Spitzer Wants Board to Take Back Power

Supervisor-elect Todd Spitzer said Thursday the newly seated Board of Supervisors should become more involved in restructuring county government and take back some of the authority the outgoing board ceded to Chief Executive Officer Jan Mittermeier.

Spitzer, who will take office next month, said the new board should closely examine Mittermeier’s plan to reorganize county operations, hold discussions with department heads on “future visions” for the county and have a voice in upper-management staffing shifts.

The current board has largely left Mittermeier to run the county’s day-to-day operations with little interference. Supervisors endorsed Mittermeier’s reorganization plan last month and gave the CEO authority to implement many of its provisions without further board approvals.

Spitzer said he doesn’t fault current supervisors for the authority they gave Mittermeier but said the new board should be more involved in the process and provide the CEO with greater direction.

“This is not Todd Spitzer versus Jan Mittermeier,” he said. “Jan has done an excellent job for the county in a difficult time. . . . But I think the new board will have the luxury to look at things in a different way.”

Charles V. Smith, who will also join the board in January, agrees with Spitzer that the board alone should set county policies. But he said it would be a mistake for supervisors to “micro-manage” daily operations.

“We need to work through the CEO, not around the CEO,” Smith said. “I think she has done a very good job with the restructuring. The board should be directly involved in the process, but it should be her process.”

Mittermeier’s reorganization plan calls for the elimination of two county agencies and a cut of about 200 jobs.