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HomeMy WebLinkAbout4 - Retreat Abstract 2021 - ExtensionJefferson County WASHINGTONSTATEUNIVERSITY EXTENSION DEPARTMENTAL ABSTRACT BoCC RETREAT FEBRUARY 5, 2021 WSU Jefferson County Extension Staff: 10 Individuals (8.5 FTEs) 2021 Total Jefferson County Revenue Fund 108: $ 424,898* 2021 Total Jefferson County Expenditures Fund 108: $ 418,851 2021 Total Jefferson County Revenue Fund 109: $ 198,217 2021 Total Jefferson County Expenditures Fund 109: $ 211,351 2021 Total WSU Revenue and Expenditures: $ 258,590 *Includes $ 171,181 in extramural funding Overview: The partnership between Jefferson County and Washington State University (WSU) Extension goes back 105 years when Ovid T. McWhorter arrived as the first County Extension agent in 1905. Historically, Extension staff and faculty have served the county's agricultural community, provided youth development through the 4H program, led environmental preservation efforts in fresh and marine water bodies, trained community members to provide science -based information on plant propagation and pest control, and provided facilitation services for thorny community issues from a neutral, objective perspective. More recently, Extension has supported economic development activities, noxious weed control, broadband expansion and food access and security projects. Staff, Support and Volunteers: The partnership between county government and the university plays out in a shared financial responsibility and mutually agreed upon program areas. Currently, Extension staff includes 10 individuals, comprising approximately 8.5 FTEs. Extension is always funded by a variety of sources including a County General Fund allocation, an annual MOA between the County and WSU, WSU Permanent Budget Lines, participant fees and a variety of grants and contracts. Staff numbers fluctuate based primarily on grant availability and available County and university funding. In addition to staff support, the County also covers the office lease and utilities. Most Extension programs train community volunteers to leverage the delivery of research -based information. The Independent Sector, a private non-profit organization that monitors volunteerism in the US, has valued volunteer hours in Washington at $33.02. As a result, where appropriate, WSU Extension will report the number and value of volunteer hours and the approximate FTE count for those hours as part of the overall evaluation of program impact. Departmental Challenges and Opportunities for 2021: The major challenges for Extension are budget related. Both county and university revenues have been impacted by COVID, as have the many agencies that provide grant and contract funding for Extension programs. The ability to continue with a full program portfolio will be driven by available funding, grant opportunities and the community's ability to pay even the very modest program enrollment fees which support program delivery. From an opportunity perspective, anytime an organization is forced to take budget reductions, it triggers a close and careful look at all priorities and during this season of COVID, Extension will be exploring priorities with funding partners, INCLUDING Jefferson County. COVID Adjustments and Lasting Changes: Like all County departments, COVID has forced Extension to adapt operations and as a result, programs have largely migrated to remote delivery of instruction and information. Primarily using the Zoom platform, faculty and staff have converted in - person workshops and have innovated ways to continue engaging participants in meaningful and impactful programs. In some areas, Small Farms, Marine Resource Committee and the Growing Groceries offering of the Master Gardener Program, enrollments/participation have stayed near typical levels. In other areas however, particularly in the 4H Youth Development Program, enrollments have declined modestly; not just in Jefferson County, but across the state and indeed, the nation. Extension has been prudent in terms of its office operations. Both County and University administration has been supportive of staff working remotely if at all possible. The Extension office remains closed to general public access and as a rule, only one person at a time is working in the office. Staff are available by email, cell phone, video-conferencing and on the rare occasion, with all the non -pharmaceutical interventions in place, for one-on-one meetings. Extension will continue to monitor developments through the County Department of Public Health and University's pandemic coordinating council and will re -start face-to-face programs only when it is safe to do so. Like many public agencies, Extension has learned that some programs and administrative functions can be successfully conducted in remote environments without a reduction in efficacy or efficiency. It is likely that even in a post-COVID environment, some Extension work will continue to be done remotely. Staffing, Budget and Program Priorities for the coming 12 —18 months 4H Youth Development Staffing and Budget: Through the annual MOA between WSU and Jefferson County, the County General Fund covers the salary of one full-time 4H Coordinator; WSU covers the cost of benefits. Adult 4H volunteers contributed approximately 8,880 hours of service to the program. As a result, based on 2 the Independent Sector's data, 4H volunteers contributed $284,337 worth of service to the county. Calculated another way, 4H volunteers provided 4.25 FTEs in support of youth development. Priorities for the Coming 18 months: Currently, priorities are for the continuation of remote delivery of 4H activities to keep youth and adult volunteers engaged with the program. As soon as it is safe to do so, face-to-face delivery will resume and at that point, there will be a significant push to re -enroll former participants and to re -activate clubs that have gone silent during the pandemic. Programmatically, one of the major areas of emphasis will be the Know Your Government program, a civics -based curriculum which culminates in a 3-day conference each year in Olympia where 4H Youth can engage with legislators and learn about the workings of our state government. Due to the pandemic, the Olympia conference was cancelled in 2020; the 2021 conference will be a virtual event. In addition, staff have been digging through the store -room and developing "Grab and Go" curriculum and activity kits to check out to community members and 4H Clubs to help keep youth engaged in learning. Water Quality Staffing and Budget: The Water Quality / Environmental Education currently has two full-time staff members: a WSU faculty member who is fully funded, salary and benefits, by WSU and a Program Coordinator who is a County employee, fully funded, salary and benefits, by various grants, state and federal, which are administered by Extension through the County budget office. Current grants also enable the team to bring on the occasional part-time staff member to assist with grant deliverables. In total, Water Quality volunteers logged a total of 1,457 hours of service, worth $48,110. Priorities for the Coming 18 months: Supporting marine and fresh -water eco-system preservation programs through efforts of the Marine Resource Committee, Beach Naturalists program, and a new Riparian Restoration/Middle School Engagement grant from the Washington State Department of Ecology are top priorities. In addition, the program will continue efforts to design and install demonstration rain gardens in community sites to promote improved stormwater management strategies. Small Farms Education/Agricultural Viability/Food Access and Security Staffing and Budget: Through the annual MOA between WSU and Jefferson County, the County General Fund covers the salary of one full-time Program Coordinator; WSU covers the cost of benefits. For 2021, WSU Jefferson County Extension was successful in obtaining State Department of Health grant funding to hire a part-time SNAP -Ed Coordinator to work on food access and security issues. We also leveraged the SNAP -Ed funding/programing to obtain a small contract from NW Harvest to augment delivery of food access programing, and then we leveraged the SNAP -Ed and NW Harvest funding sources to also collaborate with a local non-profit, The Community Wellness Project, to again expand programming focusing on food access & security. Priorities for the Coming 18 months: Supporting food access/security and the viability of agricultural production through Small Farms education courses like Whole Farm Planning and Cultivating Success. Supporting food access through SNAP -Ed, Farm 2 Food Pantry programs; and helping community members learn about kitchen garden opportunities through the Growing Groceries program. 3 Master Gardeners Staffing & Budget: Through the annual MOA between WSU and Jefferson County, the County General Fund covers the salary of one .5 FTE Program Coordinator; WSU covers the cost of benefits. In 2020, 51 active Master Gardener Volunteers, trained as science -based community educators, contributed over 3,900 hours of service in Jefferson County for a value of $128,778; the equivalent of 1.9 FTEs. Priorities for the Coming 18 months: Trained volunteers will continue to utilize digital technologies to deliver science -based environmental and horticultural education and advice to Jefferson County residents through classes, outreach events, plant clinics, demonstration gardens, and in day-to-day interactions with neighbors and community members. During these engagements, volunteers teach local community members to: • manage their landscapes in a science -based, sustainable manner using techniques such as integrated pest management (IPM), fire -wise landscaping, and waterwise gardening • work to reduce the negative impact of invasive species • address environmental and social issues such as soil health, water conservation, water quality, waste reduction and food security • increase public awareness of healthy living through gardening Noxious Weed Control Staffing and Budget: For the past several years, the Jefferson County Noxious Weed Control Assessment has fully funded (salary and benefits) one FTE Weed Coordinator to support the Noxious Weed Control Program. The assessment, originally established in 2015, was set at a level to cover full costs of program operations and generate a surplus to obviate the need for a rate increase for a number of years. For the 2020 budget, the BoCC authorized the addition of a .5 FTE Assistant Weed Coordinator and as noted above, with the addition of the position, expenditures will be above revenue with the difference coming from the current fund reserve which is, at the start of 2021, approximately $121,565. The hiring process for the new position is currently in process. Even with the addition of the new .5 FTE, it is expected that the Weed assessment will not need to be increased until at least 2026. Priorities for the Coming 18 months: In addition to the existing control efforts, governed by RCW 17.10, which seek to preserve the county's ecosystem, agriculture, recreational areas and protect citizens from the economic losses and adverse effects associated with noxious weeds, for 2021, with the addition of the new Assistant Weed Coordinator position, the program will be more focused on enforcement and working with property owners to address infestations and meet required control measures. As COVID restrictions ease, staff will be coordinating volunteer days for weed control. Department Administration Staffing and Budget: All program areas are supported by a .75 FTE County Administrative/Budget Officer, a part-time County Clerk Hire and the County Extension Director whose WSU appointment includes a 50% administrative role. Jefferson County fully funds (salary and benefits) the .75 FTE 4 Administrative/Budget Officer and the Clerk Hire position (up to 20 hours per week), and one-third of the WSU Extension Directors Salary. Priorities for the Coming 18 months: Both WSU and Jefferson County are moving to new fiscal management systems so a major focus of the administrative team will be to ensure that we continue to migrate to those new systems successfully. Also, as noted above, Extension receives a considerable amount of extra -mural funding from private, state and federal sources. Each grant and contract source has a different set of programmatic and fiscal reporting requirements. As a result, a significant focus of the administrative team is also ensuring that all the different reporting requirements and deadlines are appropriately met. UW Sea Grant Program Although not technically a WSU Extension program, the University of Washington Sea -Grant program employs one full time Program Coordinator for the North Olympic Peninsula who works out of the WSU Jefferson County Extension office. The program, which collaborates with Extension Water Quality, Small Farms and Food Security/Access programs, focuses on boating and fishing safety, environmental protection of marine waters, community education and supporting marketing and distribution of commercial fish catches. 5