Title
a. Adopt an ordinance amending Chapters 2.12 and 2.68 of the Monterey County Code to establish a Director of Emergency Management and Department of Emergency Management; and
b. Adopt a Resolution to:
i. Amend Personnel Policies and Practices Resolution (PPPR) No. 98-394 Appendix A & B to create the classification of Director of Emergency Management and Section A.10.1 Department Heads Designated to add the newly created Director of Emergency Management as indicated in Attachment A;
ii. Amend the County Administrative Office-Office of Emergency Services Budget Unit 8056-Fund 001 - Appropriation Unit CAO005 to allocate one (1) Director of Emergency Management position; reallocate one (1) Management Analyst II to one (1) Finance Manager I and one (1) Senior Secretary to one (1) Administrative Secretary as indicated in Attachment A;
iii. Direct the Auditor-Controller’s Office and the County Administrative Office to reflect the approved position change in the Fiscal Year 2022-23 Adopted Budget and the Human Resources Department to create the Director of Emergency Management classification in the Advantage HRM system;
iv. Direct the County Administrative Office and the Auditor-Controller to take such actions as may be necessary to fund the activities of the new department within the adopted budget of the County Administrative Office without changes in appropriations for the balance of Fiscal Year 2022-23;
v. Direct the County Administrative Office and the Budget Director to prepare the budget for Fiscal Year 2023-24 reflecting the new department on a separate basis.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
a. Adopt an ordinance amending Chapters 2.12 and 2.68 of the Monterey County Code to establish a Director of Emergency Management and Department of Emergency Management; and
b. Adopt a Resolution to:
i. Amend Personnel Policies and Practices Resolution (PPPR) No. 98-394 Appendix A & B to create the classification of Director of Emergency Management and Section A.10.1 Department Heads Designated to add the newly created Director of Emergency Management as indicated in Attachment A;
ii. Amend the County Administrative Office-Office of Emergency Services Budget Unit 8056-Fund 001 - Appropriation Unit CAO005 to allocate one (1) Director of Emergency Management position; reallocate one (1) Management Analyst II to one (1) Finance Manager I and one (1) Senior Secretary to one (1) Administrative Secretary as indicated in Attachment A;
iii. Direct the Auditor-Controller’s Office and the County Administrative Office to reflect the approved position changes in the Fiscal Year 2022-23 Adopted Budget and the Human Resources Department to create the Director of Emergency Management classification in the Advantage HRM system;
iv. Direct the County Administrative Office and the Auditor-Controller to take such actions as may be necessary to fund the activities of the new department within the adopted budget of the County Administrative Office without changes in appropriations for the balance of Fiscal Year 2022-23;
v. Direct the County Administrative Office and the Budget Director to prepare the budget for Fiscal Year 2023-24 reflecting the new department on a separate basis.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
Pursuant to Monterey County Code Section 2.12.040, the County Administrative Officer (CAO) is authorized to recommend desirable rearrangement of departments and functions to the Board of Supervisors. The County Administrative Officer is recommending the creation of a Department of Emergency Management (DEM) and to create the classification of Director of Emergency Management. The current and proposed organizational charts for the County Administrative Office and new Department of Emergency Management are included as Attachments B, C and D.
In recent years, the County has responded to several catastrophic events including the COVID-19 pandemic emergency, 2021 Drought, 2022 Colorado Fire and the 2022 Abbott Fire. These emergencies have proven to be disastrous and life-threatening, and the need to create a department is critical for our County to improve overall operational effectiveness and ensure public safety and timely responses to any emergency. Not only will a Department of Emergency Management elevate the County’s stature in dealing with external agencies such as California Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) but will also facilitate peer to peer coordination among Monterey County department heads generally. In addition, creation of a Department of Emergency Management has been a goal of the CAO and reviewed previously with the Board of Supervisors, who directed that a plan for the change be developed. Finally, it is important to note that, although the Department of Emergency Management will have a small permanent staff of 8, during activations, the number of staff under direction of the Director of Emergency Management will grow to between 50 to 150 individuals, all under the management direction of the Director. The Department of Emergency Management will also have direct responsibility for continuing coordination and training of a Disaster Service Worker Program which spans across every Department. To this end, the County Administrative Office requested the Human Resources Department to conduct a classification study to create a position that is commensurate with the level of authority and complexity to direct and oversee the County’s Emergency Management operations.
The Human Resources Department conducted a classification and base wage compensation study with the County’s comparable agencies and found there were sufficient matches within the labor market to recommend a salary range for the Director of Emergency Management. It is recommended to create the new classification of the Director of Emergency Management and to set the salary at the labor market average of the comparable classifications as indicated in Attachment A.
The Office of Emergency Services was awarded a Homeland Security Grant for equipment and training to prevent acts of terrorism both foreign and domestic. Recently the California Office of Emergency Services conducted onsite grant monitoring for the FY 20-21 Homeland Security Grant Program. During the visit, several preliminary findings were identified, and recommendations were provided to the County to meet the state and federal requirements for the program. Many of the findings were related to internal controls; compliance with federal statutes and regulations; evaluating and monitoring compliance with the statutes, regulations, and terms/conditions of federal programs; and improper procurement.
As a result of the monitoring findings, the County Administrative Office, Office of Emergency Services and the Human Resources department met to discuss possible solutions. In reviewing the organizational structure and what is required of the position, OES submitted a Request to Classify to the Human Resources Department in order to determine the most appropriate classification to ensure the long term Cost Recovery of response costs to significant disasters, which includes coordinating the development of FEMA Public Assistance Grants, post-award monitoring, which includes, progress reports, financial status reports, scope of work changes, meeting deadlines, audits, financial reconciliation, and project closeout. In addition, the position will be responsible for cost recovery of expenses incurred to serve the Monterey County community during the COVID-19 global health crisis, and will lead the County’s efforts in navigating a cumbersome federal process for application development for several years, totaling over $10 million. The Human Resources Department reviewed the Request to Classify and determined the Management Analyst II classification does not adequately address the financial duties, scope and complexity of the position needed for the Office of Emergency Services and recommends reallocating the Management Analyst II to a Finance Manager I.
Currently, the Office of Emergency Services is authorized one Senior Secretary position. The position is currently filled and is the sole secretarial/administrative support for the office and EOC. The transition to a department will increase the administrative responsibilities required of the position. A review of the Request to Classify conducted by the Human Resources Department determined that the level of work required is most appropriately classified as an Administrative Secretary and recommends to reallocate the Senior Secretary to an Administrative Secretary.
It is critical that these reallocations be included in the creation of the department for all the reasons stated above. Not reallocating the Management Analyst II to a Finance Manager I will jeopardize the County’s ability to recover the costs for COVID19 and other disaster related reimbursements.
It is further recommended the new department operate within the adopted budget of the County Administrative Office for the balance of Fiscal Year 2022-23 without changes in appropriations and that the County Administrative Office and Budget Director prepare the budget for Fiscal Year 2023-24 reflecting the new department on a separate basis.
Lastly, the proposed ordinance amends Chapter 2.12 of the Monterey County Code to authorize the County Administrative Officer to be the Appointing Authority of the newly established Director of Emergency Management position and clarifies the authority of the CAO over appointed County department heads.
The proposed ordinance also amends Chapter 2.68 to provide for the preparation and carrying out of plans for the protection of persons and property under County jurisdiction in the event of an emergency; the direction of the emergency organization; and the coordination of the emergency functions of County government with all other public agencies, corporations, organizations, and affected private persons. The ordinance creates a Department of Emergency Management and clarifies the authority of the Director of Emergency Management, including approval and coordination of mutual aid requests made within the County. The ordinance also authorizes the Monterey County Disaster Council to consider emergency mutual aid plans and agreements and make recommendations to the Board of Supervisors. The makeup of the Disaster Council is identified in the County Code. This ordinance amends the existing code to clarify and update the positions that comprise the Disaster Council.
Minor non-substantive changes have also been incorporated into the current draft ordinance before the Board of Supervisors.
The proposed ordinance is attached to this report as Attachment E. Additionally, a redlined version of the ordinance showing the proposed changes is attached as Attachment F.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
The County Administrative Office has reviewed and concurs with the recommendations. The County Counsel’s Office has reviewed the ordinance as to form.
FINANCING:
The salary and benefits increased costs for Office of Emergency Services Budget Unit 8506 - Fund 001 - Appropriation Unit CAO005 for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2022-23 is approximately $137,756 or $298,472 annually. The vacant positions of Director of Emergency Management and Finance Manager I are budgeted at step 7 with the potential for the costs to decrease dependent upon the step placement of the successful candidates. During Fiscal Year 2022-23 Budget Hearings in June, the Board approved $190,000 in cannabis funding to assist transitioning the Office of Emergency Services from a division of the County Administrative Office (CAO) to a standalone department. With this funding, the Office of Emergency Services has existing appropriations to cover the increased costs for Fiscal Year 2022-23; however, since cannabis tax rates reduction has been discussed at recent Board of Supervisor meetings and most recently at the Cannabis Committee meeting on 11/29/22, new funding will likely be needed to finance approved appropriations if there are cannabis tax rates reductions in the current fiscal year. In addition, future year funding will have to be identified for these increased costs as part of the budget process depending on the actions the Board takes regarding cannabis revenue.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS’ STRATEGIC INITIATIVES:
The proposed recommended actions address the Board of Supervisors Administration Strategic Initiative. These changes support Monterey County’s Strategic Initiative Policy Areas in engaging public safety stakeholders, partners, and whole community in resiliency building activities including emergency reporting, disaster preparedness, mitigation response and recovery.
__ Economic Development
X Administration
__ Health & Human Services
__ Infrastructure
__ Public Safety
Prepared by: Kim Moore, Assistant Director of Human Resources, 755-5353
Approved by: Irma Ramirez-Bough, Director of Human Resources, 755-5043
Approved by: Charles J. McKee, County Administrative Officer, 755-5115
Attachments:
Board Report
Resolution
Attachment A: PPPR Amendments & Allocation Amendments
Attachment B & C: Current and proposed organization charts for the County Administrative Office
Attachment D: Proposed organization chart for the new Department of Emergency Management
Attachment E: Draft ordinance amending Chapters 2.12 and 2.68 of the Monterey County Code (clean version)
Attachment F: Draft ordinance amending Chapters 2.12 and 2.68 of the Monterey County Code (redlined version)