With the departures of top town staffers in 2023, and a town hall turnover rate reaching nearly 70%, Portola Valley's top manager is taking a step back and considering how to stabilize staffing amid concerns about the impacts to the town's ability to conduct business and serve its residents.

Portola Valley has a total of 19 staff positions. Currently there are six vacancies, with an interim director of building and planning filling in for a seventh vacancy, according to Town Manager Sharif Etman, who took over on Aug. 30 following the departure of Jeremy Dennis in March.

A November report, part of a plan called "Reset - Refocus - Restructure," from Pleasant Hill-based Krisch & Company detailed its fiscal findings and recommendations. One key finding was that the town is several years behind on finance audits.

"The biggest piece is helping Portola Valley get caught up (on finances) and get some stability," said Etman, who has a background in finance. "The No. 1 priority is the housing element and getting finances back in line. ... It's a wonderful place to live and work. I'm in awe of all the passionate residents and volunteers."

Every eight years per state law, every city and town in California must update its housing element documents to prove how it will meet housing standards set by Sacramento. Each jurisdiction must create a sites inventory, or a list of properties that could reasonably be developed into housing in the next eight years, in order to meet the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA), the number of net new housing units required. Like other cities in the state, Portola Valley's plan is overdue (the deadline for a compliant element was Jan. 31, 2023).

"We have a lot of vacancies (in Portola Valley)," Etman said. A senior management analyst, associate planner and development review technician position are unfilled. "It's been very difficult not only to recruit, but to retain staff here."

He said it's a good time to examine roles and see what could be changed or moved around.

Etman requested the report in hopes of having findings in his first 60-90 days on the job, he said. He most recently served as the interim assistant administrative services director in Redwood City, but has also worked for the cities of Los Altos and Campbell, and the San Mateo County Human Services Agency.

Resident Betsy Morgenthaler said the report showed an "almost unbelievable absence of past oversight."

"There were so many red flags that got missed along the way," she said. "The former manager had full control over financials without oversight for his tenure."

Mayor Jeff Aalfs, who has been on the Town Council for 12 years, said he knows the town government can follow more up-to-date practices.

"People were sort of attached to the way things were done and people doing them," he said. "Some staff have been here 20 years and taken pride in that — continuity is good and institutional knowledge is good. The finance department is being asked to do things now it hasn't before, like new reporting requirements. They oversee a lot more transactions than they used to and are still trying to adapt to new software."

The OpenGov website that Portola Valley now uses has been a difficult to navigate, Aalfs noted.

Portola Valley Neighbors United (PVNU), a volunteer-led group that has at times sparred with town officials, seems hopeful that tensions can be smoothed over with new leadership at Town Hall. In a Nov. 8 newsletter, members wrote: "At PVNU we are optimistic that having a new Town Manager - Welcome, Mr. Etman - will help calm our troubled seas and bring us closer together."

Other priorities

Aside from catching up on finances, the town needs to finalize its contract with the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office for police services that are (expected to rise in cost this year); approve a compliant housing element; review how town committees are structured; and move forward with the Stanford Wedge housing development project on Alpine Road. Etman said he would like to put these priorities in order and put deadlines on each.

"When everything is a priority, nothing is a priority, so we need to be clear on what our next steps are," Etman said during a Nov. 8 council meeting. "I want to be clear that we are not bankrupt, we are not broke. Our finances are fine. We are just behind (on audits)."

The town will continue working with Krisch regarding the financial matters until June.

There was no report out of a closed session meeting on Nov. 8 about a lawsuit brought against the town by resident Rusty Day over its handling of the housing element. The topic is expected to come back to the council at a January meeting, Etman said on Nov. 22. The next draft of the housing element is expected in January as well, he said.

Watch a video of the Nov. 8 meeting here.