A reporter should investigate how many consultants Multnomah County (read as JVP) has hired over the past 2.5 years in the core work of the county – homelessness, mental health and addictions, emergency medical services, corrections health, the overarching health department, animal services, and Preschool For All. Not to mention the ridiculous investment of hundreds of thousands on a county “mission, vision and values” statement. I estimate there have been at least 10-15 consultants, but I don’t have access to the information. The County is welcome to provide the details.

Then the reporter should calculate how much money and time have been spent on all of this consulting in fields that are supposed to be the county’s core responsibility. Here’s a hint: The money can be measured in millions, and the time can be measured in years. This is clear from reviewing County budgets.

The reason for all this waste is straightforward and predictable, albeit tragic: The chair has surrounded herself with department leaders who are political allies rather than subject matter experts. Lacking the background and expertise necessary to run departments in an organization as big and critical as the county, they end up having to hire others to do the jobs they were hired to do. Aside from wasting tons of time and money, the situation has resulted in unprecedented turnover of county department directors, further destabilising county systems. For example, in the past eight years, there have been seven health department directors, six behavioral health directors, and five homeless services directors (not counting the three additional “homelessness response system” directors the chair hired in the past two years alone). If this were a business, it would have failed many times over. But Multnomah County keeps getting a pass.

This is what happens when politics is prioritized over policy in a government responsible for crucial human services.

Understanding what’s ailing Multnomah County continues to be a simple matter of connecting the dots and recognizing the patterns of failed leadership. Fixing them requires the current board to acknowledge the tremendous instability and waste this has caused and do something about it.