Title
A. Receive a status update regarding staff support for Go Green! Program initiatives; and
B. Provide direction to staff as appropriate.
Report
RECOMMENDATIONS:
It is recommended that the Alternative Energy and Environment Committee:
A. Receive a status update regarding staff support for Go Green! Program initiatives; and
B. Provide direction to staff as appropriate.
SUMMARY:
The Management Analyst (MA) III position supporting the Go Green! Monterey County Program was eliminated from the CAO's office adopted budget for FY 2018-19. Staffing responsibilities for the Alternative Energy and Environment (AEE) Committee, which were formerly held by the CAO-IGLA Division, Go Green! Program, were subsequently transferred to the RMA in May of 2018. While the Go Green! Program support position was eliminated, the former Go Green! Program Coordinator was successfully hired into a vacant MA III position at RMA to work on Special Projects. Duties associated with the Go Green! Program were added to the Special Projects Unit within RMA’s Administrative Services Division. However, what was a full-time allocation was reduced to being more like 0.1 FTE balanced with a number of projects assigned to RMA. RMA has submitted an augmentaiton reqeust for a student intern that would; be specifically dedciated to the Go Green! Program.
DISCUSSION:
Go Green! Program activities that had been supported by the eliminated MAIII position included ongoing sustainability initiatives requested by the Board of Supervisors that support State and regional climate-related goals. RMA has transitioned the AEE Committee staffing responsibilities into its operations as well as limited Go Green! Program activities, however, due to limited staff resources and various competing priorities and mandates, the RMA is unable to fulfill the growing list of opportunities and initiatives requested by the AEE Committee.
On January 24, 2019, while discussing future AEE Committee agenda items, the Committee expressed an interest in the following topics related to the Go Green! Monterey County Program:
• Fleet vehicle electrification
• Electric vehicle charging infrastructure
• Sustainable drinking water solutions for Monterey County buildings
• Energy generation initiatives on County property (i.e. Solar Photovoltaic Projects)
• Carbon Sequestration for climate change mitigations
• Support for RMA-Building Services for sustainability-related building code advancements
• Support for RMA-Long Range Planning to update Municipal Climate Action Plan and the development of the Community Climate Action Plan
Staff also discussed alternative means to increase staffing resources available for the Go Green! Program with the Committee. The RMA has submitted an augmentation request as part of its FY 2019-20 Monterey County Budget process to fund $10,500 for a part-time paid student intern to support ongoing Go Green! Program activities and initiatives. RMA also considered but did not submit an augmentation request for two other options for Go Green! Program support that include the following: 1) Add a new Management Analyst I Position in the RMA; and 2) Add a new Management Analyst III Position to restore the Go Green! Program Coordinator position in the CAO; 3) Procure outside consulting services. Each of these options comes with varying levels of staff support requirements, associated costs, opportunities, and challenges. Staff is confident that with the addition of a paid intern to the RMA team, positive progress can be made on a number of the AEE/Go Green! Program activities. An augmentation for more than a part- time intern was not submitted at this point due to fiscal challenges facing the County and the number/scope of requests by RMA just to be made whole under existing conditions.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
RMA will coordinate with CAO-Budget & Analysis staff for consideration of the Budget Augmentation Request for Board of Supervisors approval of the FY 2019-20 Budget.
FINANCING:
Each option presented in this report would require a different level of funding to support RMA staff with Go Green! Monterey County Program initiatives. For the part-time paid intern, general fund contributions would not exceed an estimated $10,500. Cost estimates to support an internship position were calculated by assuming a rate of $15 per hour for one intern, for a total of 700 hours throughout FY 2019-20. Total hours and rate of pay can be adjusted based on level of funding allocated.
Cost for full time Management Analyst I is $130,182 based on current salary/benefit costs. Cost for a Management Analyst III to restore the level of service is $153,867. As full-time positions, these costs increase annually depending on adjusments to salaries and/or benefits. For many years now, departments General Fund contribution is held constant while costs continue to increase, effectively requring departments to make cuts every year. As such, adding a dedicatied position for a sinlge program that does not generate revenue is not sutainable under these conditions.
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS STRATEGIC INITIATIVES:
Go Green! Program activities are consistent with Board of Supervisors Strategic Initiatives: Economic Development, Health and Human Services, Public Safety, and Infrastructure. Sustainability initiatives provide a wide array of benefits across these areas.
X Economic Development
__ Administration
X Health & Human Services
X Infrastructure
X Public Safety
Prepared by: Dan Bertoldi, Management Analyst III (x5643)
Reviewed by: Melanie Beretti, Special Programs Manager (X5285)
Approved by: Carl Holm, AICP, Director of Resource Management Agency