Working with Exec Committees

Notes from the Working with Exec Committees sharing session – 11-16-21

  • This sharing session is intended as an opportunity to share information about what seems to work well and what doesn’t and not a workshop with expert advice.
  • Some Exec Committees do not interact with the County Commissioners but someone needs to represent Extension at the Commissioners meetings.
  • It can be difficult to explain to Exec Comm members what their role is. Their main purpose is generally to request funds from the County Commissioners.
  • If staff end up representing at the Commissioners meeting, they are basically in the awkward position of asking to fund their own position.
  • Are we (Extension staff) allowed to be the representative to the Commissioners? Fran believes it is ok. It makes sense to have the person with the best relationship with the Commissioners to make the request. But it also could be considered a conflict of interest for a county-funded person to make the request.
  • Some counties have the Exec Comm sign a letter requesting funds but Extension staff attend the meetings to answer questions about the request.
  • Some County Commissioners require Extension Staff to be at the meetings to answer questions as they are usually the most knowledgeable.
  • Many Extension support staff are the liaisons with the County Commissioners.
  • Some County Commissioners do not give much notice of meetings and it’s more difficult to find someone to attend. Others have a published set schedule for the whole year.
  • Do counties ever attend meetings other than ones specific to the budget discussions?
    • Some offices have invited Commissioners to other Extension meetings and events.
    • Some offices send regular updates to the Commissioners – newsletters, etc.
  • Some offices send their annual report along with their budget request but most don’t believe the Commissioners actually read them.
  • Transitioning staff can make it difficult to maintain relationships.
  • Having Commissioners who are active in Extension related things is helpful – some are farmers or 4-H volunteers, etc.
  • Extension / Commissioner relationships vary from very businesslike to neutral to more personal.
  • Some Extension offices have orientation materials and one-on-one meetings with new Exec Comm members. They make the roles clear and give specific examples of how they can help such as liking and re-sharing social media posts, etc. Meeting with members outside of actual meetings is helpful.
  • Exec Committees should be aware of the Extension Act.
    • They are our eyes and ears in the county – hearing what people need from us and promoting us in the county.
    • Sometimes they are unclear about their role in areas of supervision/employment or following guidelines like our Civil Rights requirements and non-discrimination.
  • Exec Comm members should be aware of the programming we offer and how we support counties.
  • Is there a formal orientation that all counties could use?
  • Some Exec Committees prefer to have a single point person but at some offices that doesn’t work well for the staff.
  • Some counties encourage engagement by having a specific project the committee can work on and promote. Piscataquis has the “One Tomato” project. Their committee gets involved in promoting the project and distributing plants, etc. They also do a monthly report of program activities to their Exec Comm.
  • Waldo County Exec Comm actually organizes events such as Rural Living Day. It is a good thing except that it takes staff time and energy to support it and it means they aren’t necessarily supporting things staff is already doing.
  • Annual Meetings:
    • Some Annual Meetings include awards.
    • One county did an 8 minute YouTube video of their year in review and program participants and families are also invited.
    • Some Annual Meetings are more businesslike – Civil Rights, elections, etc.
    • Some involve a meal.
    • Some have an educational speaker.
    • Some have charged a fee for the meeting that covered a meal and some kind of entertainment.
    • Some have been more of an open house format.
    • Extension has given each county two university pens to use as awards or gifts in the past.
  • How easy will it be to incorporate the new raises into the county budgets?
    • Some counties had already gotten their next FY budget before it happened so it would be difficult.
    • Fran is encouraging all counties to talk to their PA if there are concerns about covering increased wages so the ELT can discuss possible solutions.
    • Some counties that are ok for this year will need to request significant increases in the next request and have concerns about whether it will get approved.
  • Several staff are interested in having a folder where they could submit or find some of the ideas shared today as well as new things people share later. Pamela will follow up after this meeting about setting that up.
  • Extension staff struggle with how much program information to share with Exec Comm – full reports, bulleted lists; summary of previous programs, information about upcoming programs, etc.
  • How do Extension staff decide who will interact with Exec Comm members and how?
    • One county alternates who attends meetings.
    • Some counties try to have as many staff as possible at every meeting.
  • How do you clarify all the roles of the different entities involved – Exec Comm, UM Extension, County Commissioners.
    • In some cases, buildings are owned by UM so maintenance or changes need to go through UMaine’s process. Others are owned by the Exec Committees.
    • Some counties have an organizational chart that shows each entity and what their responsibilities are in different areas such as programming, facilities, etc.
    • There is orientation information on Plugged In that can be adapted at the county level.
    • Dean Carter had initially planned to have a “Year of the Exec Comm” to promote engagement but COVID interfered.
    • Fran will see about getting more consistent centralized orientation materials.
  • Dennis had been working on getting more consistency around financials at the county level – best practices. Fran will follow up on the status of this information.
  • Would it be helpful to have a meeting of members of all the different Exec Committees? It has been done in the past. They can have discussions similar to our session today about what does and doesn’t work for their committees. Fran will bring this idea back to the ELT as well.
  • Some counties require Exec Committee members to be a member of at least one subcommittee to encourage engagement.
  • Extension is responsible for providing a safe work environment for their staff. Even if the building is owned by the county or the Exec Comm, the Extension PA should be notified of major issues so the ELT can assist if needed.

After the meeting, Fran forwarded a link to the EPC from Plugged In where there is a page with information about Executive Committees.