Berkeley Group outlines York County staffing study; progress update due in October

The York County Board of Supervisors heard on Aug. 6 from the Berkeley Group, a Virginia-based local government consulting firm contracted to perform an organizational assessment of county operations. The consultants said they completed more than 50 staff interviews in late July and will return in October with a progress update, with a final report targeted for December or January.

The Berkeley Group representative said the study is implementation-focused and intended to document current operations, map accountability relationships and recommend changes to improve efficiency and effectiveness. "We will be looking at industry best practices and what applies to York specifically," the Berkeley Group representative said, adding that phase 1 of the assignment is not intended to include public safety unless the board later requests that work.

Supervisors asked whether members of the board were interviewed; staff and the consultants said the original scope did not include board interviews and that the board could provide feedback when the draft report is presented. On community input, the consultants said they will review any existing public surveys or data provided by the county but will not run a new public survey as part of phase 1.

The Berkeley Group emphasized a team-based approach that pairs external subject-matter experts with county staff and said the county's strategic priorities, budgets and organization charts are being reviewed as part of the assessment. The consultants said success will be measured by whether the final product gives the county something it can use to move operations forward.

The board will receive the next update in October and will determine whether to expand the scope to public safety in a subsequent phase.