Experience
Mr. McDougall provides consulting services in all areas of human resources, labor relations, public safety communications, and joint powers authority (JPA) operational governance and design. He possesses over 35 years of local government executive experience and has held positions including founding Chief Executive Officer of a JPA, Director of a County operating department and as a County Human Resources Director. Mr. McDougall works with our public sector clients on a variety of issues and projects including:
- labor and employee relations
- labor contract negotiations
- strategic planning and employee engagement
- organizational design and staffing
- public safety communications operations
- organizational and employee performance management
- employee recruitment, selection and retention
- joint powers authority governance, design and funding
Related Experience
Mr. McDougall served as the Director of Public Safety Communications for the County of San Mateo where he successfully managed and implemented various organizational and performance improvement projects through stakeholder and employee engagement. Mr. McDougall was subsequently recruited by the County of Santa Cruz and the cities within to become the founding General Manager and Chief Executive Officer for Santa Cruz Regional 9-1-1 Joint Powers authority (JPA). Under Mr. McDougall’s leadership, a new independent local government agency was created and a regional public safety facility was designed, constructed, financed, equipped and implemented to serve two Counties, several cities, and other public safety agencies in the region.
Mr. McDougall also served 10 years as Director of Personnel and Risk Management for the County of Santa Cruz. In his tenure there, he directed the centralization and consolidation of all human resources and risk management activities under the Personnel Department and oversaw all executive level recruitments including the replacement of the County’s top Administrative Officers (CAO) and Assistant CAOs.
As the County’s Chief Labor Negotiator, Mr. McDougall successfully led elected officials, administrators, and unionized employee groups through a three-year collective bargaining process that achieved labor agreements providing for structural reductions to employee compensation, retiree health benefits, and pension benefits.
Mr. McDougall has experience managing disciplinary and grievance processes and developing labor strategies with executive and elected officials throughout County and City government. He has extensive experience in preparing for negotiations, costing proposals, and negotiating new and successor labor agreements. Mr. McDougall has knowledge of government budgeting and financing processes and has developed expertise in labor and employee relations, concession bargaining, governance, and cost allocation modeling, organizational design and development, organizational and operational performance measurement systems and human resource functions, including recruitment and retention, talent acquisition, classification and compensation, performance management, employee benefits and retirement programs.
Mr. McDougall holds a Bachelors in Management (with Honors) from Saint Mary’s College of California and an Associate Degree in Criminal Justice Administration from the College of San Mateo.
Memberships
- County Personnel Administrators Association of California, Treasurer
- Santa Cruz Regional 9-1-1 Joint Powers Authority (SCR911), Board Member
- International Association of Public Safety Communications Officials, Member
- Santa Cruz County Emergency Medical Care Commission, Member
- Santa Cruz County Ambulance Technical Advisory Commission, Member
- San Mateo County Communications Center Management Association, Chair