires. That's especially needed as staffers like Tom Smythe, with decades of experience, prepare to retire. Last year they lost Deputy Public Works Director Bob Lossius to retirement, another longtime employee with considerable institutional memory.
Rushing suggested an infusion of funding would have the greatest affect on the division. She said she's had lakeshore property owners calling her asking about why the county doesn't charge some nominal fees in order to offer expanded services.
She said the department will need a leader who can come to the board with proposals for expanding revenue.
Farrington moved to approve the recommendations, including sending the new department's leadership question to the Reclassification Committee for suggestions. The motion was approved 5-0.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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