Columbia River Gorge Commission
Organizational Capacity
Overview
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2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
Background
Research Question
Analytical Framework
Methods
Findings
Conclusions
Columbia River Gorge National
Scenic Area Act
1) to establish a national scenic area to protect and provide for the
enhancement of the scenic, cultural, recreational, and natural
resources of the Columbia River Gorge; and
2) to protect and support the economy of the Columbia River
Gorge area by encouraging growth in existing urban areas and
by allowing future economic development in a manner that is
consistent with paragraph (1).
CRG NATIONAL SCENIC AREA BOUNDARY
292,500 ACRES
KLICKITAT
SKAMANIA
CLARK
HOOD RIVER
MULTNOMAH
WASCO
Composition of the Gorge Commission
Forest
Service
MULTNOMAH
HOOD
RIVER
WASCO
OREGON
COLUMBIA RIVER
GORGE
COMMISSION
CLARK
SKAMANIA
KLICKITAT
WASHINGTON
What is REQUIRED to fulfill the mandates of the
Act, Compact and Bylaws?
1. Mandates of the Act impacting ongoing workloads
a. States will enter into a compact and create the CRG commission (544c)
i. Commission will establish regulations relating to admin procedures, making of
contracts, conflicts of interest, financial disclosures consistent with the more restrictive
statutory provisions of either state
ii. Federal agencies are authorized to provide Commission with technical assistance
on a reimbursable bases
iii. Secretary is authorized to provide assistance on a non-reimbursable basis
iv. The Commission shall establish volunteer technical and advisory committees
a. Scenic Area Management Plan (544d)
i. Establish Resource inventory
ii. Establish Economic Opportunity Study
iii. Recreational Assessment
1. Interpretive center in Oregon
2. Convention center in Washington
3. Identify areas for public use facilities for recreational opportunities
4. Identify areas for increase access to the Columbia River
iv. Land use designations
1. Designate agricultural, timber, open spaces, commercial areas, residential
development, urban areas
b. Establishment of Management Plan (544d cont.)
i. Based on results of resource inventories
ii. Include land use designations
iii. Incorporate management plan for federal properties
iv. Include guidelines for land-use ordinances for Counties
v. Shall not apply to Urban areas
vi. Standards for Mngt Plan
1. Protect and enhance – agri lands, forest lands, open spaces, public and private
recreation
2. Prohibit major development in SMA’s
3. Prohibit Industrial uses outside of Urban areas
4. Require that commercial and residential dev. and mineral exploration outside of
urban areas are consistent with 1st purpose of the Act
vii. Conduct public hearings and solicit comments prior to adoption of Management
Plan and land use ordinances
viii. Notify Secretary, states, local governments and Tribes of all proposed major
development actions and residential dev. in Scenic Area
ix. Plan review/revisions every 5-10 years
x. Amendment of Plan as needed
c. Administration of Scenic Area – (544e)
i. Administer the non-federal lands in accordance with Management Plan
ii. Adopt land use ordinances
1. If a county fails to adopt the Plan the Commission will do administer land use
regulations for given county
Review of approved development review by other counties 544h(c)
2. Coordinate with FS for administration of SMA’s
d. Economic Development (544i)
i. Review and approve any proposals for economic Dev plan consistency with Plan
e. Enforcement – (544m)
i. Monitor activities in counties and take actions as it determines necessary Hear and
Manage appeals for land-use decisions
ii. Assess civil penalties for non-compliant land-uses
iii. Address civil suits as they arise
2. Mandates of the Bi-State Compact impacting ongoing workloads
a. Commission Establishment/Function (Article I)
i. Sue and be sued ii. Disapprove land-use Ordinances
iii. Review all major developments
iv. Hire/fire/pay staff
v. Right to contract
vi. Establish and maintain a place of business
vii. Adopt by-laws, rules and regulations
b. Funding (Art. IV)
i. Compensation of commissioners
ii. Provide Budget x2 prepare, lobby, oversee
iii. Equal budget expenditures –tracking and report
iv. Accounting for annual auditing
v. Public records
3. By-laws Impacting ongoing workloads
a. Monthly meetings
b. Record Meeting Minutes
c. On-going management of staff/budget/work plans
d. On-going communication with the Public
e. Periodic Reporting to Commission
f. Enter into Contracts
g. Address litigation and report to Commission
h. Other duties as assigned
QUESTION:
Does the Columbia River Gorge Commission have the
organizational capacity to fulfill its mandates?
Organizational Capacity :
An organization’s ability to resource, define and
implement the organizational mission.
Analytical Framework
Open System Model
Operating Environment
Culture
Funding
Public Education
CRG Commission
Common
Purpose
Economic Base
Inputs
Public
Values
Public
Engagement
Perceived
Effectiveness
Structural
Efficiency
Trust
(Resources)
Outputs
(Products & Services)
Leadership
Organizational
Capacity
Stakeholder
Engagement
Organizational
Capacity
History
Formal
Authority
Resource Assessment
Methods
 Examine Operating Environment
 Review Historic Resourcing
 Interview Commissioners and Staff
 Conduct Functional Assessment
FINDINGS
Resource Assessment Findings
Findings: Operating Environment
 Culturally and politically diverse
 Increased region-wide population
 Complex land-use regulations
 Multi-jurisdictional roles and responsibilities
 Lack of understanding of the role and authority of the Commission
Resource Assessment Findings
Findings:
HISTORIC RESOURCING
FTE
10
9
8
7
FTE
6
5
FTE
4
3
2
1
0
YEAR
HISTORIC ANNUAL FUNDING
$1,200,000
FUNDING TO MATCH 1989 RESOURCES
$1,000,000
$800,000
$600,000
$400,000
$200,000
$-
OR-WA GF FUNDING
SOURCE: http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/
OTHER FUNDING
Resource Assessment Findings
Original 1987 Staffing Plan
did NOT account for:






Extensive public and stakeholder meetings and hearings
Public engagement for Plan adoption and implementation
Ongoing need for specialized legal resources
Interagency collaboration efforts
Monitoring for compliance and enforcement
Requirements of two state compliance for accounting, budgeting
and recordkeeping
 No allowance for data exchange and analysis
 Requirement to complete Klickitat County development reviews
Source: 1/22/87 Memorandum to Jack Kenny, Fr: Jeff Breckel
Resource Assessment Findings
Findings:
STAFF AND COMMISSIONER INTERVIEWS
FTE
INTERVIEW AVERAGE FTE
25
22
22
20
Commissioner
Proposed
Staff Proposed
15
HISTORIC HIGH =
9.25 FTE
10
10
10
5
CURRENT STAFFING
LEVEL = 5.6 FTE
0
AVERAGE SUGGESTED STAFFING
Data collected from commission interviews
conducted between 3/14 and 6/14
Resource Assessment Findings
Findings:
FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT
Resource Assessment Findings
Workload Functions of the
Act, Compact and Bylaws?
• Management Plan Revision
• Planning Functions
• Periodic Review of External and Urban
Area Boundaries
• Public Information, Meetings, & Hearings
• Development Review
• Manage Appeals
• Monitoring and Enforcement
• Review Economic Development Proposals
• Ongoing Resource Inventory
• Manage Contracts, Goods, & Services
• Legal Expertise in Compact Law
• Legal Expertise in Administrative Law
• Rulemaking
• Budget Preparation
• Account Management
• Interagency Coordination
• Recordkeeping Compliance
• Interagency Administration
• Commissioner Compensation
• Personnel Management
• Reporting
HOW DOES THIS TRANSLATE TO STAFFING?
Current
Mandated
Functions
EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT
1.0
1.5
ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT
1.0
2.0
PLANNING FUNCTIONS
1.6
4.0
1.0
2.0
1.0
2.5
CATEGORY
LONG-TERM - SNECR’s
CURRENT AND KLICKITAT
INFORMATION ANALYSIS
(SNECR’s)
LEGAL – COMPACT AND ADMINISTRATIVE
OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT
1.5
PUBLIC AND STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
1.0
FINANCIAL AND ADMIN SUPPORT
0.5
CONTRACT MANAGEMENT
0.5
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
0.5
POLICY ANALYSIS
0.5
TOTAL FTE
5.6
16.5
CONCLUSIONS
Resource Assessment Conclusions
Conclusions
 The Commission has never been adequately resourced
 The Commission is out of strategic alignment – staff / commissioners
 The Commission is operating at about 30% resource capacity
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