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County clerk outlines new meeting schedule, dashboard and SBAR form for commissioners
Summary
Kelly Grayson, clerk of the board, told commissioners the county has published a public calendar, will add quarterly department updates and is moving up budget reviews. Staff plan a fillable SBAR form and an electronic personnel-request workflow; the personnel form awaits a Laserfiche setup.
Kelly Grayson, clerk of the board, told the Cowlitz County commissioners that staff have published a public calendar and are changing meeting formats to improve transparency and decision-making. "Promote transparency, encourage public engagement, keep the community informed," Grayson said when summarizing the meeting mission.
Grayson said budget-management review meetings will begin earlier than usual to support upcoming budget work; the finance director wants certain reviews to start in April and staff intend regular Monday morning budget sessions. She also said the board will see quarterly department updates on Tuesdays at 1:30 p.m., with departments appearing four times a year to present both a budget-management review and department-specific information.
Why it matters: commissioners asked staff for more contextual information during budget conversations. Grayson said the county is working with finance to alter the budget dashboard so commissioners can "see and interact" with data rather than receive static numbers.
Staff also proposed a standardized SBAR (situation, background, assessment, recommendation) form to clarify requests and speed decision-making. Grayson said she created a fillable SBAR and is exploring an electronic version tied to a database so requests and public-record submissions can be tracked.
Grayson said personnel-request processing is being formalized via a distinct form developed with finance and human resources to capture unique personnel changes outside normal budget requests; that form has not been rolled out because the county is waiting for a Laserfiche (records workflow) form.
The clerk listed other workload changes the commissioner's office will assume, including industrial-claims data entry, the tort-claims electronic filing step and assistance with CPR training scheduling. Grayson asked for patience as departments adapt to the new presentation format.
What’s next: staff will continue dashboard work with finance, develop the electronic SBAR workflow and return when the personnel-request Laserfiche form is ready. Commissioners may ask for longer department presentations if needed.
