Madera County to host joint meeting with cities

On Saturday, the County of Madera will host a special joint meeting with the cities of Chowchilla and Madera at the Madera Municipal Golf Course, 23200 Ave. 17.

The meeting is meant to be an opportunity for collaborative work on shared goals by the county and cities, and to foster a unified front with local, state, and federal officials. There will be no action items on the agenda.

The meeting will start with breakfast at 8:30 a.m. followed by a workshop, then a lunch and lastly an optional golf tournament.

Leading the workshop is Bill Chiat, dean of California State Association of Counties Institute for Excellence in County Government and president of Alta Mesa Group. His expertise spans over 40 years in local and state governments. Chiat provides organizational development, executive development and facilitation services for local governments throughout the West, and is an instructor in the Goldman School of Public Policy executive programs at University of California, Berkeley.

“This is an enormous step toward collaborating in good faith on issues that affect all three entities,” said Max Rodriguez, chairman of the Madera County Board of Supervisors. “The real winners are the shared constituents we serve.”

The meeting stems from a management workshop conducted by the county at Bass Lake in April. There the board and staff identified several operational priorities, including a need to form an intergovernmental coalition between the county and two cities.

The meeting is open to the public and will have no impact to the general fund.

For information, contact the chief clerk of the county board of supervisors, 675-7700.