C-11-e-21a
CAO [Chief Administrator Officer] – BASIC OBLIGATIONS
The function is administrative in nature. That means, getting things done, and, by implication, having the organization and information to get things done. It means the day-to-day supervision of the entire project. Included are such items as purchasing, inventory, accounting, personnel deployment, as well as the normal departmental operations.
It might be easier to examine what it does not include: first, the formation of policy. Under the Office, this is a function of Steering, and somewhat of Rally. In order to avoid conflicts in operations it would be good to find a dividing line in steering tonight. All administrative measures such as construction or other maintenance operations are not steering issues. Job changes are not steering issues. Basic planning functions are steering as is the obligation to create rules of deportment (which may also be created in Rally). Therefore all of the subcommittees of steering that relate to planning as distinct from administration will still be in effect, and their total output would be coordinated through steering. This should cut their agenda way down, and give sufficient time to thoroughly explore issues of importance.
Another function that is not of CAO is judicial: the Office, Rally, Counseling and Public Service. Public Service would be under the CAO with respect to the work that it does but not with respect to who is on unless we wish to give the CAO and Assistant CAOs the power to put people directly on for some limited period of time. (Anyway the point is unclear in my mind at this time.)
The way I visualize it CAO would have a working area and a staff. They would supervise purchasing, inventories, accounts, personnel deployment (I don’t think I have all “central” functions in mind now), etc. All functions not centrally administered would be delegated to one of the CAOs in their area of concern. So, as to the Departments, the job is supervisory but as to the “central” functions it is direct administration. For example, the radio people and the purchasing agents are directly on the staff of the CAO and not supervised, for instance, by housekeeping.
One last point is that your “sway” includes Georgetown Operations and thus I think that you need to set up one person in charge there, and also some structure or operating formula, in writing, so that everyone can be held responsible for his job.
There are a lot of “models” of administration type organizations. I do not hold any preferences, except that you must have a very efficient person to maintain follow-up and tickler systems, and must maintain a very tight system of internal control so that you can pick up on your own omissions. Also, there may well be some routine appearing matters that would not appear to require any sort of interdepartmental coordination, but which in fact do. For example, Jan [Jann Gurvich] just raise the issue of a faucet near Apt. 2 which the nursery wants out but which [James] Simpson uses for watering the garden. Charlie [Touchette] would somehow have to know to coordinate with Jack [Beam] or Jim. The “somehow” needs to be worked out. Also, there are some “cross-departmental” areas that need to be worked out such as the poison control which has both agricultural and housekeeping applications.
I am sure that a lot more stuff will unravel, as time goes on, but I hope that this will help. If you want more please let me know.
—–
C-11-e-21b
[Few scattered lines of illegible handwriting]