Fair. Lows upper 20s to the 40s mountains
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Budgets, incorporation among Manfredi's duties
MADERA - Stell Manfredi, Madera County's administrator, has virtually "been there, guiding the county's government, since the inception.
(To be historically correct, Madera County became its own entity in 1883, when it split off from Fresno County - Stell hasn't been there quite that long--but that's a story for another time.)
He joined the Office of the Administrator in 1971 as an administrative analyst I, the bottom rung of the hierarchy ladder, then "learned an awful lot about county government and was appointed administrator in 1991.
Mr. Manfredi says the first county budget he handled was $16 million; he now oversees a budget of $105 million "and growing.
Growth of Madera County has been meteoric, he says, "expanding from 375 employees to the present 1,100, and he notes that "the past 15 years of progress have been greater than the previous 50.
When asked how else things are different, he says there have been "two major changes - early on, we were primarily a rural agricultural county; farming was the mainstay of the local economy. Today we are a three-pronged economy: agricultural, a growing industrial base, and a large and vibrant tourism sector, especially in the mountains.
The second change Mr. Manfredi mentioned was that of "the growing awareness of the population to what is going on around them. They are communicating better, are getting involved in their communities, and taking a more active role in their relationships with their elected officials.
As the county's administrative officer, he advises, implements and enforces the Board of Supervisors' policies and programs. As the board's advisor, his office recommends the county's annual budget, covering all county departments.
He is also responsible for risk- management, employee benefits, information system analysis, insurance, county purchasing, and all "central services, such as garage, mail service, space needs, communications, and even janitorial services.
Of special interest to District 5, is the county administrator's role as head of LAFCO, the Local Agency Formation Commission.
FULL STORY
Bus savings discussed by Coarsegold school board
COARSEGOLD - For the second time in little more than a month, transportation has been the topic at the Coarsegold Union School District's board meetings.
"About a month ago, transportation was on the agenda, says Superintendent Thomas Guthrie. "Dr. Ken Stokes was here from Santa Barbara Transportation talking to us about a proposal for managing our transportation department and how he could save us money.
Santa Barbara Transportation is part of a larger group, American Transportation, which provides bus service for students in a number of different locations out of the Mountain Area.
Even though the transportation topic was tabled at the time, Dr. Guthrie believes a decision must be made: " Do we want to pick it up again or is the topic dead?
FULL STORY
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