Speech to the Pleasant Hill BART Redevelopment Area Steering Committee

19 July 2000

by Judith Duncan

Mr. Chairman, members of the Steering Committee,

Where I work, employees have a performance review every year, an evaluation of how well we are doing our jobs, measured against the requirements of the position. At the higher levels of the company, it includes a 360 deg. review with input from a manager, direct reports, internal clients and peers. And it is conducted by an outside firm.

I think it's time for the [CONTRA COSTA] County Redevelopment Agency to have a Performance Review, conducted by an independent planner, with input from all parties which deal with it or which it impacts.

The evaluation needs to measure the Agency's performance against a number of standards: its mission as laid out in the Board Order which established it, The Environmental Protection laws, other applicable state and local laws and regulations, the Specific Plan for the area, and the various mandates of the Board of Supervisors affecting the Agency's operations in the area. How well is the Agency fulfilling its mission, obeying the laws, following the instructions of the Board?

The independent reviewer should seek 360 deg. input in order to aid the evaluation, input from the Redevelopment Board, the Agency's governing body, from other County departments, from the Agency's employees, from the cities, businesses and residents it impacts. How well is the agency fulfilling its purposes?

The review may show that the Redevelopment Agency is not fulfilling its purposes, has deviated from its mission, broken laws, ignored instructions, the Agency can be pulled back on track before more harm is done. Or the review may find that the mission has been accomplished and the Redevelopment Agency is no longer needed. [HEAR HEAR!!]

Or it may be determined that the Agency's performance, when evaluated against its agreed objectives, the laws, and other guiding documents is so flawed that it should be terminated. [GOOD IDEA!!]

Whatever the outcome of the review, the Redevelopment Agency is too powerful an entity to be left to go its own way, year after year, without some system of monitoring whether it is working as it should. The level of frustration and anger which have built-up in this area over the years as a direct result of actions taken by the Agency is one measure of its performance - but it's not systematic and it's not objective. That's what is needed now. It would help to resuscitate trust in government among residents of the Pleasant Hill BART station area, trust that the Redevelopment Agency has all but killed.