Last updated on May 15, 2023
This is my public comment to the BHAB Board Retreat participants in full. A summarized version was presented in order to meet the 3-minute limit.
Hello Chair Stewart, Chair Fletcher, BHAB Members, Dr. Bergmann, and Staff
This is an important day for you all to set the tone for the next 14 months of how and what BHAB will focus it’s attention and work.
In regards to the Workgroups you will discuss:
- I encourage you to continue the two remaining workgroups for the next year.
- I urge you to restart the Stakeholder Engagement Workgroup that focuses on everything related to stakeholder engagement. Also, this workgroup could begin it’s work immediately with Chair Stewart simply stating that it is so during this meeting. We have all seen and heard several Members interested in seeing this work continue and there is no reason to delay its formation. There is a significant amount of work to be done and having the next 60 days will be important.
I believe this is the most important work of this body, to ensure that consumers and stakeholders alike are both equally represented, recognized, educated, and equipped to make the most informed contributions to the Board of Supervisors as possible.
What you will have presented to you today and in the near future is a number of small engagement sub-groups and cohorts being formed by the BHS. We have a new data dashboard, new people, and new contracts regarding how the BHS will engage the market. Yet, you were not involved in the review and approval of these systems and processes as is required for you to be. It’s never too late but, we cannot keep kicking the can down the road of when BHAB is going to step up and meet it’s obligations.
The BHAB must be more intimately involved in the BHS’s plans on how it will go forward and how engagement work and programming will be funded. Please, listen to your training, do your own research, but understand that one of this BHAB’s greatest missed opportunities is to be engaged with how our stakeholders will be engaged so that you can assure Supervisors and any stakeholder that they have an equitable seat at the table, and that they will see equitable results in the marketplace.
I encourage you to form an Executive BHAB workgroup, we once called Building a Better BHAB, that focuses on the overall administration, architecture, and processes relating to this board’s work. There are many responsibilities in our Bylaws that are unaddressed because we traditionally ignored them. That should stop. But, changing our methodologies will take some background work the entire board does not have to be involved with, rather the BBB could be making recommendations on a quarterly basis as to how the greater BHAB will continue it’s work.
Finally, I encourage John Sturm step up and accept the nomination for Board Chair. He has proven time and again fully capable of this role and by accepting the nomination he is simply giving the BHAB an option to consider. I do appreciate the work of the Current Chair Stewart but, I also believe we are in a place where the status quo is frankly not working.
I hope you all have a productive and great day. Thank you.
Board Retreat Public Comment (Extended)
Focus & Commentary and Public Comment & Feedback
Last updated on May 15, 2023
This is my public comment to the BHAB Board Retreat participants in full. A summarized version was presented in order to meet the 3-minute limit.
Hello Chair Stewart, Chair Fletcher, BHAB Members, Dr. Bergmann, and Staff
This is an important day for you all to set the tone for the next 14 months of how and what BHAB will focus it’s attention and work.
In regards to the Workgroups you will discuss:
I believe this is the most important work of this body, to ensure that consumers and stakeholders alike are both equally represented, recognized, educated, and equipped to make the most informed contributions to the Board of Supervisors as possible.
What you will have presented to you today and in the near future is a number of small engagement sub-groups and cohorts being formed by the BHS. We have a new data dashboard, new people, and new contracts regarding how the BHS will engage the market. Yet, you were not involved in the review and approval of these systems and processes as is required for you to be. It’s never too late but, we cannot keep kicking the can down the road of when BHAB is going to step up and meet it’s obligations.
The BHAB must be more intimately involved in the BHS’s plans on how it will go forward and how engagement work and programming will be funded. Please, listen to your training, do your own research, but understand that one of this BHAB’s greatest missed opportunities is to be engaged with how our stakeholders will be engaged so that you can assure Supervisors and any stakeholder that they have an equitable seat at the table, and that they will see equitable results in the marketplace.
I encourage you to form an Executive BHAB workgroup, we once called Building a Better BHAB, that focuses on the overall administration, architecture, and processes relating to this board’s work. There are many responsibilities in our Bylaws that are unaddressed because we traditionally ignored them. That should stop. But, changing our methodologies will take some background work the entire board does not have to be involved with, rather the BBB could be making recommendations on a quarterly basis as to how the greater BHAB will continue it’s work.
Finally, I encourage John Sturm step up and accept the nomination for Board Chair. He has proven time and again fully capable of this role and by accepting the nomination he is simply giving the BHAB an option to consider. I do appreciate the work of the Current Chair Stewart but, I also believe we are in a place where the status quo is frankly not working.
I hope you all have a productive and great day. Thank you.
Published in Focus & Commentary and Public Comment & Feedback