HomeMy WebLinkAboutWSU JCX Budget Hearing Notes
WSU Extension Jefferson County Budget Hearing Notes – October 7, 2021
Slide 1: Introductions. Thanks for all the support Jefferson County has consistently shown for
WSU Extension. We are grateful and proud to partner with the county to make WSU programs
available to residents of the county. The partnership between Jefferson County and WSU
Extension goes back 116 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.
Slide 2: Here is our proposed agenda for the presentation, starting with an update on the
Extension County Director position. We are very pleased to report that we have received
authorization from WSU’s Central Administration to recruit and fill the County Director
faculty position and that process will begin in the near future. In consultation with
Commissioner Dean and Interim County Administrator McCauley, it was agreed that rather
than specify a specific area of focus, typically Community and Economic Development, Youth
and Family or Agriculture and Natural Resources, we would leave that focus area open to attract
the most robust pool of candidates possible. We are very happy that Jefferson County has
indicated that you would like to include a County Commissioner on the hiring panel and we
will be in touch as soon as that panel is mobilized. As a general rule, these searches can take
between 3 and 5 months to complete, but from an administrative perspective, the hardest part is
getting that Central Administration approval and as noted, we are past that hurdle.
In the interim, as you may have heard, Bridget Gregg, our Master Gardener Coordinator, has
agreed to take on the County Director Administrative duties, including attending the County
Covid Coordinating and Senior Leadership team meetings, our monthly WSU All Extension and
County Director coordinating meetings and supporting Su Tipton as she works on accounts
receivable & payable and prepares time sheets for signature. We are grateful that Bridget has
agreed to take on these duties.
As we get to the overview of program areas we will talk in a little more detail about our
educational activities, but we would like to provide an update on how we are managing through
the pandemic and then give a quick summary of staffing and how the partnership works.
1
In terms of adjustments to programming over the last 18 months or so, like all County
departments, COVID has forced Extension to adapt operations. First and foremost – I am very
pleased to say that all WSU Jefferson County staff, both on the WSU side and on the County
side, are vaccinated.
In most cases, programs have incorporated at least some remote delivery of instruction and
information. Primarily using the Zoom platform, faculty and staff have converted many in-
person workshops and have innovated ways to continue engaging participants in meaningful
and impactful ways. 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 or dipped modestly. In other areas, particularly in the 4H Youth Development
Program, enrollments have declined significantly, not just in Jefferson County, but across the
state and indeed, the nation.
Where necessary and when it can be done with all non-pharmaceutical interventions in place –
some programs have included in-person sessions, filed trips or in the case of our rain garden
installations, small groups of vaccinated volunteers working outside to set up the rain garden.
Extension has been prudent in terms of its office operations. Both County and University
administration has been supportive of staff working remotely. The Extension office is open by
appointment for vaccinated members of the public and as a rule, only one or two people at a
time are working in the office. Staff are available by email, cell phone, video-conferencing and
again, 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.
Counting the director position, the current staff includes 10 individuals making up a total of 8.8
FTEs. Of that total 5 individuals/4.5 FTE are fully funded by the County. These include 1.5 FTEs
in the Noxious Weed Control Program; a .8 FTE Admin Lead; 1 FTE Water Quality Program
Coordinator and two individuals equaling 1 FTE in the Brinnon After School Program. On the
WSU side there are 5 individuals/4.5 FTEs including the county director who is a WSU Faculty
member and who has about 1/3 of their salary supported by the annual MOA between the
County and the university -while WSU covers benefits; 1 FTE 4H Coordinator whose salary is
fully funded by the County MOA with WSU covering benefits; 1 FTE Small Farms Coordinator
– again, salary covered by the MOA and WSU covering benefits; one .5 FTE Master Gardener
Coordinator – salary covered by MOA and WSU covering benefits and finally 1 FTE Water
Quality faculty member – fully funded by WSU. This faculty member is on sabbatical until mid
2022.
2
Slide 3: Fund 108 Extension Operations Given the impacts of the pandemic on some program
areas, especially the Brinnon After School 4H program, and a staffing vacancy in 4H, WSU
Jefferson County Extension fund 108 will carry- forward a healthy fund balance of $103,573 –
which includes unspent allocations from both 2020 and 2021 – mostly in the Brinnion After
School Program. Our revenue is expected to be $448,978. In that budget level are several things
that have already been approved and several new things that we are asking for in the coming
budget.
Already approved is the reinstatement of $15,000 plus inflation to the general allocation that had
been deducted from the overall allotment each of the past 4 years to pay off the $60,000 bridge
loan from 2017. Also included is the additional $10,000 in MOA support that allowed us to
increase the salary for the 4H Coordinator position to the state average for that position. The
BoCC approved this increase in April 2021 for the coming budget year. Finally, our overall
request does recognize the county policy of a 3% inflationary increase to the previous base.
There are two new things we are requesting – first, would like to add 5 hours a week to the
Master Gardener Coordinator position at a cost of $6,500. We have seen a significant increase in
program areas supported by the Coordinator, including the Growing Groceries program, so this
modest increase would allow us to ramp up operations.
In addition, we are requesting the reinstatement of a .5 FTE County Receptionist position. This
position had been supported until March of 2020 when the previous person in the position
resigned for personal reasons, just before the pandemic. That position was relinquished in the
first round of COVID budget reductions. Reinstating the position would provide support across
all program areas and allow the office to be more user friendly when pandemic restrictions are
lifted. Salary and benefits for this .5 FTE county position would be $19,756.
Slide 4: Fund 109 Noxious Weed Control The Noxious Weed Control Program is a County
operation housed in Extension with the County Extension Director providing direct daily
supervision while the Weed Board provides broad overarching policy direction. The policy
memo issued by the BoCC on June 21 of this year – which detailed the roles and responsibilities
for the Weed Board and the WSU County Extension Director was extremely helpful in
clarifying a number of questions that had been pending for some time. We are very grateful for
that clarification.
When the BoCC adopted a Weed assessment in 2015, the level was set so that it would enable
the program to operate for 12 to 14 years without needing a rate increase. As a result, the
program carries a very health fund balance of $124,409. For 2022, we are projecting total revenue
projected at $167,717 – of which, $147,717 will come from the assessment and the remaining
$20,000 in already confirmed weed control funding agreements with several public agencies.
That number will likely grow – but we are being careful and conservative not to project that
revenue until those agreements are in place.
As noted previously, the program currently has 1.5 FTEs – as the BoCC approved the re-
instatement of a .5 Assistant Coordinator in 2021. Even with the addition of this additional half-
3
time staff member, it is still expected that the program will not require a rate increase for 6 or 7
years.
Aside from outreach, education and coordination of control efforts funded by a number of public
agencies through annual MOUs, the addition of the Assistant Coordinator has expanded both
enforcement efforts and opportunities to develop control plans in conjunction with property
owners who have noxious weed infestations on their property.
The Coordinator has done a very good job of working with public agencies on meeting their
legal requirements regarding noxious weed control by increasing the number of agreements to
fund those efforts. While the total revenue projection for 2023 is initially lower that 2022 – we
do expect that to grow as additional agreements are finalized or current agreements extended.,
We just didn’t want to plan for revenue that was not, at this point in time, secured.
Slide 5: We are very appreciative that the County has modified its approach to the budget
process and is allowing departments to have time in front of the BoCC this year. We would like
to take a bit of time to provide some updates on these program areas.
Slide 6: 4H As previously noted, 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. In 2019 – prior to COVID, adult 4H volunteers contributed approximately 8,880
hours of service to the program. As a result, based on an independent valuation of volunteer
hours nationwide, 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.
That said, as noted a moment ago, 4H numbers across the board have declined during the
pandemic and re-introducing 4h to the community will be a top priority for us in the coming
year.
Thanks again to the BoCC for agreeing to increase the MOA funding so that we could offer a
salary equal to the state average of the 26 similar positions in Extension offices around the state.
With Commissioner Eisenhour sitting on the search committee, we were able to offer the
position to a very well qualified candidate who is currently undergoing the background vetting
process with the university. We expect that process to be concluded in a very short period time
and it is our hope that Maura Palumbo will formally begin in the position this month. We have
prepared a team of statewide and county 4H Staff to help on-board Maura and Su Tipton,
herself a long time 4H adult volunteer, currently a .8FTE County employee, has agreed to add
one day a week to her current role to oversee all things 4H until Maura is up and running.
One of the things that scored well with the search committee was the way Maura outlined her
approach for rebuilding the numbers of both adult volunteers and youth participants in the
program. We feel that Maura will be a terrific asset to the program.
Currently, priorities are for the continuation of remote delivery of 4H activities to keep youth
and adult volunteers engaged with the program, with in-person activities, mostly outdoors, as
allowed by County health regulations. As soon as it is safe to do so, more face-to-face delivery for
indoor 4H club meetings 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.
4
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 the 2021 but we
hope that it will be an in-person event in 2022. 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.
Slide 7: Here are some 4H Youth in action. We have had one of a few herpetology 4H programs
in the nation.
Slide 8: Water Quality The Water Quality / Environmental Education currently has two full-
time staff members: Bob Simmons, a WSU faculty member who is fully funded, salary and
benefits, by WSU and Monica Montgomery, 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.
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.
Slide 9: Water Quality staff and Volunteers in the field
Slide 10: Small Farms. 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 through 2023, 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 year include 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.
Slide 11: Small Farm program activities and the bounty of Jefferson County
5
Slide 12: Master Gardeners Through the annual MOA the County covers the salary of one .5
FTE Program Coordinator; WSU covers the cost of benefits. Bridget Gregg is the Coordinator 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.
Moving forward, trained volunteers will continue to utilize digital technologies and in-person
activities when appropriate 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
Slide 13: Master Gardener volunteers in action
Slide 14: Noxious Weed Control As we have discussed, in addition to the full-time
coordinator, for the 2021 budget, the BoCC authorized the addition of a .5 FTE Assistant Weed
Coordinator.
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, the new Assistant Weed Coordinator has
been 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.
Slide 15: Can anyone name these weeds?
Slide 16: Here are the answers.
Slide 17: Although not 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 – her name is Sarah Fiskin. 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.
Slide 18: Sea Grant water rescue training and team that worked a project to make frozen fish
from costal tribes available to local food banks during the pandemic in 2021.
6
Slide 19: All program areas are supported by a .8 FTE County Administrative/Budget Officer, Su
Tipton, and the County Extension Director whose WSU appointment includes a 50%
administrative role. Jefferson County fully funds (salary and benefits) the .8 FTE
Administrative/Budget Officer and one-third of the WSU Extension Directors Salary. In
addition, the budget has allowed for a County Clerk Hire for approximately 5 or 6 hours per
week to assist with various tasks. Sarah Leonard has been filling this role all during the
pandemic.
Both WSU and Jefferson County have moved to new fiscal management systems so a major
focus of the administrative team has been to ensure that the office is able to function in those
new systems successfully. To date, the migration to Munis at the County has been a positive
experience, not the same with Workday at WSU. Also, 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.
In terms of programming, each WSU County Extension Director has a specific area of focus –
our previous director was from the Community and Economic Development Unit and aside from
about 8 months working in the County Emergency Operations Center where he led the Planning
Team, the director worked on broadband access, expanding higher education opportunities in
the region, food access & security and supporting community based organizations like Team
Jefferson/EDU, radio KPTZ and the Jefferson County art and Historic Society.
Slide 20: Questions?
7