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County manager outlines organizational review to cut current‑expense pressure; council urges multi‑year approach
Summary
San Juan County’s manager presented an initial organizational‑structure review showing current‑expense constraints and unique island costs. Staff proposed options including department consolidation, centralizing functions, and reducing duplicate island services; council asked for further analysis and a multi‑year plan.
The county manager briefed the council Feb. 10 on an organizational‑structure review intended to identify potential efficiencies as the county confronts tight current‑expense funding. Jessica Hudson summarized the county’s budget profile: a roughly $156 million total across fund types, with about $30 million in current‑expense funds and significant grant and special‑fund revenue streams.
Hudson emphasized San Juan County’s unique challenges: forced remoteness across islands, duplicative service structures on multiple islands (public‑works shops on Orcas, Lopez and San Juan), and a staffing profile that includes roughly 286 full‑time equivalents with about 174 funded from current expense. She outlined three paths for staff study: (1) consolidate departments to reduce managerial overhead (with caveats about losing program expertise), (2) centralize functional services such as contracting and payroll, and (3) consider reducing duplicated services on islands (for example, fewer clinics) while noting potential loss of access for some residents.
Councilmembers stressed the need for a five‑year view and asked staff to explore specific areas where contracting or partner organizations might provide services without reducing quality. Several members pointed to growth in staff counts in specific departments over the past decade and asked for breakdowns by funding source (current expense vs. grants) to identify sustainable positions. Hudson said staff will continue the review and return with more analysis and options.
Next steps: staff will continue to analyze consolidation and centralization opportunities, provide FTE and funding breakdowns by department and return with more detailed proposals for council consideration over the coming months.
