State Budget Impact- The Board received a presentation from the County Executive Budget Office on the impacts of the State Budget on the County. The total impact on the County is estimated at $49 million, which includes a General Fund impact of $37 million. To view the estimated impacts, please click here.

Crosswalk in El Modena- The Board approved a contract with C.T.&F., Inc. for the construction of a crosswalk and warning light system at the intersection of Rancho Santiago Boulevard and Spring Street in El Modena. State grant funding will cover 90% of the construction costs for the crosswalk which will be located near Esplanade Elementary School in the Orange Unified School District. The grant for the crosswalk is provided as part of the State’s “Safe Route to School Program.” To view a map of the location, please click here.

Grand Jury Report on General Election- The Board approved the response to the 2008-2009 Grand Jury report titled “2008 General Election.” The 2008 General Election proved to be Orange County’s largest election and the report showed that the County was well prepared to manage the record voter turnout. A total of 1,167,657 ballots were cast, which represented a 72.6% turnout and a 16% increase in vote-by-mail voters.

OC Planning Department Performance Audit- The Board received a report from the Performance Audit Director on the OC Planning and Development Services Department. After receiving the report, the Board voted to form an ad-hoc committee led by Chair Bates and me to address the report’s findings. The Board also voted to receive monthly updates to ensure progress is being made on the recommendations outlined by the Performance Audit.

County PPO Rate Holiday- The Board approved a premium rate holiday for active employees enrolled in the Premier Wellwise and Premier Sharewell self-funded PPO insurance plans. The rate holiday will reduce the excess reserve which has grown over the last few years as a result of better than expected claims experience. The rate holiday will reduce the reserve to an amount closer to what is required for the plans.

Review of Management and Supervisory Span of Control- I directed the County’s Performance Auditor to develop a scope of work and a timeline for reviewing the management structure and supervisory span of control for departments within the County. Staff will present their plan to the Board on or before September 1, 2009. To view the proposed outline, please click here.

Orange County 120th Anniversary- This week, the Board celebrated the 120th anniversary of the founding of Orange County. The Board received a presentation by the Orange County Clerk Recorder detailing the history of the County’s founding and biographies of the first Orange County Board of Supervisors in 1889. To view the presentation including pictures of the original Board members, please click here.

Last week, I met with City of Orange Mayor Carolyn Cavecche to discuss areas of mutual interest to the City and the County.

I met with Tustin Mayor Doug Davert, Orange Mayor Carolyn Cavecche, East Orange County Water District President Bill VanderWerff, East Orange County Water District Board Member Richard Bell, Irvine Ranch Water District President Doug Reinhart and various staff representatives to discuss East Orange County Water District activities.

I attended the City of Orange’s Annual Night-Out Against Crime event. For pictures, please click here.

Mary and I attended the City of Orange Concert in the Park to hear Crashdance. Click here for pictures.

I attended the Hispanic 100 event in Tustin Ranch featuring former E-Bay CEO Meg Whitman. For pictures, please click here.

I met with Mike Ruane, Executive Director for the Orange County Children and Families Commission, as well as with my fellow Commissioners Kim Cripe and Hugh Hewitt to discuss issues related to the State Budget.

Orange Mayor Carolyn Cavecche, Councilman Mark Murphy and I were invited to the Orange Park Acres Association Board meeting to observe a Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) presentation on the annexation process. The OPA Board of Directors voted to request that LAFCO staff return for a public meeting with the residents of OPA. For a picture, please click here.

I met with Tom Saltarelli to discuss an issue in North Tustin.

I met with Orange County Social Services Agency Director Ingrid Harita, Chief Deputy Director Dr. Michael Riley, and Deputy Director of Children and Family Services Mike Ryan to discuss Orangewood Children’s Home.

Third District staff attended a pinning ceremony for Orange County Fire Authority Chief Keith Richter. To read the Chief’s message, and to view pictures from the event, please click here.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

I would like to congratulate Chay Peterson of Silverado Canyon for being selected as an honoree for the Orange County 29th Annual Suffrage Day Celebration. Chay will be honored for her work as an environmental and humanitarian activist. Congratulations Chay.

It is a pleasure to serve the constituents of the Third District.

Please pray for our armed forces and our foreign services personnel.