CAO excelling at county helm
Susan Thompson is hard-pressed to find a break in her busy
schedule as the county administrative officer for San Benito. But
she is always willing to find the time for a county supervisor, a
county employee or a resident who wants to chat.
CAO excelling at county helm
Susan Thompson is hard-pressed to find a break in her busy schedule as the county administrative officer for San Benito. But she is always willing to find the time for a county supervisor, a county employee or a resident who wants to chat.
“We have to maintain and retain that trust,” Thompson said, of working in government. “It’s all about being consistent.”
As the administrative head for the county, Thompson sees herself as equivalent to the chief executive officer for a private corporation. In her position she has financial and managerial duties. She supervises department heads and oversees the county budget, which is more than $107 million a year.
Always dressed professionally, with her light blond hair blown so each strand is in place and crinkles around her eyes when she smiles, Thompson defies the stereotypes of high-powered women executives seen on television.
Despite her approachability, she has plenty of experience. Thompson came to the county a year and a half ago with a long history in public administration.
An early start in public admin
“I worked for 27 years in administration in Fresno,” she said, and added jokingly, “Which was hard to do since I’m only 32.”
Jokes aside, Thompson found herself drawn to public administration early on. She started out in political science as an undergraduate at California State University, Fresno.
“I graduated high school in 1973 and we were still influenced by JFK, the whole ‘Ask not what your country can do for you’ thing,” she said. “I put a lot of value on public service.”
As she continued with her classes, she found a way to combine her desire to serve the public and her enjoyment of administration. She finished her undergraduate work and went on to complete a Master’s in public administration at CSU, Fresno.
“Once you get started, there are so many wonderful rewards for having an impact,” she said. “I’ve stuck with it and worked up through the ranks.”
When she first applied for the position, which pays $140,000 a year out of the Board of Supervisors budget, the San Benito County board members saw Thompson as a good fit.
“It was her personality and her attitude,” said Pat Loe, a supervisor for District 3. “It is important to have a CAO who treats all board members equally.”
Thompson saw something in the Board of Supervisors, too, which also included Reb Monaco, Anthony Botelho, Don Marcus and Jaime De La Cruz.
“What really hooked me with the Board of Supervisors was that they were looking for stability,” she said. “They were looking for someone to lead – to lead them away from negative things.”
Before Thompson took over the position, the CAO chair had been more of a revolving door, according to Joe Paul Gonzalez, who was serving as finance director when Thompson was hired and recently took office as the county clerk-auditor-recorder.
“Like any other organization, when there is no leader in charge, it makes the decision-making more difficult,” Gonzalez said. “[Stability] helps in a lot of ways. It helps us move forward as a government entity. It helps with employee morale.”
Before taking over in the county, Thompson had some homework to do coming from the Central Valley. The similarity in the economy helped, Thompson said, since Fresno and San Benito rely heavily on agriculture.
“They also have similar value systems with deep family ties,” she said. “It’s just a matter of scale and size.”
The beauty of the county and the mild weather also drew Thompson and her husband to the county for good.
Bonding over budgets
As soon as she took over as CAO, Thompson had her work set out for her. Though she had plenty of help from department heads and especially the accounting office, one of the major accomplishments for the county has been a change in the way the budget is presented. For the 2006-2007 budget, the supervisors had several days of public hearings in which department heads presented their budget requests in person.
“There was a lot more dialogue about it,” Thompson said. “It was more of a participatory process.”
The budget itself was thought to be a success.
“We approved a budget that did not require layoffs or cuts,” Loe said. “That is really hard to do in California right now.”
The budget hearings served two purposes. One gave the supervisors more insight into what departments do and the other offered transparency to county residents. Transparency and ethics are words Thompson throws around often, but not in a causal way.
“Ethics has to be the No. 1 thing,” she said. “People have to believe and our actions have to reflect that we are here to do the people’s business.”
Since coming to San Benito, Thompson worked with the supervisors and county staff to develop a list of goals for the last year. Some small, some big, she is proud of all of them, but made it clear she did not work alone. It’s always a joint effort between Thompson, county employees and the board, she said.
In her first year at the reins, Thompson helped hire a new planning director; the assistant county administrative officer position has been filled; and Community Services and Workforce Development was consolidated into the Health and Human Services Agency.
“The most rewarding thing is building a better mousetrap,” she said. “With reorganization, we can free up funds and create something better. But I take little steps.”
As with all counties, one of the challenges is meeting state and federal mandates. For some programs, a share of funds will come from the state or federal government and the county has to provide the rest, according to Thompson.
“Finances are really not in our control,” she said.
With the challenge of managing nearly 500 employees and balancing a $100-million budget, she works long hours.
“It’s a commitment,” she said. “But you don’t get to this point in a career like this without knowing it’s time consuming.”
When she is not in the office, she is often still serving in her role as CAO. She has been involved with Vision San Benito, Leadership San Benito and many other focus groups in the community during her time with the county.
But Thompson knows the importance of personal time.
“I read voraciously,” she said. “My husband and I spend a lot of time together, having dinner or traveling.”
She always takes her vacation time – visiting her son who recently graduated from college or visiting her parents. When she’s refreshed, she returns to the office. She still loves her job and enjoys it every day, she said.
“I’m just getting stared,” she said.
Melissa Flores can be reached at
mf*****@pi**********.com
