The County faces a deficit that threatens many vital services. We invite you to add ideas that contribute to the efficiency, economy or improvement of County operations or services. To learn more about the budget challenge, visit www.co.sanmateo.ca.us/budget.
It's time for the County's annual STARS Awards! To qualify, you must be a San Mateo County employee. To enter, register with SMC Budget using your County e-mail address and select the STARS Award category for your idea. Deadline for entries is September 30, 2010.
I suggest you... We begin charging a fee for out of county residents who travel to the STD Clinic in San Mateo. Santa Clara County no longer ...more »
I suggest you... We begin charging a fee for out of county residents who travel to the STD Clinic in San Mateo. Santa Clara County no longer has an STD Clinic, so they refer SCC residents to us.
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I suggest you...Doing what other are doing, some type of furlogh without pay. One day per month or on a rotating basis (one department to an ...more »
I suggest you...Doing what other are doing, some type of furlogh without pay. One day per month or on a rotating basis (one department to another).
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Request for County and city vehicles to have a CarMD option. The plug-in device downloads vehicle diagnostics and statistics for plugin to a ...more »
Request for County and city vehicles to have a CarMD option. The plug-in device downloads vehicle diagnostics and statistics for plugin to a computer. Making vehicle maintenance easy.
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Review of County Vehicles, replacement of vehicles with Hybrid-Electric to alternate fuel zero emmissions vehicles with lower maintenance re ...more »
Review of County Vehicles, replacement of vehicles with Hybrid-Electric to alternate fuel zero emmissions vehicles with lower maintenance record and safety.
The request to be sent to the auto makers with specifications.
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Stop policing San Francisco County property. Turn over law enforcement services to there Sheriff, he has to do some law enforcement work. W ...more »
Stop policing San Francisco County property. Turn over law enforcement services to there Sheriff, he has to do some law enforcement work. We can focus our resources on San Mateo County.
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To increase revenue for the County I suggest that the parents of juvenile offenders who are ordered to pay private defender fees and/or supp ...more »
To increase revenue for the County I suggest that the parents of juvenile offenders who are ordered to pay private defender fees and/or support costs under W & I Code Section 903 be 1)assigned to a Revenue Officer for close follow-up and 2) pay interest on their unpaid debt. Currently, the County only receives interest after a recalcitrant parent is sued in court and a judgment obtained at further expense. There is no reason why their debt to the County should be different than any other unpaid debt and upon which they pay interest,penalties and late fees.
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I suggest you...Charge interest on unpaid housing costst owed by parents for juvenile detention collected under Wefare & Institutions Code S ...more »
I suggest you...Charge interest on unpaid housing costst owed by parents for juvenile detention collected under Wefare & Institutions Code Section 903. Paragraph (c) reads in part "It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this subdivision to protect the fiscal integrity of the county..." The Revenue Services office spends a great deal of time and money to collect these debts owed by parents. The first notice to them should advise that after 30 days interest is charged on all unpaid balances. We now wait until there is court judgment until we claim interest. In the interim,we could be collecting a lot of money for the Treasurer.
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I think that some little changes might boost employee morale.And that little extra pride in the job can mean doing a better job. For example ...more »
I think that some little changes might boost employee morale.And that little extra pride in the job can mean doing a better job. For example, when we are hired we sign a Loyalty Oath. At one time all such oaths were given orally with your right hand raised. If we had a monthly "swearing in " ceremony for new people it would start everyone off on their career with the feeing that we are special workers who have made a serious committment to our community.
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The common practice for incoming Supervisor's as well as incumbents that choose to "switch" offices prior to the new Supervisor's arrival i ...more »
The common practice for incoming Supervisor's as well as incumbents that choose to "switch" offices prior to the new Supervisor's arrival is to allow a custom designed office with custom-made furniture and interior design. To disallow this practice will save thousands in tax payer dollars.
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San Mateo has one of the lowest fees for filing an Assessment Appeal. The number of appeals has increased, and each is very time consuming. ...more »
San Mateo has one of the lowest fees for filing an Assessment Appeal. The number of appeals has increased, and each is very time consuming. San Francisco county charges $60, Alameda and Marin charge $50, while San Mateo's current fee is only $30. Our fee schedule should be commensurate with other bay area counties.
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I suggest you...charge interest on non-indigent hospital debt. The cost of recovering bad debt by the Tax Collector is very high. We owe it ...more »
I suggest you...charge interest on non-indigent hospital debt. The cost of recovering bad debt by the Tax Collector is very high. We owe it to those taxpayers who pay their bills on time not to subsidize cheaters and slackers. Let those who avoid their responsibilities pay for the costs of collection as those in the justice system must pay for their probation, restitution, and other costs.
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Increase the current 5% required vacancy rate to 10 or 15 percent for departments who have not cut their vacant positions already. It is al ...more »
Increase the current 5% required vacancy rate to 10 or 15 percent for departments who have not cut their vacant positions already. It is always better to cut an empty position than a filled one, it is an opportunity to adapt witih existing personnel.
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Currently, employees enrolled in the Commute Alternatives Program can receive up to $75 in public transportation subsidies from the County. ...more »
Currently, employees enrolled in the Commute Alternatives Program can receive up to $75 in public transportation subsidies from the County. The County should encourage employees to sign up for the new Clipper Card which allows commuters to store e-Cash for public transportation use. Those who may not use a full $64 BART ticket per month, or who don't ride Caltrain on a daily basis, can select how much money to add to the Clipper Card monthly. Employees can then adjust their monthly subsidy based on usage. This can potentially reduce the amount the County spends per employee for this benefit.
It also reduces the amount of paper tickets issued, and the envelopes generated to mail tickets to employees each month.
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On the radio this morning was a story about San Francisco's "Sober Center," a program that delivers intoxicated individuals to a center run ...more »
On the radio this morning was a story about San Francisco's "Sober Center," a program that delivers intoxicated individuals to a center run by a registered nurse to keep them out of the emergency system or jail. Does San Mateo County have something like this? It seems to be a cost-effective way to deal with problems of alcohol abuse in the County.
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Increase fees on the property tax bills. the cost on the secured bill for second installment deliquency is $40.00 think we can raise it to ...more »
Increase fees on the property tax bills. the cost on the secured bill for second installment deliquency is $40.00 think we can raise it to $50.00 also the Redemption Fee has been $35.00 for a very long time. I believe S.F. gets close to $100.00.
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Would the County be able to charge a special waste removal fee/tax for each fast food meal sold in San Mateo County? The County could probab ...more »
Would the County be able to charge a special waste removal fee/tax for each fast food meal sold in San Mateo County? The County could probably make a lot of money even if only 1 cent per meal is added and/or the County could promote the usage of compostable fast food containers and utensils and implement an incentive program for all restaurants in San Mateo that adopt such a measure.
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How about implementing an annual membership fee for usage of the County library system, but complement it by expanding the type of media tha ...more »
How about implementing an annual membership fee for usage of the County library system, but complement it by expanding the type of media that can be borrowed through the system that work with newer electronic gadgets such as the I-Pad? Even if the system would charge a fee of $12/year ($1/month) it'll be still cheaper than any other rental service residents could access. Alternatively, the system could reduce the items one person can borrow at the time and then charge a small fee to those who would still like to borrow items in access of that limit. E.g. if the limit on CDs is two per person per loan period and someone wants to borrow an extra CD, then that CD would cost 25 cent for that loan period. Again, out of convenience consumer may not mind the charge, especially if the revenues are used for the upkeep of the system.
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I have an idea to raise revenue for the County. Have a County Escrip program, and advertise it at all the grocery stores, local realtors, an ...more »
I have an idea to raise revenue for the County. Have a County Escrip program, and advertise it at all the grocery stores, local realtors, and San Mateo County businesses. A small percentage (1-2%) is then donated directly to the charity of our choice, which in our case would be the San Mateo County Health Foundation. All San Mateo County employees, their families, and San Mateo County residents and businesses could be encouraged to use this escrip program, as it would not affect the price of any of their purchases, and could increase our revenue stream, thus helping ensure that San Mateo stays the same pleasant County that it has always been! perhaps some local radio/tv spots could be donated to advertise the program? As I said, it doesn't come out of the consumer's pocketbook, is voluntary, and funds go directly to the County. Just a thought, as I have seen people use it to raise $ in other spheres (e.g. schools and charities).
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I really think that the county should consider cutting an hour or two from the workday. I think people would work more efficiently and the p ...more »
I really think that the county should consider cutting an hour or two from the workday. I think people would work more efficiently and the pay cut would be very minimal for all staff but I'm sure have a huge monetary savings for the county.
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It seems that Pensions are the most costly part of our budget problem. What about working with SAMCERA to offer employees the option of opti ...more »
It seems that Pensions are the most costly part of our budget problem. What about working with SAMCERA to offer employees the option of opting out. I guess that it would make more sense to offer the option to employees that have more recently joined the county, like within 5 years. The reason behind this is that due to the economy, people may actually prefer to access the money in their pensions now but can't because they are not allowed to. They may need it now and may also prefer to stop paying into the pension plan because every dollar counts these days. I know this isn't very sound financial planning advice but if less new employees were compelled into it, wouldn't that mean that the money the county had to pay into it would be less as well? You would only be paying for older employees whose salaries may not have had the increases newer employees have.
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The County apparently has a policy to forbid the existence of any County credit cards for purchases. This turns tiny admin tasks into multis ...more »
The County apparently has a policy to forbid the existence of any County credit cards for purchases. This turns tiny admin tasks into multistep admin purchasing processes with mutliple layers of approvals, signatutures, paperwork, and confusion. It wastes time and resources. For example, a simple and normal business function of purchasing a domain for a County web site turns into work for numerous people. In addition, some vendors require a Credit Card, and in those cases employees are then pressured to use their personal credit card for County business. In order to be reimbursed, the approval process takes paper forms and Director level approval - all for, say, a $30 purchase - which was directed by management in the first place as part of business operations. Obviously we do not want wide use of credit cards, and we want all purchases to be carefully uncontrolled, but for such purchases the current policy to forbid a County credit card wastes a great deal of time and resources.
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Give some thought to investing in qualified industry experts on effeciency to help inform the reductions we will need to continue to make.
How about setting up leagues for County Employees such as Co-Ed Softball, Basketball, Soccer,Volleyball, Bowling,etc. It would bring revenue ...more »
How about setting up leagues for County Employees such as Co-Ed Softball, Basketball, Soccer,Volleyball, Bowling,etc. It would bring revenue in, by purchasing uniforms, equipment, reserving venues to play at, and hiring umpires if need be. It would increase employee morale, team building, and a healthy, fun way to play, get to know other employees, and stay active. This way, the tournaments that we do have would be more competitive!
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In my previous place of employment, a branch of the federal government, they discovered they could save money by having all safety training ...more »
In my previous place of employment, a branch of the federal government, they discovered they could save money by having all safety training done via online courses. The employees could then take the training when it was convenient & at their own speed. The gov't no longer had to hire outside specialists nor try and coordinate getting all the employees together at the same time. The courses had tests requiring a minimum performance level to ensure training was occurring. It worked out extremely well and saved the government a lot of money.
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Require the Unions to be the spokes persons for their members. Stop paying members for such massive time off during negotiations. This is un ...more »
Require the Unions to be the spokes persons for their members.
Stop paying members for such massive time off during negotiations.
This is unproductive time paid for by tax payer dollars!
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