Justine Quinones » Budget

4th of July

justine — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 05:17:07 +0000

What better time than this holiday weekend to review and renew our involvement in our neighborhoods, cities, counties, states, and country. For too long we’ve let too few control how our lives will be guided. Government is only as effective and as appropriate as the voters and involved citizens want it to be. It is imperative that we all work together to make this country that is unique in the world as great as it can be. It won’t be easy or cheap. It will require discipline, devotion, collaboration, cooperation, coordination, budgeting, and action. Happy July 4, 2010.

State of Mind

justine — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 02:46:11 +0000

I’ve put a post regarding the State of the Union address out on both Facebook and Twitter but I guess I overlooked my own page!! The State of the Union held hope and promise but not without some sweat and work ahead of us. The next day in the paper the Press headline article maintained that the President’s forecast is looking for about a 10 year recovery. It’s not that we can’t do it but we are going to have to WANT to do it and stay with it until it is done. Government needs to overhaul how it functions to work within its means just as every household in the country, the State, and the County will have to. This is a call for Leadership; to overhaul an operation as large as the County requires Effectiveness; and to show the voters what is being done requires Accountability and Clarity while owning the actions of staff — Responsibility.

Scary Times

justine — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 02:19:41 +0000

The Board of Supervisors stated some telling facts today that I would like to adopt. I paraphrase and hope I don’t lose their meaning. They pointed out that now was a time to cooperate between departments not a time to look only after your own process. The Supes called for Initiative and Leadership to go along with Cooperation. Interestingly they turned to the Executive Office for revenue reviews. Where was the Auditor-Controller? The Executive Office hired a consultant rather than employ the talented and dedicated people of the Executive Office and the Auditor-Controller’s office to conduct a revenue review. Where was the Auditor? The next several years will require focussed, purposeful, and innovative solutions to ongoing functions. Government will need to speak to the people and people will need to speak to government. Clarity in communication, Leadership in innovation, Effectiveness in processes and procedures, Accountability in transactions, and Responsibility for all actions will become not only a logo or campaign platform but a minimal requirement.

About Effectiveness

justine — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 19:15:26 +0000

January 27, 2010. Did you have a chance to read the front page of the Press-Enterprise this morning? Doom and gloom, pain and agony, layoffs and budget cuts. Is our government being EFFECTIVE? Is there another way to approach government and budgeting? I think there is. I think it will require a more global perspective and I think the Auditor’s office should lead the way. Now I’m not saying that we don’t have a $71million problem that needs attention and I totally agree with Mr. Luna’s assertion that we (Riverside County residents) can’t continue to offset revenue shortfalls out of savings for operational expenses but I do think we can take a look at what government is doing and find the shortfalls and areas where cooperation could bring some big savings. Are there duplicate services or work objectives and goals within the various Public Safety departments? Are there functions within the Health and Welfare services that are duplicated? Are their too many supervisors which then requires more staff to justify the supervisors? What would happen if we could negotiate temporary demotions in lieu of layoffs? What would be the service effect? Finally, are we budgeting the correct mix of services or has Riverside County fallen victim to the account line, incremental budget demon without consideration of how a particular activity enhances the services required by the citizens of Riverside. I would welcome the opportunity to see how the various department budgets enhance the mission statement of the County and support the goals and objectives of the Supervisors who represent your goals and objectives for government service. That’s my thought — Justine Quinones