HomeMy WebLinkAboutJefferson County Strategic Planning Employee Survey Summary 2023Jefferson County Strategic Planning Employee Survey Summary 2023
Question 1:
Rank the following aspects, with 1 being most important and 12 least important, that you think Jefferson County
should prioritize in its next strategic plan:
Public safety (Sheriff and Fire), Criminal justice system, Emergency Management, Accessible, efficient, and
effective government, Ease/quality of transportation (roads, public transportation, bike paths), Community health
and well-being, Sustainable practices and programs, Equity and Inclusion, Business environment for businesses,
Growth and development, Accessible, efficient and effective government, Jobs and workforce development, and
Maintaining outdoor spaces, parks and trails.
10.11
8.61 8.51 9.03
7.8 8.34 6.72
5.63 5.26 5.84 5.32
7.66
5.48
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Question 2:
What are some things that the Jefferson County government does well? Check all that apply.
Smart, efficient management of public funds, Public safety (Sherriff and Fire), Emergency Management, Housing,
Road and bridge maintenance, Responsiveness and customer service mentality, Community development duties
(permitting, inspections, etc.), Transportation infrastructure (roads, bridges, center, etc.), Equity and inclusion,
Employee engagement, Engagement with communities and residents, Criminal justice system, Public health,
Human services, and Other (please specify).
28.30%
59.12%
35.85%
4.40%
44.65%
35.22%
8.18%
35.85%
21.38%22.01%
28.30%28.30%
61.64%
26.42%
6.29%
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
Other:
- MEETINGS
- The others are not checked because I have not had personal experience or heard of anything from others. Roads and public
health need help.
- We have a renown Emergency Management Department. Also through the Sheriff's Department, an exemplary Jefferson Search
and Rescue (JSAR) team that serves as an example for other jurisdictions.
- nothing on this list is done well.
- N/A
- Roads and Bridges OUTSIDE of the City Limits are maintained well.
- While I'm a Jefferson County employee, I'm not a Jefferson County resident. I don't have enough insights into JeffCo government
to provide thoughtful feedback.
- Our parks are numerous, safe and well managed. Thank you!
- Assessors office does great work.
- I think the new building at the QFC and the effort to have a homeless park are excellent efforts, but the apartments are not done
yet, and a homeless park does not count for excellence in housing. But good efforts!
Question 3
What are some things that Jefferson County could do better? Check all that apply. Smart, efficient management of
public funds, Public safety (Sheriff and Fire), Emergency Management, Housing, Road and bridge Maintenance,
Responsiveness and customer service mentality, Community development duties (permitting, inspections, etc.),
Transportation infrastructure (roads, bridges, center, etc.), Equity and inclusion, Employee engagement,
Engagement with communities and residents, Criminal justice system, Public health, Human services, and Other
(please specify).
32.53%
12.05%12.65%
65.66%
22.29%16.87%
47.59%
20.48%19.28%
36.14%
25.90%
16.27%
7.83%11.45%13.86%
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
Other:
- i see lots of properties that look like garbage dumps . force the land owner to clean them up on there own dime. I have a veiw
property and one of these neigbors down the road. Are they getting taxed kike me?
- Pay county employees more
- BETTER PAY TO AFFORD THE ACTUAL COST OF LIVING HERE
- There is a dearth of understanding of the scope of Community Development Department's responsibilities, evidenced in this
survey already by question #2. This is understandable by looking at the bottom of the main Jefferson County Web page at
"Resources". The County highlights "Water Quality", "Roads & Transportation", "Homeowner Resources (Disposal, Recycling
& Green Living, Illegal Burning, Illegal Dumping, Electronics Recycling), and Human Services". Even on the Community
Development web page there is limited information that Community Development is more than "permitting, inspections, etc.".
It does not reflect that Community Development has a staff of long-range planners, many with strong expertise in community
planning; comprehensive planning; STRATEGIC PLANNING; community outreach; capital facilities planning; environmental
planning; compliance with federal, state, & local laws and ordinances; policy development, ordinance writing & a key role in
collaboration between other departments to implement the goals of the State of Washington and our local Comprehensive
Plan, including community health, emergency management, public works, and the Board of County Commissioners. Where
is DCD when housing committees are formed? Where is DCD when policy is being developed between jurisdictions? Our
public presence is characterized as a "permit department". This is only partially the case; however, because permit revenue
is our primary source of income, it ends up being the primary activity at the expense of recognition of all we DO and CAN DO.
Where does the County put its financial resources when addressing the critical issues facing the county for housing,
economic development, community participation? Obviously not in the Community Development Department at a level that
meets the community needs. DCD Planners sup from the meager General Fund allocation based on old formulaic criteria
rather than need. This is our Jefferson County legacy. As one example, the legacy of Jefferson County administration several
years past includes a union contract bargaining discussion where the bargaining representative of the County said 'we don't
have to pay planners that much, [because] we can pull anyone off the street to do this job.' This legacy has not been entirely
reconciled. Employee retention. The record demonstrates that Jefferson County appears to be more comfortable in losing
employees and paying for 1) the rehiring process, 2) re-establishing a meager level of institutional knowledge, and 3) hiring
consultants instead of a full complement of staff; than paying an attractive wage to Community Development employees.
Because we are in one of the least-affordable counties (disparity between wages and cost of living), there will always be a
strong incentive for employees to leave, and a disincentive for qualified employees to join our team. Also, the revolving door
for staffing is stressful and many times itself a "push" factor for moving qualified staff out of County employment to another
jurisdiction. Imagine: a well-paid staff that stays with the Department to develop resiliency and efficient systems and
processes, and stays until retirement. THAT would be a more community-centered, responsible, cost-effective way to do
business. There is a systemic and sustained ignorance and misunderstanding of the role of the Planning profession in this
County's government.
- connecting people in need with meaningful resources
- 4 -day work week options
- Parks & Greenspace & programs
- N/A
- Road maintenance WITHIN the City Limits
- Housing not just for indigent peoples. Middle class or upper lower class need affordable housing as well.
- We desperately need help in the ability to acquire building permits more simply. Engineered stamped plans should be plug
and play. Builders are laying workers (community members) off because of a back log in permitting.
- DCD needs an overhaul.
- While I'm a Jefferson County employee, I'm not a Jefferson County resident. I don't have enough insights into JeffCo
government to provide thoughtful feedback.
- Enforcement of current ordinances (e.g. CDC, septic inspections, ROW violations)
- Improve support for offices doing customer service in the courthouse.
- Competitive pay for employees.
- Equity and inclusion.
- Preparing for the effects of climate change on an infrastructure level, emergency management level, and public health level
(smoke, power outages, mental health issues with loss of property and life)
- More parking, and clean up enforcement in Irondale and Port Hadlock.
- Support improved invasive species prevention and control -Plan and support long-term acquisition/relocation programs to
improve resiliency for businesses, residents, and salmon near vulnerable shorelines.
- Increase management, capacity, coordination and development of technical resources, data, information systems and mobile
devices for greater efficiency within and between departments.
- Respect and offer veteran employees reasons to stay
- of course, everything can always be better.
Question 4
What do you foresee as Jefferson County’s biggest challenges over the next three years to five years? Check all
that apply:
Economy, Growth, Traffic congestion, High cost of living/housing affordability, High cost of needed amenities (like
parks and greenspace), Overdevelopment, Crime, Equity and inclusion, Community transitions, Homelessness,
Maintaining current infrastructure adequately, Demographic changes, Balancing rural vs. urban, Oil and Gas
Industry, Agriculture Industry, and Other (please specify).
53.57%
37.50%
19.64%
89.88%
14.88%13.10%
34.52%
11.31%10.71%
72.62%
27.38%
13.69%
23.81%
6.55%5.36%
13.69%
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
80.00%
90.00%
100.00%
Other
- Climate change
- keep qualified people on the job. pay scale needs to be as high as home prices and or rent. also cost of living
- THE COST OF EVERYTHING CONTINUES TO RISE, MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO MAINTAIN HOUSEHOLDS, LEADING TO
ADDITIONAL CRIME AND HOMELESSNESS.
- The County has put a lot of money and effort in the Irondale/Port Hadlock Urban Growth Area. This has been the #1 project
of the County since 2005. To make this fruitful, we need to pay particular attention to land readjustment of the Irondale/Port
Hadlock Urban Growth Area. The sewer needs subscribers and much of the UGA has been platted at 3.5 Dwelling
Units/acre. There are specific tools to do this. If not still the #1 project, this could become one of the County's biggest
challenges.
- Jefferson County Desperately needs to improve the DCD experience, and create an environment where property owners are
stimulated to improve housing.
- Maintaining a workforce within county government that will keep government running efficiently.
- All the working families will be taxed out of their homes.
- 1- Keeping up with the evolution of the the Port Hadlock UGA due to the implementation of the sewer system. 2- Increased
homelessness and the additional burden the ripple effect from which will place on a system already at or above capacity. 3-
County staff retention with changing work force expectations and wages that are not commensurate with surrounding
counties, cities, and other local municipal providers (e.g. PUD, Port of PT, etc.).
- Lack of single-earner middle class jobs supporting 3+ families. Degrading of public spaces, public safety and public health
due to increasing transient homelessness.
- Climate change impacts such as sea level rise/coastal flooding events, etc.
- Increasing complexity in government processes leading to entropy. See Joseph Tainter's thesis on the collapse of societies
due to ever increasing government complexity and diminishing marginal returns.
- While I'm a Jefferson County employee, I'm not a Jefferson County resident. I don't have enough insights into JeffCo
government to provide thoughtful feedback.
- Running out of spaces for homeless camps.
- Healthcare system.
- Keeping kids, youth, young people, and families in our community.
- Work and housing opportunities for youth and young families.
- Being prepared for the effects of climate change on an infrastructure level (road washouts, closed roads, septic system
failures due to flooding), emergency management level, and public health level (smoke, power outages, mental health issues
with loss of property and life)
- we need lots of road repaving. The roads in town are dangerously torn up with lots of potholes. It will be costly to fix and the
City alone can't do it.
- Increasing economic stratification and related vulnerabilities -Housing, businesses, and development in at-risk
shoreline/floodplain locations -Climate and development impacts on biodiversity and natural ecological processes.
- The lack of availablity to divide 20 acre parcels into 2.5 or 5.0 acre tracks to make property available perhaps assisting with
the cost of purchase.
- Climate Change mitigation
- keeping up with evolving information technology
- the high percentage of elderly members of our community and lack of resources for them and young people.
Question 5
Rank your favorite aspects of Jefferson County with 1 being your favorite and 10 being your least favorite:
Outdoors/natural beauty, trails, parks, Ease/quality of transportation (roads, public transportation, bike paths),
Commercial retail, shopping and restaurant scene, Quality public safety services, Adequate housing options across
the spectrum of needs and affordability, Business environment, Sense of community belonging/inclusion,
Accessible, efficient and effective government, Economic opportunity and prosperity, and Well planned community
development.
9.72
7.23
6.26
7.06
2.98
4.83
6.27
4.93
2.91 2.8
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Question 6
Please indicate how likely the following will improve your work environment.
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
Greatly Improve
Improve
Slightly Improve
Would not likely improve
N/A
Question 7
What makes Jefferson County unique?
- It's beautiful here - the environment, the mountains, and the historic buildings. Additionally most people are respectful of
others
- We live in a area that has different ammenties for everyone's different life styles. We need to improve on that!
- Geography, mild weather, access to saltwater & mountains, access to freshwater lakes and rivers, outside activities (trails,
parks), proximity to National Forests and National Parks, educated population, responsive & thoughful, local farms, fairly low
traffic, close enough to bigger towns with full services & medical facilities (Sequim, Port Angeles, Silverdale).
- Natural beauty and interesting people with a small town feel
- We have a unique culture, our arts & music offerings, natural beauty
- i dont like living here
- Jefferson County itself - the environment, the location, the people, though more diversity would be good.
- The inclusivity from different communities.
- location
- The natural environment and county government collaboration between departments and with the community.
- Located on a peninsula with mountains between salt water coastlines.
- The exceptional outdoor amenities and the core values of the community.
- THE PAY IS LOWER THAN THE COST OF LIVING
- significantly varied rural vs urban needs
- The Salish Sea and The People and Green Spaces/Parks and Trail systems. Trees!
- Location of county...
- Areas natural beauty
- mountains to sea more affordable but still accecible
- The historical aspect of Port Townsend and the parks scattered throughout the county.
- Natural beauty, quiet spaces, wild animals, rural feel,
- Like many communities, the thing that makes it unique--and attracts people to the uniqueness--is the thing that gets replaced
by a facsimile of what it once was. Examples may include the Water Street Bar, Aldrich's grocery, Ness' Corner, and similar
community establishments that used to tie the present into the past unconventional norms of the 1970's. Perhaps the other
namesakes of buildings, streets and corners that harken back to the Water streets of Port Townsend and Lower Hadlock of
the 1850's with the gritty goings-on. Without a County historic preservation ordinance, we are watching our history slowly
disappear. Going, going, gone.
- Natural beauty, small town atmosphere, easy access to wilderness, marine shoreline, great people who share the same
interests.
- The mix of semi urban and rural areas. The ability to go from sea level to mountains in a short distance
- Jefferson County is unique in it geographic location, the waterways that surround it, and the various terrain of the majestic
mountains and valleys. The community is diverse in its affluency, from the extremely poor to the 1%ers although primarily a
boating/ fishing and arts community that relies heavily on tourism. The aging population limits the diversity inclusion.
- Location, community, natural resources
- Definitely the landscape of the area. Where else can you go and find mountains & salt water?
- It is one of the most beautiful places in the world
- It's natural beauty :)
- It is a privilege to get to balance the urban and the rural here in JeffCo. We are so lucky to have both in such a fabulous way.
- It is beautiful and progressive.
- The small community
- great community members
- Jefferson Co. is known for it's outdoor, inclusive and friendly atmosphere. Our residents make this a more unique place than
many other towns I have visited
- Its location and natural beauty.
- Scenic beauty
- Jefferson County government is unique, in that there is a real sense that employees pull together to deliver governmental
services and sincerely wish to make improvements in government to benefit citizens.
- Nothing is unique about Jefferson County. Housing is too expensive and boutique shops aren't affordable for local residents.
I shop out of town when I can!
- The ability to completely disregard those that work HARD to support their families. Spending too much tax dollars on
ridiculousness and unfinished projects.
- Small county but with some very smart employees with flexibility, expertise and team players-- we have done a lot with very
little; beautiful natural area to live in
- Location, location, location.
- Relative proximity to the natural wonders of the Olympic Peninsula.
- Location, climate, rich historical industries, lack of workforce housing, lack of infrastructure to support planned development,
lack of modern community spaces to support safety and social support.
- Small Town Vibe
- DIVERSE RURAL POPULATION
- It VERY liveral view points
- Location.
- Turn of the century town. Unique in h
- NOTHING ANYMORE SINCE JEFFCO IS TRYING TO BE A BIG CITY THAT WE ARE NOT.
- Jefferson County has an excellent work/office culture.
- beautiful, artistic, small loving community
- Location. Mild weather. Naturals beauty - water-forests-mountains,
- We are a tight knit community with immense beauty. It's the perfect forever home. Lots of rich History. The people are also
very kind.
- That we are way behind when it comes to salaries in comparison to our neighboring Counties. I have no idea why but it blows
my mind!
- The woods and open areas
- From the Hood Canal to the Olympic National Park, the natural environment informs the culture.
- I appreciate the progressive farming community here and collective efforts to build community resilience in the face of a
changing climate.
- Location: lot of natural beauty, some isolation from other areas due to geography. Culture: Many residents are strongly
independent with a DIY ethic. When they share government's goals, they are excellent partners. When they do not want to
work with government, they are very difficult to regulate.
- Rural and elderly population
- The everything.
- Absolutely beautiful area.
- small but open minded community surrounded by beauty
- Good place to live, need less strict rules for building, permitting.
- It's location
- How Port Townsend residents can obsess over the most inconsequential things. And how the BoCC sees fit to fund an
aquatics center with revenue from all county residents that will mostly serve Port Townsend residents and no one from south
of Hwy 104. If Port Townsend wants to be a Kingdom they should figure out how to fund it without a handout from the rest of
the county.
- It is an amazing place to live and raise your children.
- The people.
- Size, landscape, educated residents, food systems, awesome new playground at HJ carrol park
- Environment, people, values
- Geology, geography, demographics
- Proximity to mountains and ocean, rural neighborhoods.
- The natural beauty we have around us.
- The location and lack of wages and lack of affordable housing and affordable necessities. the crap roads in the city and
higher wages there then the good conduction county roads and lower wages. ????
- Our culture and beautiful environment
- The people who are here.
- Natural beauty of area, weather
- The Location. Possibilities are endless!
- The geographical beauty. Otherwise, it feels like we are losing our uniqueness and becoming a retirement community
completely lacking in any form of diversity.
- Its ability to not be able to pay its employees more of a livable wage. As well as this is just a training ground for larger city and
county governments.
- You can enjoy both the mountian's and ocean in the same day.
- Location, outdoor opportunities.
- Top 5 median age county in the US. Not developed like in the I-5 corridor.
- Small rural county in a picturesque location.
- Geography and demographics
- It's stunning setting. From a work perspective, the Department feels like a family. There is a lot of mutual support.
- It’s a beautiful location to live in on the Olympic peninsula.
- Location, Beauty,
- The county is surrounded by beautiful natural resources but also offers may opportunities to engage, learn, and socialize with
others.
- Strong community
- Creativity and collaboration; unique spirit notable in different parts of the county; freedom of expression, inclusive
atmosphere.
- The natural beauty and the slower pace of living than one finds in the large cities. We are tiny. A very small community.
- Rural feel but close enough to cities
- Small population, small tax base, but still striving to provide a high level of service. Makes it hard to keep up with the various
legal and legislative mandates for serving the tax payers with basic services like courts, law enforcement, safety, etc.
- Relatively close to urban areas with gorgeous waterfront, forests and outdoor enjoyment.
- The beauty of the environment surrounding us. The anti-business and growth sentiment.
- Scenery
- JeffCo is unique because its geographical location and its people. The demographics are very unique.
- We have such an eclectic group of people that live and work here, and such an involved community. So many different
perspectives and ideas to collaborate with. I appreciate the opportunity to be a part of the Jefferson County team. All working
together to maintain and improve this wonderful place.
- Waterfront location, Victorian architecture, Agriculture, Boatyard
- The beautiful area. You don't come here to make a fortune but to live in the surroundings.
- Jefferson's cost of living and wages.
- The location, Fort Worden, which protects the shoreline, the restriction against cooperate box stores -- although, the U-Haul
and storage box/garage mess on the edge of PT is a disappointment.
- It's beauty, trees, views water, Olympic mountains on one side and views of the Cascades absolutely stunning place to live.
- Its opportunities for outdoor recreation, tourism, many miles of shoreline, forestry, farming, military activities, disconnected
west-end, older age demographic, high cost of living compared to wages, and its absence of shopping opportunities so
people often shop out-of-county.
- This strikes me as a community where the staff and leadership truly care about all members of the community and their
needs and wellbeing.
- The natural beauty, as well as farming and maritime culture make Jefferson County unigue..
- Jefferson County government functions exceptionally well, compared to other counties.
- Our forward thinking community, most of the time. The beauty of the environment. Our ability to pull together when we need
to. Access to healthy food and clean air and water.
- The location and combination of nature and community, the areas sense of community, arty seaport mix, the mix of
businesses, family lives here
- Open space, beautiful
- Great communication great staff and great people to work with that understand and share their knowledge
- It’s location.
- we live in a small enough community you will know someone at the grocery store, but not every visit. There are lots of things
to do here, so many naturally beautiful locations to visit and events to participate in.
- location
- Physical environment; majority liberal ideology
- The wide spectrum of economic and social levels (from incredibly poor & isolated to excessively wealthy and connected). The
amount of natural beauty paired with the problems of urbanization.
- It's context: forests, rivers, coastlines; and its relationships with tribes.
- Fantastic natural beauty and wilderness combined with a progressive, friendly community. County government should reflect
those progressive values and envision a bright future while also preparing seriously for some major threats (everything from
natural disasters to social unrest due to unmet needs).
- It has a unique combination of the relevant benefits and challenges, but in no way is it distinct from innumerable small, rural
communities that have become desirable places to live and retire.
- all of our beautiful coastal areas
- Its openness to try new things.
- People care about their neighbors.
- Its inclusiveness.
- Location. Small urban centers. National Park and National Forest/Mountains. Salt water access on 3 sides.
- size and people
- The people
- Small enough that I feel safe walking to my car at night, large enough to offer arts and music
- Natural beauty. Art and music scene.
- the landscape how spread out it is.
- location
- Regarding the above - do you know we can only choose one in each column? Geography
- The landscape and history here.
Question 8
What barriers, if any, might prevent community members from fully engaging in life in Jefferson County?
- Cost of housing is too high for most.
- They get tired of hearing about the DCD and other departments on their customer service.
- Lack of trust funds for all residents! Lack of work with wages that are keeping pace with inflation; lack of non-motorized
friendly county roads (missing wide shoulders); high cost of living tied with low wage work- after paying mortgage / rent, not
much left to spent on medical, child care, or other lower priority essential expenses; car-centric transportation infrastructure.
- housing is expensive, the county is geographically spread out and transportation is expensive
- High cost of living low wages
- I go out of town to get groceries and fuel if i can. I can save almost $300 a month if i can make it to Silverdale
- Feeling over worked and under paid
- The price of goods. Grocery store, etc...
- People seem to be very isolated throughout the county. They don't ask for help often. It seems like there could be more rural
area resources.
- costs
- Lack of housing, affordable housing, and living wage jobs.
- People who have moved here from urban environments and expect to change things to better suit themselves based on the
area they moved her from.
- Economic stratification and workforce housing.
- THEY CANT AFFORD TO LIVE HERE
- housing limitations/costs and accordingly, high related costs of living
- wheel chair access and physical challenges walking. There are wonderful bike lanes and fewer sidewalks which I like, but it
might be more challenging for people in wheel chairs, walkers or with a physical disability to enjoy some of the natural wonder
we have here.
- N/A
- retirement community most of the people are not here all yar round
- travel needed to get anywhere affordablilty matched with income
- Events are fairly expensive. The shops are higher than most places(amazing though). Very difficult to find a job where there is
promotion opportunity.
- Jefferson County government? Community outreach through the Planning Commission public process has become difficult
due to changes in meeting venues and Covid-adapting Zoom meetings. It's hard to engage the community online. We need
community outreach in the communities. Lately, it appears that the Planning Commission is no longer the clearinghouse for
community planning. Just looking at the agriculture community or housing organizations and it can be said that residents
of Jefferson County have a propensity to proliferate community groups. Who's doing what, now? It's a sign of community
involvement but often circumvents our Planning Commission and Community Development. DCD could use more avenues
for community engagement to funnel some of these efforts through an intentional and documented public process. We need
more public engagement, not just messaging!
- Adequate affordable home ownership
- none
- Diversity and quality of youth programs and/or development of extra curricular activities.
- There is little support for the youth & young families. I think of how awesome it would be to have something like Silverdale
does with the YMCA. The kids can swim, shoot hoops, racket ball, pickle ball etc. The parents can have a place to workout,
while the kids participate in other activities. It would bring everyone together.
- Housing, cost of living, affordable childcare, and childcare in general.
- Cost of living
- Affordable housing options.
- Housing and cost of living
- The availability of housing is a big deterrent.
- Cost to live here is too high and wages too low!!
- Jefferson Co. is located between two counties who are growing. Those counties provide more opportunites for employment
with "larger" companies coming in and our tax dollars are going to those counties so naturally folks will go spend more time
and money in those counties.
- Reasonable (not project) Housing. More economic opportunities. More industry.
- Expense of living in Jefferson County. Unavailability of affordable housing. Limited shopping options. Lack of availability for
newcomers who need medical services such as dental and eye care (over a year wait time).
- Cost of housing is the biggest barrier. Jefferson County is not competitive in hiring and employees cannot afford to live here.
This is a systemic problem that destroys efficiency in government and efforts at improvements. Without a stable workforce, it
is very difficult to make any improvements.
- I said it above in question #7.
- Another "pandemic"
- Salaries for county employees are grossly under what is average for similar places and we are losing lots of folks due to this
fact and also last of housing in this county. Hard for people to make a "living wage" in Jefferson County and then no housing,
and REALLY lack of affordable housing here-- people are having to live out of county in order to work in Jefferson County!
- Society's ever increasing inability to adequately communicate? -Comprehensively inadequate funding largely due to the
absence of a sustainable commercial tax base, and the somewhat misguided interest in limiting big business.
- Economic instability, cost of living, housing affordability.
- Allowing public intoxication/disorderly conduct in our public spaces. Unstable and unsafe people being supplied with
recourses to stay here. Making our parks unsafe. I played in the parks as a kid, now I dont feel safe letting my kids run around
in them. Continuing to make it more desirable for out of town transients to come here and take recourses from those in our
community. Letting criminals out as soon as they are arrested. Repeat offenders with lots of history, including warrant history,
get let out more often then not. Then re offend. Taking advantage of the good people in our community.
- Mismatch between expectations at time of purchase of property with the costs of permitted development. Historical
relationships and gripes that are difficult to overcome.
- Not feeling included or heard
- N/A
- Different view point than the majority of population
- This is a large and dynamic county.
- Cost of living. Need to go out of county to certain shopping.
- ALL THE HOMELESS PEOPLE THAT THE COUNTY ALLOWS AND GIVES EVERYTHING TO.
- PERMITS, COST OF HOUSING, DEVELOPMENT, UNABLE TO BUILD OR DIVIDE LAND.
- Cost, livable wages.
- affordable housing, good paying jobs
- real interest in what is important to residents and not just "doing a job".
- High cost of living.
- I think coming back from the pandemic is/was the hardest barrier. Getting all our festivals back and thriving would make a
world of difference.
- Financial barriers $$
- Grossly inadequate housing at affordable cost
- Housing affordability
- High costs of living, limited affordable housing, limited well-paying jobs, etc. requiring folks to work multiple jobs with lack of
time/energy to engage with the broader community/life in Jefferson County
- Geography: We are a large county with some isolated areas. It's hard for West End residents to visit the courthouse in Port
Townsend. Technology: Many residents do not have consistent internet access or tech training to access online meetings
and notices. Health: Immunocompromised residents cannot safely attend indoor meetings without ventilation and full
masking. Housing: Many residents cannot afford consistent, safe housing.
- Housing and decent paying jobs
- Narrow mindedness and miscommunication.T
- It is very expensive to live here and the jobs do not pay enough.
- expensive, becoming more difficult to create work/life balance
- Lack of opportunity.
- Cost of living
- Affordable housing and living wage jobs.
- Unnecessary restrictions and regulations.
- transportation system between south county and PT, living wage jobs
- Rural communities don't have equal access.
- lack of affordable housing; cost of living
- Lack of affordable housing throughout the county
- Financial, a lot of people cannot afford Port Townsend prices.
- The lack of wages, the high price of gas high housing in Jefferson County.
- Economic barriers, Systemic Racism/Oppression, and Accessibility (physical ability to get/be in spaces where decision
making occurs).
- Low wages, cost of living, housing, overburdened healthcare system, lack of retail
- Need to be inclusive to those people that work for a living too.
- The staggering socio-economic divide that creates an Us vs Them feeling.
- cost to live here.
- Cost of living is very high and it is almost impossible to build/buy a house.
- Ability to live in the county due to cost of housing. The cost of housing excludes certain deomogaphics from being able to live
here which makes our community and workflorce very non-diverse.
- Healthcare. Many folks travel a ways to get healthcare they trust.
- Lack of workforce housing keeps working class out of Jefferson County.
- HOUSING AFFORDABILITY
- Cost of living, cost of housing and lack of wage that can balance out those two issues. Retirement community that has made
cost of housing unaffordable for those working or struggling.
- cost of living, limited economic opportunity and development
- None, unless their road washes out and they are trapped. Or if they have a disability that could affect their opportunity.
- Cost of rent, no big box stores for employing more people.
- Transportation
- Lack of access in some areas in the county to cell towers and WiFi (such as Marrowstone and Brinnon), which makes it
difficult for some to access virtual meetings or send in documents electronically. It is difficult to find work in the county that
pays enough to cover living expenses and to have enough extra spending money to enjoy community activities.
- Housing crisis
- Affordable housing; difficulty relying on scant public transit; more health and social services across the county rather than
concentrated in Port Townsend.
- The politics of a small town can be crippling at times.
- Affordability
- POVERTY due to legacy of timber extraction and lack of a diverse economy. Over dependence on recreation for the
economy. Lack of a children, young people, and families. Mostly retirees - two biggest population centers (Port
Townsend and Port Ludlow are for retirees) - this prevents engagement because everything is oriented towards the needs of
this demographic. In large part because this group of people is extremely outspoken, effective at getting what they want, has
time to influence policy, spending. Government and the community needs to advocate for children, youth, and families without
expecting them to come to planning meetings, workshops, and to complete surveys etc.
- Cost of living and housing - if spending it all on basics, unable to do much else.
- Department of Community Development
- Cost of living
- Definitely cost of living.
- For the workforce, not enough time to engage outside of work. For a majority of residents, age is a barrier at times.
- Costs are too high, losing good job candidates because they cannot find affordable housing.
- Jefferson County is becoming an Elitist community, only wealthy white folks can afford to live here. New building code
increases cost by 30%, now who can afford to build here, can't afford to buy, can't afford to rent. Who can live here?
- can't afford to live here
- Not being able to afford much else because of the high cost of living here.
- No interest in community life, whatever you mean by that phrase. Aged out of community life, whatever you mean by that
phrase. Stigma, wealth gap, the feeling that only PT matters, turf wars among agencies, politics, and gossip. Power hungry
folks who take themselves too seriously vs folks who just want to engage to improve while protecting the place and its
inhabitants.
- Distance, as it's a large county, and driving long distances, is not appealing to a lot of people.
- Lack of afordable housing.
- Problems stemming from mental illness and chemical dependency, lack of affordable housing, and poverty. And, the division
in our country shows up in our county; many can't seem to "agree to disagree".
- Affordability
- The cost of living is killing the hard working families.
- Housing and childcare are the biggest barriers I have seen for most people. In addition, there are limited year-round family
friendly events and gathering spaces.
- Affordable housing.
- No affordable housing
- Cost of living, affordable housing availability, wildfire danger and preparation, and mental health resources for youth and
adults.
- It would be nice if COVID would drop and stay in the low rate area. Affordable housing so people can actually live here is one
of the biggest barriers.
- Lack of housing, too many Air Bn B's
- The lack of cleanliness, and the drug problem.
- It might be hard to get to know people at first, but join a club, or interest group and you have it made.
- cost of living
- Financial distress due to high housing costs
- Lack of affordable housing, lack of affordable accessible and effective public transportation, lack of healthcare options that
include specialty providers for younger and higher risk people.
- Crowds at Olympic National Park and access routes. Traffic-related hazards. Lack of bicycle/walking path between South
County and Chimacum. Shortage of living-wage jobs or lack of education to access web-based work.
- Economic hardship, isolation from services, lack of affordable housing and lack of good paying jobs.
- Low salaries and high cost of living.
- Access to affordable housing and other basic living needs
- Newbies consider the local residents as not caring about the area, when in fact this a great place because those locals before
us cared without having to have a pat on the back.
- The "woke" political climate. The fact that criminals have more rights than law abiding citizens. The cost of living that is
pushing out families that have lived her for generations. The lack of good quality social services.
- Lack of streamlined online processes.
- Lack of trauma informed care
- An inflexible 40-hour work week. In order to fully engage with life in any county, one needs the ability to balance work,
community involvement, and home. To feel human and not automated. For some people that is achievable within a four-day
workweek of 10 hour shifts. For others it could be starting their work earlier or later, position sharing and reduced hours.
- Economic opportunities for employment are limited.
- Barriers to recreation/volunteering from survival fatigue - when the cost of living is so far out of proportion with income we
have to make sacrifices with our time
- Cost of living, lack of public transportation, lack of options
- Untreated Mental Health issues, homelessness, an elitist mind set by those who retire here.
- Lack of affordable housing.
- not sure question 6 is working correctly.
- financial disparities
- isolation based on lack of clarity regarding how to connect, lack of funds
- n/a
Question 9
On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being most confident and 1 being least confident, how confident are you that Jefferson
County will be an even better place to live five years from now?
1 2 3 4 5
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Question 10
If you responded to the above question with a rating of 3 or lower, what would have to happen for you to have a
confidence level of 4 or 5?
- Many of the lower and middle-income residents, from fisherman and artists to home health care attendants and small
businesses, are having housing issues. Because of this, many of them move out of the area, causing a loss of diversity of
incomes, young families, people with varied work experience, and interests.
- Let the people build in the Rural areas so we don't have all this homeless people roaming around. By definition, I'm Homeless
because I am living in a Travel Trailer, Due to not able to afford to put a house on the property that we own.
- Climate change would have to be reversed. Jefferson County will likely see more climate change refugees fleeing wild fires,
floods, tornadoes, etc.
- Better planning for community development in all of the various communities of our county - not just PT!!! The County feels
fractured.
- cost of living
- I really don't know that there is one thing that would improve things, the country would have to improve.
- Need to make it affordable to live here especially for the younger generation
- I see economic fall within Jefferson County. Jobs being lost, small businesses closing. Housing market not sustainable for
working families.
- Reduced property taxes, wages that allow a single parent the ability to make a house payment, car payment, utilities and
food.
- Better political diversity, no more single party rule.
- Housing for working class people, improved/more help for homeless people and people who struggle with mental health
issues.
- THERE IS NO PLACE FOR PEOPLE TO RENT. WE HAVE AN ABUNDANCE SHORT TERM RENTALS, WE SHOULD PUT
A LIMIT TO THOSE.
- BETTER WAGES, LOWER COST OF LIVING, MORE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
- It would Definitely need to come to terms with the fact that it isn't a small rural county anymore and it needs to treat
employees as such. everyone is individual. not a group.
- Better employment opportunities, Better programs for all ages, wages to match cost of living skyrocketing.
- Fewer people migrating here, relaxing building codes so that family can build more than one house on 5 acres, or additional
ADU's.
- In the next five years, I believe we are getting set up between a creeping recession, the idealistic laws and State mandates
that are unmet by our staffing levels, and formulaic requirements of the State Growth Management Act not allowing affordable
housing development at higher densities in rural areas, higher costs of housing development deepening the shortage of
housing. To abate or respond to this, there may need to be additional government support of housing nonprofits, or direct
funding for additional housing. In my opinion, additional housing alone will not affect market rates. There needs to be rent
control and permanently designated housing below market rates. There are programs and incentives that could be added to
the mix of options. As demonstrated in the Comprehensive Plan, equal attention is needed for Economic Development,
Housing, and Employment, as they are interrelated.
- More innovative creative thinking and risk taking
- We need to look at a persons character and not specific characteristics which they have little or no control of .
- A dynamic shift in the population or the beliefs of an aging generation. A hardworking blue collar community faces an uphill
battle with a new era of gentrification, from tech industry workers who can work anywhere, to those pre- retirees who decided
to get out early and live off of their investments, deciding not to go back to work after COVID.
- Manage growth and services
- I would need the things here that I currently leave the county for. I leave atleast once per week for groceries at Walmart,
Costco & Sunny Farms. I save enough on apples at Sunny Farms to pay for my fuel to Sequim.
- Affordable housing and salaries that reflect the cost of living. Better tax breaks for families with children would be very
beneficial. The taxes beaks that were provided during the pandemic and no longer available. For example, I spent $12,000
last year on childcare so that I could work. I was only able to claim $600 of it on my taxes.
- Affordable housing options
- LACK OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND EMPLOYMENT OPPURTUNITIES
- Lower cost of housing. Encourage people who can work to work by paying a living wage and stop making the round abouts
- I rate it low because of the increase/ welcoming of the transient population which brings drugs and crime to our local areas
and currently there are no laws or enough services for the Sheriff to serve the communities with safety. Ordinances,
programs etc would help make folks feel safer in their communities.
- A complete reform of DCD, a more honest public health Department. Transparent and ethical spending from small
government. A push to stimulate small business and industry. County wages that reflect the cost of living rather than burden
the welfare system.
- See genuine commitment to resolve issues in question #8.
- More affordable housing; housing developed for employees as an incentive to work here; higher wages in county
government.
- Clean up Jefferson County, Irondale and Hadlock is s a joke! You don't see dumps in Port Townsend! Allow corporate
businesses in Jefferson County, Tax revenue for the county! Force the mom and pop stores to compete with prices.
- Start focusing on REAL issues within the County instead of a political agenda. Ensure those that are using the programs
(housing, med and food) are actually working towards getting out of their situations. Crime, drug use and homelessness are
all I see throughout the County.
- I see very talented people being undermined/undercut for unknown, or political reasons. People who are able to bring in
significant funding to our county, for services we desperately need, but are not treated with respect or listened to. Until
leadership has an open ear and clear eyes to see these great assets, we are going to lose these experts who can help us
move into a stronger county with robust support systems for our needed services. It often seems that decisions are made for
political reasons, rather than what is truly best for the community. Or to make sure a particular person doesn't have their
feelings hurt, rather than doing the "tough" thing, which will serve our community the best.
- This strategic plan is a conceptually a good start. But in short, a more than occasional reality check.
- I would need a pretty clear cut path to owning and developing a property or purchasing an already developed property.
Currently that is up in the air.
- if the Jefferson County will have a better systems fire, sheriff & Judicial system and reduces the populations for
homelessness, that helps lower the crimes
- More accountability for criminal behavior. Less chances so they take it seriously. Its sad if they have substance issues and
MH issues, but they still need consequences for victimizing people who are just trying to get by.
- Families who are priced out of Port Townsend with it's infrastructure are living in our county because they want to continue to
contribute to Jefferson's successful businesses and be here. It is important to me that we engage with rural communities to
allow for development that matches their needs and desires for workforce family life, seniors to age in place safely,
walkability, access to services in the LAMIRDS that will allow for appropriate sized business development, beneficial
recreation dollars spent outside of Port Townsend, etc..
- Think about the whole county and not just everything within city limits.
- The county will likely not provide better pay to employees, will not be able to bring down the housing cost and will keep
throwing money at a homeless problem we have created and enabled
- Setting into motion policy and funding goals to overcome some of the biggest challenges of the next three years to five years.
- STOP CATERING TO THE HOMELESS AND HELP THE PEOPLE OF THE COMMUNITY THAT WORK FULL TIME AND
ARE STILL STRUGGLING. LET LAW ENFORCEMENT DO MORE AND GET MORE OFFICERS. GIVE MORE MONEY TO
THE JAIL TO GET MORE EMPLOYESS NOT JUST A ONE TIME BONUS.
- ITS MORE THAN JUST THIS COUNTY, THERE ALL HEADED IN A BAD DIRECTION AT THE HAND OF ELECTED
OFFICIALS IN THE STATE.
- The cost of living decrease and wages increase.
- more affordable housing and better paying jobs
- support of government to make individual lives better and allow people to take full advantage of their houses.
- opportunity for more ecnomic growth within the community.
- NA
- Affordable housing & a fair wage.
- A better governing body put in place and stop catering to the people with the most money.
- Locally, more funding for affordable housing. We have excellent partners offering shelter and transitional housing, but people
are stuck without housing they can afford in their own communities. More funding for emergency preparedness and
management would also be beneficial. It seems likely our population may increase as people continue moving to Jefferson
County. Washington is appealing for people trying to avoid climate change or their home state's anti-reproductive healthcare
and anti-LGBT laws.
- Fix the problem with homelessness and drug related crimes.
- More housing for middle class, better options for shopping and better pay.
- so much fighting in government
- Make sure the County is responding to the needs of residents of all economic strata. Outreach campaigns like the one the
County is conducting usually only reach mid- and upper-income residents who have the time to participate. This skews
funding priorities. For example, we spend more per capita on law enforcement than nearly all other counties but are near the
bottom for violent crime. Between the PT Police and Sheriff's Office we have enough law enforcement personnel and military
grade weapons to overthrow any Central American country.
- Lack of affordable housing, lack of livable wage jobs.
- Stabilizing the economy. . .not just a Jefferson County problem. . .but nationwide
- The criminal matters would need to be taken more seriously with harsher punishments, more mental health to get our crime
rate back to what is was.
- lower the price of living and up the wage. keep up the wage with the price of living EVERY YEAR.
- Affordable Housing and Inclusion
- A growth management plan that doesn’t pretend to manage growth. The current plan doesn’t manage growth only makes it
exclusive to the very rich. People are still building and moving to the county, the very rich or very poor. Most people do not
need handouts, they just need the barriers removed.
- Force paper mill to eliminate the foul odors leaving their property, better communication between departments, specifically
DCD, reduce growth the county can better manage current projects, conditions, etc., better enforcement of current rules,
regulations and ordinances (I see home builders clearing properties, altering stormwater runoff, building roads, etc. They will
request permits after the fact because they have learned that the county will not penalize them for doing these things before
an SDR).
- Management must learn to listen and value people!
- Action, not words. Living wage jobs and the housing to go along with them. Roads that don't destroy cars or make it
impossible to ride a bike along them (Lawrence St/Discovery Rd/Hastings Ave)
- Cost of living needs to go down. No family making two incomes should have to have Three or Four jobs to just make by.
Especially if they have a county or city job.
- Due to the rising amount of homeless and drug use in the community and decrease in mental health I don't feel like we are
heading in the right direction.
- Large efforts to lower the cost of housing or providing lower/middle income housing opportunities.
- Manage growth and improved healthcare.
- Balanced views within the community instead of overt liberalism resulting in conservative viewpoints are not considered.
- HOUSING MORE AFFORDABLE
- More house family housing and jobs with middle class wages.
- It would need to revert back to the old Jeff Co/Port Townsend that wasn't a resort for rich retirees. And the dog leash police
would need to go back to wherever they came from. I prefer the funky old stuff, not the glitzy new stuff. It's what makes this
area different.
- High Taxes, High cost of living, High gas prices, High grocery
- Housing would need to be more affordable.
- A greater emphasis at all levels for protecting the natural resources in the county and maintaining rural character. Also,
developing and implementing strategies to live more sustainably (e.g., types of vechicles that county staff use; encourage
working from home when possible; better functioning AV system; work spaces with natural light and ability to open windows).
- Significant steps to address housing crisis
- N/A
- The hearts of we the people would need to change and shift from a right/wrong or right/left political stance to a love thy
neighbor as thyself stance.
- Work on homelessness, fight poverty by promoting a diverse economy, support children, young people, and families as much
as possible. Diversify the economy, support and attract business.
- Jobs, development, safety, infrastructure
- Housing affordability
- Inflation and housing prices to come down. Adequate housing
- Increase wages, changes building codes, quit segregating areas for the poor to live.
- higher wages and affordable housing
- Better paying jobs for working-age adults; better schools--Quilcene and Chimacum in particular; more housing that is
affordable for working-class people; unified city -- incorporate Chimacum/Hadlock/Irondale into Port Townsend.
- Affordable housing needs to be more available and the pay at jobs currently within the county needs to increase because I
didn't get a raise but the cost of goods, food at the grocery store, gas, and housing is only ever increasing.
- Sewer gets moving; more housing; more jobs for working people
- More efficient processing of permits and more opportunity for affordable housing, to provide services so people to work here
or stay here
- I would need a crystal ball.
- To see meaningful investment in support for the most vulnerable.
- A recession may really hurt our community.
- We would have to prioritize affordable housing and equity.
- Affordable housing.
- Affordable Housing
- More housing, cost of living adjustments
- Permitting for growth has to get better. Cleaning up our neighborhoods, and make living here more affordable.
- growth must be planned, and addressing the needs of our citizens who need help is a big priority. We succeed as a
community if we all are succeeding in our own ways.
- change in government
- Investment in leading edge practices and experimentation to address high cost of housing.
- I am really and truly not sure. The social political atmosphere is divisive and uncertain, the climate change escalation is
worrisome and the general direction of humanity seems questionable often. There is much good work and effort going into
improving and sustaining our community assets. I know I will keep doing my best, but I don't think I can answer specifically
what would make me give a higher rating. Time will tell, and until then I will do what I can.
- If the county had a strategic plan completed that at least addressed some of the issues above, that would be a good start.
Some of the threats we face are larger than we can just deal with locally (climate change, earthquakes, larger scale economic
and social troubles), but we should still do what we can locally.
- Housing costs would need to stabilize and the stock of more affordable rentals and owned homes would need to increase
significantly specifically for the middle class. Tax revenues would need to increase sufficiently to maintain existing capital
infrastructure and for salaries to match the job market and housing costs. Fragmented public agencies would need to
consolidate into ones large enough to justify their overhead.
- Seeing concrete plans to address the growth and demographic changes happening in the county.
- Allow growth in rural areas, not everyone wants to live within 10 feet of their neighbors. Allow businesses that will keep locals
from going to Kitsap or Clallam to shop for goods. Less focus on the transients. How many are truely local and can give an
address where they lived in JeffCo within the last 5 years.
- Make housing affordable, provide more housing options for the homeless community, increase pay due to cost of living,
improve road conditions, improve and increase social service programs, give law enforcement and our prosecutors the ability
to hold criminals accountable and get them off the streets.
- The old time charm and history would need to be preserved. And development kept to a minimum.
- Stable economy both for the state and the county.
- four day work week, better child care options
- Show respect to long term employees, offer more fl
- Housing, improved mental heath care, more widespread transit for rural populace, better roads in town
- More affordable housing and higher wages.
- New director of DCD would be a good start
- Improved pay scale for County employees
- I do not believe the housing market is going to change in the next 5 years and employees will be no longer able to live in
Jefferson County.
- some kind of housing cost miracle.
- I strongly believe there will be a decline in work force in the up-coming future. The community cannot sustain hard working
employees that do not make enough money to be able to afford a half-way decent home in Jefferson County. The wages
across the board do not match up with this community.
Question 11
Please share one thing you would like Elected Officials to understand about working for the County.
- We feel supported by the Board, and recognize that they have finding challenges.
- It is hard to stay with a company that you know that you could be making more income than if you were to stay.
- We all sacrifice something to make it all work here in Jefferson County.
- Pay has not kept up with the costs of living. We don't make a living wage.
- We should pay our County employees more - at least comparable to what other counties like Kitsap pay. We could attract
better employees who make a career and a life.
- By and large we really enjoy the work we do and are committed hard working employees. Also by and large we do not make
a salary that allows us to meet the high cost of living in Jefferson County.
- I am a single income family. I am barely able to live paycheck to paycheck. if i go to the Doctors ,I'm screwed. there many
time i don't go so my wife can
- Our dept is under paid for the amount of work and hours performed
- Sometimes lack of communication to all employees
- That because we live in Jefferson County the living expenses are comparable to King County, not a county like Okanagan
where the cost of living is normal.
- Working for the County is great.
- Wages have never kept up with the actual cost of living
- Most things are not broken and do not need fixing/changing. We are a small county and do not need big government.
- I absolutely love my job.
- THE PAY FOR COUNTY WORKERS IS WAY TO LOW.
- I simply want to express gratitude for their service. They do so much with their time and energy.
- WE WORK VERY HARD FOR EACH OF YOU, BEING COMPARED TO OTHER COUNTIES FOR PAY STUDIES THAT
ARE NO WHERE NEAR US IS A SLAP IN THE FACE,
- I feel a sense of good team work.
- everyone is important, to the lowest laborer, to the elected individuals. no one is worth more than the other.
- our electeds are great as they walk in thier everyday lives just as all JC residents do.
- They need to understand all the levels of living situations and find a way to address them that makes the economy more
stable.
- In my estimation, the County would benefit from incorporating a few structural and evaluative work products in our annual
plans to align purpose, goals and objectives. I'm optimistic that the County Strategic Plan will offer an effective evaluative tool
that creates alignment among all County entities. For example, I created an Annual Report work product for the Planning
Commission that reports on progress in the context of the Comprehensive Plan, and integrates DCD and PC priorities for
future work plans. This report is then discussed by the Board of County Commissioners in a timely way to inform budgeting
and annual work plans. I've propose a Comprehensive Plan annual report as well, but limited staffing has prevented this from
coming to fruition. I would like County elected officials to understand the importance of common vision, shared principles,
and and living planning documents that highlight strategies, manage change through adaptive strategies, in order to develop
mature organizations with built-in resiliency. There's a lot there but I trust someone knows what this means. County
representatives often say the words "six-sigma" and "lean", but don't really know what they are talking about. The culture of
continuous improvement, and the tools and processes are not developed or practically applied at a departmental level. With
top-down management and chain-of-command systems, it's like fitting a square peg in a round hole. Much money has been
spent by the County on strategic planning and process development, but change or follow-through isn't apparent.
Communication. I am invited by Commissioners to speak to them--but I am NOT allowed to directly contact them because of
chain-of-command concerns. I cannot share ideas with the County Administrator for the same reason. The open door is
shown to staff, but we dare not enter. When John Fishbach was County Administrator, I recall having a good telephone
conversation with him about a planning issue. I was treated as a coworker, a colleague. I've worked for private planning
offices, federal and state governments, and there's nothing like the tight chain-of-command, watch-your-step as there is in
local government! That's something to say about grass-roots and government. Along with the Commissioner invitations
and apparent availability, staff has experienced chilling moments regarding human resources issues that came across as "we
Commissioners don't really care." What will we do about these accessibility issues? I remember, through my career, more
effective ways of operating. Particularly, the approach of non-siloed, "we are one organization", interdepartmental
cooperation and accessibility of people and ideas all up and down the food chain. Talking about "lean"? There may be
something to consider and implement here. Rather than "we are 'One County'", we're siloed between two castes in the
County: "Management" and "Staff". There are double standards between the two. Let's begin talking about centralized,
shared organizing principles developed by the body of employees in this County. I recognize Commissioner Brotherton at the
2021 County picnic with his banjo and song about "we're the County, we're one" or something similar. He gets it. Let's all get
skin in the game. I've worked within organizations with very strong strategic planning efforts and evaluation tools and have
done the same myself for developing non-profits, including one of my own. One simple way to align and appear as a
functioning body is to standardize the logo and letterhead! We are not recognizable. We need integrated work planning.
Community Development staff are not aware of any budget planning, there is no transparency. Used to be, but not for many
years now. We need to integrate our priorities into budgets from the ground up, starting with staff who are on the ground.
Incrementally, programs are developed and we can develop proposals for biennial budgets for "building blocks" of resources
that are leveraged toward those plans. Sometimes leveraging can occur interdepartmentally to meet common programmatic
goals. Some projects must span multiple years. At the County, it feels like every day is a new day and the wind comes
from the north, then the south, and before you know it, it's a program entirely different than where we started. Strategic
planning will align us, by the grace of God.
- The citizens and staff have the answers to all our problems, they must be engaged in a more meaningful way, and we must
always address the root cause of a problem in order to solve it.
- My experience with Jefferson County has been positive. I have found the departments I have worked with to be easy to get
along with and helpful.
- Working for Jefferson County is a labor of love, I think we all understand we are not here for the highest paying job, we do it
to be part of something bigger, to serve our neighbors, and hopefully in the end have retirement benefits that are meaningful.
- Retention is important for continuity of services
- It's extremely difficult to hire good people because salaries are so far behind what's competitive, and cost of housing has
gone up so much.
- There are some employees who take pride in serving their fellow citizens within the county. Flip side, there are employees
who simply think of it as a job. We need to stress why we are all here.
- It is difficult to work here and live here. Housing is expensive and job opportunities do not match the cost of living in Jefferson
County. If you have children, it's even harder. My current childcare payment is similar to my Morgage. It's like buying two
houses.
- All of our voices matter.
- It is expensive to live here. Even with a stable job.
- SOME DEPARTMENTS ARE UNDERSTAFFED; OVERWORKED; AND UNDERAPPRECIATED.
- Cost of living in comparison to wages
- I haven't worked here for very long so I'm not ready to answer this question.
- Jefferson Co. is a fantastic place to work. I've been here about 17 years and there is nowhere better to work. I feel
supported by my management, I've spoken with a couple of the commissioners and they're approachable.
- Jefferson county needs its free market stimulated, not subsidized. Especially when it comes to housing and jobs.
- Employees need to be given better incentives to stay here and government offices need to be properly staffed to avoid
burnout. Our attrition rates destroy morale and increase the workload for those who remain. Overworked and under-
compensated county employees do not tend to stay.
- we don't pay our employees enough to live on. We are still behind our comps in wages..
- We don't make enough money to live in Jefferson County.
- Many employees are living outside of Jefferson County because they cannot afford, or find housing in Jefferson County,
especially on their undercompensated wages. This is unacceptable
- In February, 2023, the median sale price of a property in Jefferson County was just shy of $600,000. With a $100,000 down
payment, a 30 year loan with a 5.27% interest rate turns out to be around $2,800 per month. My monthly salary, after
deductions, is around $3,900 per month. That means the remaining $1,100 should cover the rest of my monthly expenses:
Property taxes, insurance for house, utilities, car payment, car insurance, student loan payment (A degree is a requirement
for my job), and food. This obviously doesn't include an emergency savings fund or setting aside money for retirement. It also
doesn't include setting aside money for repairs for the newly purchased house, clothing expenses, phone bill, or ANY leisure
activities, assuming I want to do anything other than sit at home in my newly acquired home. Imagine wanting to settle down
and start a family in Jefferson County on that budget! I can barely afford to live in this county and I'm one emergency away
from needing to move in order to just exist.
- Drugs are the problem. It gets paid for by burglary and theft. It causes mental breaks and unstable people. It is unsafe. Pretty
much everything is linked to it. People that would have been off the streets for drugs are now free to victimize our citizens to
pay for their addictions. Meth and Fentanyl are not the same as MMJ. We need some county codes or something to combat
what the state has caused.
- I see working for the county as being in service to the property owners and residents of this county, it's not particularly well
paid but it's satisfying for me. The needs and wants of people are not always grounded in understanding of policy and
governance but they are valid and I try to provide them with the information and problem solving that is win win.
- We service the whole county, not just the city. We are loosing valuable employees to other counties and cities with higher
pay.
- SINCERE ELECTED SUPPORT LEADS TO POSTIVE PERFORMANCE FROM STAFF
- Non-elected employees are not pay nearly enough to survive living in this county.
- This is a large and dynamic county.
- WORKING FOR THE COUNTY IS FINE BUT YOU CANT AFFORD TO WORK AND LIVE IN THE COUNTY. COUNTY
EMPLOYEES ARE NOT PAID ENOUGH TO LIVE IN THE COUNTY. TRYING TO BRING NEW HIRES IN IS DIFFICULT
BECAUSE THERE IS NOT HOUSEING FOR THEM. THEY ARE NOT EVEN ALLOWED TO PUT A TENT AT THE
HOMELESS CAMP.
- THE COUNTY IS A FINE PLACE TO WORK BUT ELECTED OFFICIALS SHOULD NOT KEEP TRYING TO PUSH OR
IMPLEMENT BIG CITY ISSUES OR POLITICS IN A SMALL RURAL COUNTY.
- To listen to the staff input more.
- To retain good employees we need better paying jobs and benefits (current insurance is not great)
- its a hard thankless job.
- We have great employees who want to do a good job.
- It can be hard at times because a lot of people have a distrust/distaste for the Government. My experiences have been
mostly pleasant but when they aren't it's mostly from someone who flat out dislikes the Government.
- You are only able to scrape by.
- That they, in fact, work for us.
- There isn't a great central source/guidance/training for things like best practices for contract agreements, records retention,
etc. For various county processes, I often have to call random other county employees/departments to ask how they handle
processes, get bounced around, and everyone seems to have a different take. I do appreciate the recent adoption of the
OPMA guidelines (Oct 2022), which has been a very helpful document.
- Staffing is difficult across the nation, but particularly here where we have high cost of living. It is challenging to attract
candidates who do not already live in the area, and to keep local employees who could make more money elsewhere.
- Try to relate to all residents, not just the ones who voted for them.
- We all work so very hard and are not compensated well for the effort.
- Our wages are LOW. Paying the "paradise tax" is becoming too great. We cannot maintain hiring quality employees and
retaining them when the city, or out of county jobs paying so much more.
- We love opportunity and the ability to achieve higher positions after training and time.
- Staff are great to work with
- Every day feels like mounting a defense against your own offense. There's a lot of talk about "lean" government but the
needless and time-consuming, morale deflating processes and paperwork just give credibility to the Tea Party. How did we
come up with a hiring process that takes 2 months to hire a part time employee with no benefits? Some days are like living in
a Kafka novel.
- The pay scale for local government, schools and hospital do not allow locals to purchase homes, and affordable house is not
geared towards this large group of folks. Most exceed the threshold but are forgotten when decisions are made about
affordable housing.
- Elected Officials need to remember that they represent the will of the majority of the people in their jurisdiction, not
necessarily the demands of other or higher jurisdictions.
- We appreciate elected officials de
- Our salaries are not commensurate with the cost of living. We can't attract talent because of the high cost of living and low
housing inventory, and the cost of housing.
- Higher wages would help attract and retain more employees that actually live in Jefferson county.
- when the weather is snowing or Smokey or deemed unhealthy, unsafe some employs get paid administer leave "example
court house" and others have to work with no hazard pay or some sort of compaction. "roads for example"
- It often feels as if we are going thru growing pains - like we are set up as a small jurisdiction and yet our workload is that of a
mid sized jurisdiction - too much to do and not enough employees to do the work.
- There is a huge barrier to entry for jobs - I had to have a significant savings to be able to start working here and not get paid
or have insurance for the first month.
- We are not only work for the community, we are part of it. We care deeply about the community, it is made up of our families
and friends. We work for the county because we want to live here not two hours away.
- I am very thankful to be a county employee, doing what I can to make the items listed above better.
- Jefferson County has a very valuable resource in its employees. Try treating them better. Communication is key.
- I have been with Jeff Co for many years, and I feel like the work we do is vital (which is the main reason I'm still here), but as
evidenced by contract negotiations each cycle, I do not feel valued as an individual and the goal is to lowball what is offered
rather than reward the folks who are still here doing the actual work.
- At the end of the day we are just people trying to do the best we can with the tools we are given.
- The wages I make at the county do not allow me to purchase a home in the area. Therefore I am forced to rent or consider
moving out of the area to able to buy a home. This may mean I no longer work for Jeff Co. due to the long commute.
- Our people need to be our most valued asset. Although there has been progress, it's not only about the salary paid (though
that helps), it's about valuing a person and their contribution.
- The wages are not matched with the cost of living. People work hard has public servants and they desire more
compensation. Along with compensation, flexible time and less rigid work practice would help. Employees need to feel
appreciated and like they can enjoy life outside of work without most of their check going to housing.
- There's only so many hours in a day. Really. If people are expected to do something new and exciting, prepare to have
something else drop off the table. It's pretty simple math. Action/Reaction. Let's say your Departments are like a Subaru
Forester. Reliable. Fits your budget. Good in the snow. If you drive it like a Ferrari, the wheels are probably going to fall off.
- Plan for an economic collapse and how to maintain as many employees as possible when/if that happens. No forced vaccine
mandates either.
- Limited Space
- County work seems to be more challenging and than city work, yet county wages are 30% or so lower than city wages.
- The technology that is available to staff and the transition to paperless rarely works as intended, resulting in the new
technologies and procedures being a barrier to working efficiently. I have become less productive over the past several years
because the new techology does not mesh with existing technologies and procols; computers take a long time to start up and
often have to be be restarted (or require IT assistance); earphones (refurbished) don't work; etc.
- Our prosperity depends on us leading in diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and justice
- Non competitive wages make it difficult for workers to sustain positions in the county and are a detraction for recruits from
outside the county.
- Each new computer software program creates more work requiring more time to complete the same tasks and the old
systems do not go away, we layer them beneath the old. If our computer systems were a club sandwich you would not be
able to fit it into your mouth.
- Work rules are based on the preference of the various managers and directors not on what is written down as the policy.
Expectations vary between work locations and between departments. For example, for employees who could work from
home, some departments allow working from home or hybrid work, and other forbid it. For employees who could work flex
schedules, some departments encourage it, such as 4/10's etc, while others forbid it. There are big differences in this
regard. This should be pretty easy to fix and would be a good thing to try to improve on.
- They get treated better by customers than the front line workers.
- We have good jobs. Just listen to the employees - not just the employees in your office.
- Wages are too low
- Housing and cost of living does not match what the County is paying.
- I enjoy my job however I still feel our wages are low compared to other counties and the city.
- I have nothing nice to say.
- understaffed and little to no training
- The pay is terrible.
- not sure. I'm new.
- I take pride in my county and feel my quality of work should show that.
- It's a pleasure to work with such a caring group of people. Everyone's heart is in the right place, and we all want to make
improvements.
- We are incredibly dedicated to this community. We will be best able to retain staff if they feel they can really make a
difference in their community and if we are staffed such that they can do so without running themselves into the ground.
- No Point. It falls on deaf ears!
- It is a great job, but the stifled growth is horrible. I have requested my job reclassified for 3 years now and I keep being told
that they will get to it. Why is it really such a big deal? The cost? The way people get pidgeon-holed constantly is just
outrageous and it really does push people to seek more gainful employment opportunities. There could be a lot more
employee engagement. It seems like everyone is burnt out. What about something like "meet your elected officials? coffee
and donuts with Brenda, where county employees can get to know who they vote for and she can get to know the
employees." I mean at this point, any kind of employee engagement would be something to look forward to.
- The resentment, rude and sometimes dangerous behavior from some County citizens when working out in the County is
difficult to deal with.
- I love my job.
- Many employees are facing daily long commutes from other counties due to no affordable housing options in Jefferson
County.
- You are deeply appreciated by most citizens, despite what you hear from disgruntled ones.
- We are very busy, and have many responsibilities but the pay does not match the cost of living and housing needs
- I think they pay for what we do should be higher.
- Our pay is very low, and as a result we are understaffed.
- What government employees do is so important. Celebrate those employees who do their jobs well, recognize them for
innovation and dedication, because they could be paid more if they worked somewhere else.
- need more pay
- I make almost twice as much I did when I started working for the county over 7 years ago and I still qualify for low-income
financial assistance.
- As a county employee we have found ourselves in a position over the past few years where some of the work we have done
has been perceived by the community at large as incredibly valuable and by others as a threat on their personal freedoms.
This dynamic places a significantly increased amount of stress on employees for the county at all levels, but specifically those
of us who are in positions of either decision making, face of departments or those of us who work on the front lines. We need
to find ways to ensure that this increased stress/pressure is offset with cultural shifts of valuing humanity over
profit/business/protocol without sacrificing any of these. Appropriate cost of living increases would be incredibly helpful as
well.
- JCPH is a great place to work!
- It is getting increasingly difficult to be a government employee subjected to harassment for simply being a gov't employee.
Also, the pay scales are not adequate for attracting and maintaining talent.
- It has become much harder to do recently because coworkers regularly leave for better paying jobs or more affordable places
to rent and buy homes.
- Most employees choose to live here, are proud to be part of the County team and take pride in our work.
- It is important to match political ambition with operational capacity if one wishes to avoid burning out staff.
- That we are people and longevity is achievable through flexibility in the workplace.
- Employees are a quality workforce to be recognized.
- we are in a constant state of change, the county needs to find ways to keep up with the people living here
- That actually knowing the employees makes a difference. Lack of respect for the long term employees has most looking for
work elsewhere
- That they are working for the public interest
- We are underpaid. Look at staff turnover.
- working for the county is great, the leadership of some departments is questionable and rather dissatisfying at times.
- It doesn't pay enough and the County needs to take action to remove employees when needed and not be afraid they will get
sued. Poor quality employees becomes a toxic work environment for all
- clear procedures that everyone acknowledges, understands and follows
- Elected Officials should spend more time with staff other than Department Heads and Directors to see the full spectrum of the
departments they work along side with. They also should understand that employees that work here do it because they love
this community and want to help preserve it. However, the wages do not match the housing prices. If you live in Jefferson
County: Either you've owned your home for 10 years and can afford to live here because of this reason (purchased for
affordable price), live with your parents/roommates, live off government assistance, or spend most of your salary on your rent
payment.
Question 12
If there is one thing the County could accomplish that would serve an unmet need in the community and/or within
the organization (Jefferson County government) what would it be?
- creative ways to recruit and retain staff
- Bring wages up to be in line with or above other agencies within Clallam, Kitsap and Mason Counties to retain and attract
employees, so we can serve the community better.
- Bring employees up to a living wage. County employees shouldn't have to worry about money so much.
- More County unity - feels very us and them as between our communities (PT, Hadlock/Chimacum/Irondale, Quilcene/Brinnon)
- Better paying jobs and more affordable housing - hand in hand.
- A YMCA that would be accessible to everyone. Centrally located.
- Recognize that times have changed and employees look at what the value of their work is versus the value of their home life
and family and are choosing family first, as it should be
- Remember the reasons that this is a good place and keep it that way. We do not need to attract homeless, drug addicted
persons from other areas, then tax our citizens to care for them.
- HIGHER PAY.
- Customer service outside of 9-5 hours for working families.
- ONE JUDICIAL BUILDING THAT IS MORE UP TO DATE, WITH MORE THAN 2 BATHROOMS AND HEATING AND
COOLING TO MAKE WORK MORE BAREABLE.
- 1-Access to swimming lessons for all kids! 2-Music lessons 3-Access to sports for all kids.
- equality.
- more employment to match the town you can live in
- The time for training (not training by doing). If there are videos or training that we are supposed to do, give us a place that will
allow the proper time without interruption.
- Relaxing building codes so that family can build more than one house on 5 acres, or additional ADU's.
- Strategically plan to retain employees so we can do real work.
- Change the health code to allow composting toilets and greywater systems without a permitted and installed septic system.
- Treat all people with courtesy and compassion. Look at the county as a whole and not just the loudest voices in the room.
- Reduce the smell from the Paper Mill that daily tarnishes the beauty of Port Townsend.
- More robust mental health services
- Re-visit the zoning within the GMA. Allow for more multi-family housing.
- I work for the county government. Flexible hours would be very beneficial, with the opportunity to work from home. My child is
almost school aged, but I will still need to find childcare after school and in the summer. My current cost of childcare may go
down some in the future, but it will still be a burden to my family.
- DCD needs to be able to streamline some of their applications and loosen up on zoning requirements with agricultural land.
You can still have a residence and farming on 5 acres of property. It would make it more affordable to purchase.
- Workforce transition housing
- BETTER WORK/LIFE BALANCE FOR EMPLOYEES
- Public health employees salaries are very low, making it harder to employee high quality employees. Making it worse, public
health employees are not provided health insurance for the first three months of employment BUT the cost for health
insurance is withdrawn from their paycheck starting their first day of employment. That is a travesty. How can Public Health
say they support the health and well-being of employees while denying them health insurance for the first three months while
paying them a subpar salary?
- Making the Raccoon Lodge a permanent fixture.
- I mentioned this a bit in #8, too. We should focus more about our infrastructure and bringing businesses into Jefferson
County. People leave here for services and amenities in our surrounding counties taking dollars away from here and it would
also bring more jobs to our communites.
- Improve the barrier to entry for purchasing and improving property, without building large affordable housing apartment
projects.
- I will never be able to purchase a home in Jefferson County due to the high cost and unavailability of housing. I make a
decent salary. HOUSING!
- Increase salaries and incentives to stay employed at Jefferson County.
- get inline with wages and cost of living in Jefferson County.
- All this crime, drugs and homelessness are getting scary. Its important to help people; but not everyone wants to improve.
Help those that do! Its ok to have boundaries.
- Affordable and available housing, living wages!
- Leadership -> People -> Wages ->Funding?
- Having a well-lit, all-weather compatible, turf field available for year-round use for schools, sports clubs, community events
and organizations, etc.
- Either pay enough for its employees to afford a place to live where they work, or find some way to help with housing. Hard to
see a lot of recourses going to people who come here to take advantage and not contribute. We all work hard for the
community and cant afford a decent house for our families. Its why we are losing people to other counties.
- Maybe a county staff newsletter would be fun and help knit us together as a county staff. It's helpful to know about what
another department is doing to benefit the community when you are in conversation with citizens. A digest from all the
BOCC, BOH, Departments, Boards and Commission etc. meetings well as things to know...events. Ugh does this already
exist? : ) Thanks for asking. Great survey!
- The county needs to look into the unmet needs of our local youth. The kids have nothing to do within the county. They are
always traveling to Clallam or Kitsap.
- LARGER JAIL FACILITY
- Having more of an inclusive vision, not catering to the boisterous groups.
- Unknown.
- End to Homelessness. Affordable housing.
- THE COUNTY COULD STOP PUTTING MONEY INTO THE HOMELESS AND START PUTTING IT INTO THEIR
EMPLOYEES.
- Moderate Level Housing Opportunities
- More affordable housing
- streamline red tape at all levels. get out of our own way.
- Lower the cost of development so housing could become more affordable.
- Allowing more affordable housing into the county would help greatly. I believe there are developers who'd like to make
manufactured home housing communities and I think we greatly need this. Manufactured homes most times are nicer than
my stick built. If we're going to get people into affordable homes, we need to allow these types of developments without so
many hurdles.
- Reward your people that are hanging in there making the County look good while being paid a very low wage. Not many
options around here for good employment so its a pickle!!
- Apply county funds to endeavors that will benefit everyone rather than only people with influence and money.
- Incentivize workforce housing.
- Prioritize accessible, affordable housing
- A small but easy win would be gender neutral bathrooms at all county buildings serving the public. The commissioners
showed great solidarity with transgender residents last August. However, many of those same residents can't visit public
county facilities without fear of harassment if they enter the "wrong" bathroom.
- Housing for all, not just the indigent community.
- Create opportunities for more affordable quality housing while maintaining stable neighborhoods
- Salary adjustments and if not salary...increase vacation.
- Affordable housing seems to be a primary issue right now.
- More housing (including septic and internet) and healthcare resources in south county communities.
- It is hard for working class families to afford to live here. Some of us love it here but have to work multiple jobs to be able to
support our families.
- When you say your going to promote in house then do it.
- Hire someone with the ability to successfully lead and fully support the Department of Community Development. DCD is
struggling with employee retention, morale, leadership guidance, new systems without implementation... And the DCD
struggle spills over into other departments that collaborate on projects with DCD such as Environmental Health and Public
Works.
- More visible inclusion for all types of people - folks from different backgrounds, abilities, and perspectives. Emphasis on
decentralizing the white/dominant culture.
- The vision the county has of its self no longer exists, it hasn’t for many years. Develop a new bold vision, that facilitates a
healthy vibrant community. Stop looking outside, be unique.
- Alternative work schedules (4-10, 9-80)
- More collaboration between governments. No need to reinvent the wheel.
- the biggest thing would be to pay us a livable wage. As well to hire and put in place department directors with the desire to
grow their departments and not tare their employees down.
- Housing.
- Employee recognition
- Housing...It is an issue everywhere! Not just for those that are experiencing homelessness but for those that are working
wage.
- Make permitting for new housing easier and faster. Have a comprehensive plan that encourages more housing and
opportunity.
- Get back to basics. Focus on core (sometimes known as "boring") mission first before trying to act like we're Seattle.
- Take care of south county residents more, seems like a lot of funds are being spent in Port Townsend.
- Easier permitting
- Provide/facilitate workforce housing.
- An improvement would be to focus on staff retention and training so that correct information could be reliably transferred to
those in the community who are requesting information from county staff. I see a lot of misinformation being conveyed to the
public and delays in responding to inquiries because of turnover in my department.
- Make sure employees earn enough to afford to thrive here.
- Focus on dedicated work around diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.
- A spot light of each department, one a month in the form of a blog or news letter with photos of the staff could potentially
create better understanding and relationships between the departments and instill improved communication avenues which
could potentially eliminate or lessen future conflict(s).
- There is an unmet need for collaboration and team work as an entire county team. Come together as an entire group of
county employees once a year to do some communication about what's going on, get input, plan, set goals etc. We have the
county picnic but most people don't bother to go and there is no communication about whats going on with the county.
- I don't know of any completely unmet needs. Everything can always use improvement.
- Bring back the Commissioner's Tours and have one for the employees too.
- More low to middle income housing
- Starter homes or homes for lower to middle class.
- Training on internal customer service, how we treat and serve our fellow team members. The expectations for proactively
working together to accomplish team goals and positively implement directives and changes. We're all in this together for the
improvement of our work environment and community we live in. Some are great and others not so much.
- Subsidize housing for county team, offer competitive salaries. Invest in the areas of deficiency where we don't have enough
capacity.
- Work on the housing issue. In the organization maybe host brown bag lunches for employees to present what is going on in
depts like HR, with commissioners etc.
- This survey is a joke, you stacked it a certain way, I would gladly point what is clearly missed but then you would know who I
am.
- affordable housing structured job training
- Work on a more affordable housing situation.
- Within the organization: focus on raising wages for employees and management; Within the Community: focus on housing
and promote bicycling rather than driving.
- not sure at this time.
- Make more steps toward improving data and records management and going paperless across the organization.
- Housing
- A huge unmet need is recognizing the hard working families living locally that are stuck in a gray area; they can barely afford
to live here, but make too much to qualify for federal or local programs. There are several county employees with families that
are forced to use the food bank, the YMCA food boxes and more because they are trying to make ends meet. These families
love their jobs and community, but these are people that do not qualify for assistance and are being crippled by inflated rental
costs and childcare costs. I do not understand why it is not a priority for someone to seek funding and grants to ensure that
good employees are paid fairly and are kept.
- Create much more affordable and equitable housing.
- We need a better contracting system. The current system is barely functioning and as the State is doing more and more
contracting by docusigning, we are not going to be able to keep up.
- Create Affordable Housing options.
- More affordable housing
- We have a very fragile infrastructure system: Power, water, communications. These need to be hardened.
- Housing and COLAs
- To focus more on helping with our drug addiction. And more activities other than just bars.
- Improve road maintenance. Some major projects in the county were completed, now we need to focus on some of the roads
in town. Work with other agencies when possible to accomplish goals.
- stop the wokeness
- Income inequality
- More affordable housing, maybe some transitional housing for lower income at risk families with young children and/or who
are pregnant.
- Identify options to support voluntary relocation of residents and long-established businesses from designated floodways and
other highly vulnerable shorelines, with special attention paid to vulnerable populations.
- Envision an attractive solution for affordable housing that reflects our progressive community values.
- Find and implement a long-term solution to the imbalance between capped tax receipts and inflation through legislation,
levies, commercial and industrial development, or a combination of these.
- Loosen within reason the tight hold of DCD and Enviromental Health with development.
- Adequate housing and services for the homeless population.
- A clear and accessible source for policies and procedures, and instructions on policy and procedure development when
organizational gaps are identified.
- Incentives for buying local, for joining a gym, for carpooling, for volunteer work, for giving back to our community. For making
healthy choices. The City of Port Townsend gives employees a short morning yoga session of basic stretches to start their
day. They also have 30-day challenges for who walks the most miles people keep track on a chart in their office and the
winner gets a gift certificate. There are t-shirts for all participants who reach a certain goal. They did a push-up challenge for
Veterans and there was no winner. It was all about participation. A name was randomly drawn to receive a gift cert for lunch
somewhere.
- Complete the Olympic Discovery Trail.
- better job training for county employees before everyone retires and we start treading water again
- A gym/location for employees to utilize during the day.
- Offer an agency to assist with hygiene, including a place to shower and go laundry for those who have none of these
resources.
- Affordable housing.
- a real building official, and fire marshal instead of a self appointed one with no real background doing it.
- more affordable housing
- Mental Health Court
- ? maybe organize a volunteer corps so people who want to help out somehow know where they are needed and welcome.
Service clubs no longer attract members like before, and people who used to be part of a church aren't. Where do people of
good will go to get plugged in?