Risk Management

It has been an interesting week in county government. A few of the issues we have been working on have included:

• Finding out more about an old landfill site, now purported to contain hazardous waste, that Boise City and Ada County might have leased from the State of Idaho during the 1960’s;
• Responding to a request to increase rates at the Hidden Hollow landfill;
• Dealing with complaints about neglected and poorly maintained properties within the county (some code changes to make enforcement easier are in the works);
• Addressing the county budget situation given increasing needs, particularly in the county’s indigent (welfare) department. Conversely, revenue is way down, so some serious spending cuts need to be made in other departments in order for the county to fulfill its statutory obligations;
• Working with the Boise Fire Department to ensure that our paramedics and theirs are working cooperatively together for the seamless provision of emergency services;
• Arming county employees and courthouse visitors with the means to prevent illness, in light of more confirmed cases of H1N1 (“swine flu”) in Ada County; and,
• Recognizing the fact that Idaho has the lowest childhood immunization rate in the nation.

There is hardly ever a dull moment.