Tuesday, March 27, 2018
Open Board of Directors Meeting
1601 E. Third St., Suite 138
San Bernardino, CA 92408
Minutes
Present: Deborah Barmack, Carole Beswick, Ken Coate, Jennifer Cusack, Sandra Espadas, Louis Goodwin, Dick Hart, Scott Hofferber, Mark Kaenel, Lowell King, Pam Langford, Dale Marsdsen, P.T. McEwen, John Mirau, Tomas Morales, Dam Murphy, Roman Nava, Vikki Ostermann, Brian Reider, Kristine Scott, Paul Shimoff, David VanVoorhis and Ray Wolfe.
Guests: Carl Dameron, Matt Kane, Sheriff John McMahon, Boris Medzhibovsky, Frank Reyes, Arnold San Miguel and David Wert
Announcements: 1) The reservation form for the 2018 Washington, D.C. advocacy trip was made available to members in attendance and will be e-mailed to the entire membership. Members are encouraged to make their own air travel. The group will again stay at the Palomar Hotel in D.C. where we have a group rate. This year we are offered a limited number of White House tour and Capitol Dome tour opportunities. These will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. If you are interested in either opportunity, please write to cbeswick@www.lavahaze.com. The dome tour involves 313 stair steps and should not be done if you have a fear of heights. Also, we are all invited to a night time tour of the Capitol after our reception on the 22nd. All of these are hosted by Congressman Aguilar. Mark Kaenel (our unofficial sports coordinator) has explored the option of attending the Nationals vs Dodgers game on Sunday the 20th at 1:45 pm. We can get a group rate if 13 members attend. The cost would be about $100 and the seats would be in a great spot, all sitting together. Please contact Mark to participate. He needs your response by April 3 at mkaenel@apbconnect.com 2) A majority of the members present voted to extend an invitation of membership to the CPA firm of Vavrinek, Trine, Day & Co.
M/S/P: Minutes from February 27, 2018.
Vikki Ostermann introduced Gary McBride, San Bernardino County CEO.
Gary McBride is a long-time resident of San Bernardino county and has served our county government for more than 13 years. Prior to his appointment as chief executive officer in October 2017 he served as the county’s chief financial officer since 2013. As county CFO, he was responsible for monitoring and forecasting the county’s $5.2 billion annual budget and its $1 billion in outstanding debt.
He expressed a passion and commitment to the County team indicating that as CEO, he’ll not only focus on the county’s fiscal health, but also on its programs and the board’s visions for the future.
He discussed funding challenges that include:
The County’s pension system:
Although successful gaining concessions from labor at the beginning of the recession, the County’s retirement system, San Bernardino County Employees’ Retirement System (SBcera) will need another round of reform to meet its obligations. Unlike California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) which is falling further behind every year, the county has greater stability with major structural differences and moving to a tiered system. The current challenge to the “California Rule” in the state Supreme Court will potentially provide more flexibility and sustainability for pension plans.
Social Service case load increase:
County revenue, predominantly from sales tax, is not keeping up with social service needs of our residents.
Since enactment of the American Care Act (ACA) the county has experienced an unexpected case load increase. As residents interact with county workers regarding ACA services they are made aware of other available services for which they qualify such as CalWORKs, CalFresh (formerly known as Food Stamps), and Medi-Cal.
The demand for in-home support services are growing as the baby boomer population ages. Costs of these programs are also increasing.
Mental health and the opioid crisis are exacerbated by the states’ realignment. The state prisons used to hold many that have mental health/drug issues. Realignment has brought a great deal of these individuals back to the county which is not adequately funded to deal with these often-complex issues.
Gary McBride will use the collaborative strategies used in the visioning process bringing together county departments, electeds, stakeholders and the public to address and solve these and other problems.
There are many opportunities for the County. In the past, construction was our singular major economic engine, but we are now more diverse. Our logistics industry is expected to expand and literally grow “up” as warehouses add height to existing and new facilities. In the next decade technology and automation will be needed for this sector and we should be training our people for this growth. There is a current and expected increased need for healthcare workers.
He cited a company in Adelanto that has employment opportunities for the manufacture of drones. Their recruitment efforts have found that retention is very limited from outside the area where “local” talent is very reliable although limited.
A Q & A period followed.
Meeting adjourned at 8:29 a.m.