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Water advisory board backs moving committee staffing to Clerk of the Board, flags need for outside expertise
Summary
Mariposa County Water Agency Advisory Board members agreed in principle to move administrative staffing for advisory committees under the Clerk of the Board to improve consistency and meeting administration, while repeatedly raising concerns that the county lacks in-house technical expertise on water and may need to contract specialists.
The Mariposa County Water Agency Advisory Board on April 24 directed staff to pursue moving administrative staffing for county advisory committees, including the Water Agency Advisory Board, under the Clerk of the Board.
The change would centralize agenda preparation, minutes and public-notice duties under the Clerk’s office. Danielle Banchu, Clerk of the Board, told the advisory board her office would likely hire one staff member to oversee committees and coordinate with technical departments on specialized content.
“A staff member would be charged with setting up your meeting, setting up your agenda, doing your minutes,” Banchu said. “And then when you make a recommendation as a whole, that recommendation my staff would be responsible for working with the departments on getting you… the information you need and getting those recommendations to the board.”
Board members said they support consolidating administrative duties to reduce confusion and missed notices, but repeatedly emphasized the county’s limited subject-matter capacity on water issues.
“I think the problem with this committee, maybe uniquely among the committees that the county has, is that there is no expertise in the county family on this topic,” said John McCaleb, a board member. “Until we have somebody who knows about and understands the complexities associated with water… we’re going to be lacking.”
County counsel, Walter Wall, described how the Clerk’s office could coordinate outside expertise if required. “If that’s truly your concern, then we look at contracting,” Wall said, noting that the board could retain outside consultants and the Clerk’s office or counsel would oversee that work.
Members also discussed funding and staffing logistics. Danielle Banchu told the board there is roughly $200,000 in the Water Agency fund that could be used for staffing or technical work if the board chose to use it. Several members said that, if the Clerk’s office assumes administration, the board should retain the ability to request department specialists at meetings and to recommend hiring outside consultants for technical analyses.
By consensus the advisory board instructed staff to continue work on the transition and to return with specifics to the Board of Supervisors. No formal vote was recorded; members indicated they were generally in favor but requested follow-up on funding and on mechanisms to secure technical expertise when necessary.
Board members asked for regular updates on the transition if it proceeds and for quarterly budget reports on the water agency fund.
The board set no formal timeline for completion but directed staff to include the advisory board’s views in the clerk’s proposal to the Board of Supervisors.
