Covid - Leading (?) by example
Have you ever worked somewhere and had to attend a staff meeting where the boss and other people just droned on and on and very little got accomplished? Did you wonder why they just didn’t send everyone an email instead? So work could get done instead of wasting time? Well it seems like some of the higher-ups in Sacramento County’s wonderful bureaucracy have indeed been in such a meeting. And, sadly, one of them has now come down with the virus. It seems the guy who sucks up a whole lot of our taxpayer money to run the staff show down at County Hall held such a meeting. Indoors. Without wearing his mask, in violation of the County Health Officer’s orders. As is apparently his habit. Thus sayeth The Bee today.
"The agenda for the meeting was not thought to be urgent among those who attended, a source said. There were oral reports given about county goals. There was discussion about the progress of county committees made up of county department heads. But a source said the feeling among some who attended was that the information shared could have been included in a memo or shared on a conference call."Sacramento Bee: "Top Sacramento County officials held a meeting where few wore masks. Now one has COVID-19", 10/18/2020
What does this incident say about how Sacramento County does its business? The pandemic is a serious public health issue. The regional economy teeters on the edge per Covid-19 orders from the state brass and counties have to carry out those orders. Those are big deals. They are part of the areawide responsibilities that are implemented across ALL of Sacramento County - whether incorporated or unincorporated - by our dear friends at the Board of Supervisors. Meanwhile, it is fairly obvious that the municipal responsibilities the County so lovingly provides for us here in the unincorporated UnCity have taken a back seat to those truly serious, areawide, big deals. OK, we kind of get why the potholes aren’t getting filled, why the CPAC meetings have been cancelled, why the permits take even longer than before, and why it feels like the Sheriff has back-burnered local law enforcement. But does it give you comfort during these perilous times to know our “Executive Leadership” holds 6-hour boring staff meetings without enforcing the County’s own rules about the virus? If they can’t get the big-ticket, areawide show right, why should anyone think they, and only they, deserve to run the local municipal stuff? Does this smell like success or failure to you? Does this reinforce your sense of confidence in the County?
