Title
a. Amend the FY 2017-18 Resource Management Agency (RMA), Unit 8172- Planning Budget to reallocate one (1) Historical & Cultural Affairs position to one (1) Management Analyst II position, as indicated in the attached Resolution;
b. Amend the FY 2017-18 RMA, Unit 8173 - Architectural Services Budget to reallocate one (1) Architectural Services Manager position to one (1) Project Manager II, as indicated in the attached Resolution;
c. Amend the FY 2017-18 RMA, Unit 8222 - RMA Administration Budget to reallocate one (1) Senior Account Clerk position to one (1) Accounting Clerical Supervisor position, as indicated in the attached Resolution;
d. Amend the FY 2017-18 RMA, Unit 8444 - Environmental Services to reallocate one (1) Water Resources Technician position to one (1) Water Resources Hydrologist position, as indicated in the attached Resolution; and
e. Authorize the Auditor-Controller and the County Administrative Office to incorporate these changes in the FY 2017-18 Budget.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
a. Amend the FY 2017-18 Resource Management Agency (RMA), Unit 8172- Planning Budget to reallocate one (1) Historical & Cultural Affairs position to one (1) Management Analyst II position, as indicated in the attached Resolution;
b. Amend the FY 2017-18 RMA, Unit 8173 - Architectural Services Budget to reallocate one (1) Architectural Services Manager position to one (1) Project Manager II, as indicated in the attached Resolution;
c. Amend the FY 2017-18 RMA, Unit 8222 - RMA Administration Budget to reallocate one (1) Senior Account Clerk position to one (1) Accounting Clerical Supervisor position, as indicated in the attached Resolution;
d. Amend the FY 2017-18 RMA, Unit 8444 - Environmental Services to reallocate one (1) Water Resources Technician position to one (1) Water Resources Hydrologist position, as indicated in the attached Resolution; and
e. Authorize the Auditor-Controller and the County Administrative Office to incorporate these changes in the FY 2017-18 Budget.
SUMMARY:
The Resource Management Agency (RMA) is requesting to amend positions within the FY 2017-2018 Budget to address budget constraints and operational needs. A couple of changes would occur in Parks that help move toward a more sustainable structure.
Park changes are proposed as follows:
• Reallocate one (1) Historical & Cultural Affairs Manager position to one (1) Management Analyst II position.
• Reallocate one (1) Architectural Services Manager position to one (1) Project Manager II position (with a focus on Park capital projects).
As part of the FY 17/18 Budget, RMA deleted the vacant Parks Director position. The County Park Ranger Supervisor and County Park Ranger III Position was only funded for half of the year pending RMA review of the organization. RMA proposes to retain the County Park Ranger Supervisor position that would report to the Chief of Public Works & Facilities position, as well as retain the County Park Ranger III position which would report to the Supervising Ranger. RMA is working with the County Human Resources Department to conduct an organizational review of the County Park Ranger classifications and will bring a report forward with recommendations once the review is completed. In the meantime, there are sufficient salary savings recognized during the first four months of this fiscal year to fund the remaining salary and benefit costs for the Ranger Supervisor and Ranger III through June 30, 2018 (refer to Attachment B).
Other changes are proposed as follows:
• Reallocate one (1) Senior Account Clerk position to one (1) Accounting Clerical Supervisor position.
• Reallocate one (1) Water Resources Technician position to one (1) Water Resources Hydrologist position.
The needs of the organization have changed, leading to this request for the reallocation of vacant positions.
DISCUSSION:
The Resource Management Agency (RMA) reviewed vacant (current or pending within 1-2 months) positions across the organization to determine if each area was appropriately allocated staffing resources given current and anticipated departmental operations and initiatives. As a result of this review, the department determined the following:
• RMA would be better served in reallocating the Historical & Cultural Affairs Manager to a Management Analyst II position to perform critical functions such as actively managing the Parks Volunteer Program, Special Events, and Community Partnerships. We find that a Management Analyst II position would best serve the range of needs. Historical reviews associated with planning and building applications would be consulted out and paid for by the Applicant. RMA is coordinating with the County Librarian to address the recent Grand Jury Report surrounding preservation of historical documents as to how it pertains to the museums and historical documents that are currently located with Parks.
• The recently hired Deputy Director of Public Works and Facilities created a vacancy in the Architectural Services Manager. The department is recommending reallocating this recently vacated Architectural Services Manager position to a Project Manager II position that will be utilized to manage infrastructure projects throughout the County. This PMII would report to the Chief of Parks to specifically manage capital projects within County Parks.
• The restructure of the RMA approved by the Board in July 2016 included reallocating the existing Finance Manager III position to the newly created Deputy Director of Administrative Services. With the loss of the higher-level Finance Manager, along with the integration of Parks into the RMA and additional financial reporting associated Measure X and SB1, there is a greater need for the existing Finance Managers (1 Finance Manager II and 2 Finance Manager I) to focus their effort on managing the financials of department. As a result, Finance Managers are having to review the high volume of payable and receivables being processed by lower staff. This has created a critical need for a dedicated Accounting Clerical Supervisor to perform the review and oversight of the remaining Account Clerks processing payable and receivable documents. During the FY 2107-18 Baseline Budget development, RMA requested an augmentation for an Accounting Clerical Supervisor to supervise the processing of payable and receivables for the reasons listed above, however this request was not approved. A vacancy in one of the Senior Account Clerk positions recently occurred creating an opportunity to request the reallocation of the vacant Senior Account Clerk to an Accounting Clerical Supervisor.
• Currently Environmental Services has three Water Resources Technicians of which one just recently has become vacant providing an opportunity to review the current organizational needs. Based on this review there is a need for a Water Resources Hydrologist position to support the development review, code enforcement, and storm water management programs. The department would be better served by reallocating the vacant Water Resources Technician to a Water Resources Hydrologist position.
• RMA received partial funding for the Supervising Building Inspector. The incumbent provided written notice of their intent to retire April 20, 2018; however, paper have not yet been filed. RMA requested, and received approval for, an Allocation on Loan to fund this position through April 2018. RMA intends to delete this position after that point. Vacancy of a RMA Services Manager position following budget adoption created opportunity for restructuring inspection services (building and code compliance) without need for a Supervising Building Inspector position
During the development of the FY 2017-18 Adopted Budget, there were three management level positions eliminated from Parks, including a transfer to another County Department. These positions included a Chief Ranger/Parks Director, Management Analyst II, and a Special Events Manager. The duties that were being performed, as well as other duties and assignments that had been neglected for many years has now fallen on existing RMA staff where there was little capacity to absorb additional work assignments. This increased workload is creating an unhealthy environment for many staff that are expressing how overwhelmed they are with the amount of work they are assigned. The recommendation to reallocate existing vacant positions does not impact what the Board of Supervisors approved in RMA’s FY 2017-18 Adopted Budget, as provides additional funding for three partially funded positions that were to expire December 31, 2017. RMA requests/recommends the Board of Supervisors support these proposed actions.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
The Budget Committee reviewed this on November 27, 2017.
FINANCING:
The overall salary and benefits costs of the reallocated positions are lower than the existing approved budget by $10,947 annually. The greatest savings will be recognized on County projects in the amount of $75,403, however there is an impact to general fund operations, where the salary and benefits are anticipated to increase by $64,456. The prorated impact in FY 2017-18 is estimated to be $50,269 savings to projects, but an increase in to general fund operations of $32,228. The estimated annual salary and benefits impact to the FY 2018-19 general fund is anticipated to be $66,673 based on negotiated MOU salary increases. Since the beginning of FY 2017-18 there have been several positions which remain vacant which have generated salary savings of $223,954 for the first 4 months of the fiscal year (refer to Attachment B). The department is not requesting additional general funds to cover the increase in salary and benefits resulting from the requested changes. RMA is confident that it will be able to offset the increases with salary savings generated through vacancies caused by attrition for this FY.
It should be noted that using one-time funds is not ideal for on-going operational needs such as to fund filled positions, i.e., the three partially funded positions approved by the Board at the Budget Adoption (Building Inspector Supervisor, County Park Ranger Supervisor, and County Park Ranger III), since permanent funds will be needed in the upcoming fiscal year. In the interim, RMA is looking at other ways to increase revenue by exploring new revenue sources, increase fee collection, and evaluate and modify existing fees to help lessen the dependency on general fund contributions across the Agency.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS STRATEGIC INITIATIVES:
The Resource Management Agency reviewed vacant positions across the organization to determine if each area was appropriately allocated staffing resources given current and anticipated departmental operations and initiatives. The department would like to take advantage of recently vacated positions by reallocating those mentioned above to better serve the functions of the department.
__ Economic Development
X Administration
X Health & Human Services
X Infrastructure
__ Public Safety
Prepared by: Shawne E. Ellerbee, RMA Deputy Director Administrative Services, 755-4794
Approved by: Carl P. Holm, Resource Management Agency Director, 755-5103
Attachments:
Attachment A - Resolution
Attachment B - RMA Position Cost Analysis
(Attachments on file with the Clerk of Board)