RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AGENCY
FUNCTIONAL STATEMENT

DAVID PRICE III
Agency Director

The Resource Management Agency (RMA) was established by the Board of Supervisors during the 1988/89 fiscal year to coordinate, integrate and provide management oversight of the activities of the Air Pollution Control District, Environmental Health Services Department, and the Planning Department. In subsequent years, the Air Pollution Control District separated from the Agency and the Roads and Engineering and Survey Services Departments were added. In Fiscal Year 1997/98, the Community Development Program Department was integrated into the Agency and Animal Control was transferred to Environmental Health Services. In March 2002, the County’s Economic Development Program was transferred from the County Administrative Office to the Community Development Program Department. In September 2005, Animal Control was added to the Agency as a Division.

RMA provides management expertise, policy analysis, and direction and support to the component departments of the RMA. A primary function of the Agency is to provide coordinated strategies and a unified voice when addressing the many environmental and land use related issues facing the people of Kern County. In recent years, the RMA has been given an increased role in permitting activities involving multiple levels of government, planning for future domestic water supplies, and planning for new transportation related projects. Under the direction of the RMA Director, operations are coordinated among the departments of the Agency, particularly in the areas of project review and permit issuance procedures.

Administrative Services Division
Tina Burke, Division Chief

The RMA Administrative Services Division provides administrative and personnel/payroll support, and data processing services to the RMA departments. Areas of administrative support include advising on unusual personnel matters, assisting with development of requests for proposals and professional service agreements, managing telephone and information systems and coordination of RMA responses to administrative-related inquiries from other departments. The RMA also manages the county-wide Fiscal Impact Analysis Program, identifying the economic impact of new development projects.

The RMA Payroll/Personnel Team provides personnel and payroll processing support to the RMA departments for the following processes: new employee paperwork, annual performance reviews, increments and transfers, medical leaves, entry into the Auditor’s online payroll system, and payroll approval.

The Technical Services Team assists the RMA departments, Kern Air Pollution Control District and the Waste Management Department in acquiring, installing, and maintaining computers, software, and peripheral equipment, and has responsibility for administration of the application and file servers which support these departments. Programming staff either customize off-the-shelf programs or design and develop if no program exists to meet the departments’ required need. This group also administers the phone system for the entire Public Services Building.

Animal Control DEPARTMENT
FUNCTIONAL STATEMENT

GUY SHAW, R.E.H.S.
Director

The Animal Control Department provides public protection from dangerous animals and protection from diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans. The primary activity of the Department is to provide local rabies control in accordance with the California Health and Safety Code. As a natural outgrowth, the Department manages the animal licensing program, bite reporting and animal quarantine functions and operates an animal sheltering system throughout the county.

Animal Control Officers are dispatched to reported incidents of sick, injured and dead animals and respond to and conduct investigation of animal cruelty and inhumane living conditions. Officers are also engaged in the promotion of responsible pet ownership through education and enforcement of dog licensing and leash law requirements.

Animal Control operates one animal shelter in Bakersfield and one in Mojave for the care of impounded animals. Shelter personnel are responsible for the daily care of hundreds of animals received at the shelter, assist in the promotion of adoptions and redemptions, and the euthanasia and disposal of unwanted or diseased animals. Due to the large geographic area, the county owned Kern River Valley shelter is operated by a private contractor. In the Indian Wells Valley, the county contracts with the City of Ridgecrest for shelter services. In addition, the county provides contractual animal services (limited to specified services in contract) for the cities of Bakersfield, Tehachapi, Arvin, and Maricopa.

This Department also administers a low cost rabies vaccination clinic, operates a volunteer program and is actively involved in numerous public education programs which promote responsible pet ownership. The Department also provides staff support to the Kern County Animal Control Commission and has initiated a low cost spay/neuter program and a foster care program.