To: Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Sheriff’s Office
Staff Name and Phone Number: Sadie Benson, 707-565-3922
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Amend the Sheriff’s Office Department Allocation List
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Adopt a Resolution to amend the Sheriff’s Office Adopted Position Allocation List to delete one Secretary allocation and add one Administrative Aide allocation effective April 16, 2024. No additional County discretionary funding is required.
end
Executive Summary:
The Sheriff is requesting approval of a Resolution to amend the Sheriff’s Office Adopted Position Allocation List to delete a vacant Secretary position and replace it with an Administrative Aide position, which is more appropriately aligned with the required skills needed to address essential workload in the Sheriff’s Investigations Bureau. The position will assume Concealed Carry Weapons (CCW) application tracking and related administrative responsibilities. The increased position costs will be offset with additional fee revenue from the CCW program. No new funding request is associated with this request.
Discussion:
California Penal Code § 25400 PC makes it a crime to carry a concealed firearm on your person or in a vehicle unless you have a valid concealed carry weapon (CCW) permit. Carrying a concealed handgun without a valid CCW permit can be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony. When a person applies for a license to carry a pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person, the sheriff of a county (or the chief of police to residents of a city) shall issue a license to that person if the applicant meets the requirements set forth in Penal Code § 26150 et.seq., policy and process. Recent changes to the CCW laws increased the requirements of the Sheriff and associated administrative workload for support staff.
To accommodate these changes, this request adds a 1.0 full-time equivalent (FTE) Administrative Aide and deletes a 1.0 FTE vacant Secretary. This position conversion will provide essential oversight of the administrative process and associated workload of the CCW applications and renewal applications with minimal operational or fiscal impact to the Office.
To provide a more universal CCW program, in 2019 the Sheriff agreed to manage all CCW permits in the county, resulting in all CCW applications for Sonoma County residents (both incorporated and unincorporated) being directed through the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office. Subsequently, in 2022, the program changed again when the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional to require an applicant to provide “good cause” to obtain a CCW permit. As such, the number of new applications increased sharply. Over the last five fiscal years, with these two significant changes, the number of applications grew 402% over the five-year period. In addition to new applications, there has been a sharp increase in renewal applications, as CCW permits expire every two years. From FY 2018-19 to FY 2022-23, renewal applications increased by 688%. It is anticipated that the renewal volume will slightly increase or remain at the FY 2023-24 level going forward.
Currently, all CCW applications are processed and tracked by the Sheriff’s Investigations Bureau Secretary (“Secretary”) and submitted to law enforcement personnel for review and approval. Due to changes in the county-wide management of CCW permits and ongoing legislative updates, the workload no longer fits within the job duties of the Secretary job class. The administrative duties of this permitting program better align with the Administrative Aide job class.
Effective January 1, 2024, additional significant legislative changes related to background investigation requirements created additional workload demands for the program. To address this workload in the most cost effective and efficient manner, an Administrative Aide is needed to address specified duties and allow law enforcement personnel to limit their work to duties that require law enforcement specific training and expertise. FY 2024-25 applications are estimated to be in line with the number of applications submitted in FY 2023-24. Although the total number of new applications are expected to eventually taper off, the potential reduction will be offset by an increase in the number of renewal applications.
The Administrative Aide job class is more appropriately aligned with the required administrative job duties of the CCW program. The technical administrative work and the need to review, analyze, and interpret the current and ongoing legislative changes to ensure program compliance are better suited for the Administrative Aide job class.
Strategic Plan:
N/A
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Prior Board Actions:
N/A
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY23-24 Adopted |
FY24-25 Projected |
FY25-26 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
$2,919 |
$16,958 |
$17,637 |
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
|
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
$2,919 |
$16,958 |
$17,637 |
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
|
|
|
|
State/Federal |
|
|
|
|
Fees/Other |
$2,919 |
$16,958 |
$17,637 |
|
Use of Fund Balance |
|
|
|
|
General Fund Contingencies |
|
|
|
|
Total Sources |
$2,919 |
$16,958 |
$17,637 |
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
The increased cost of the amended position will be partially offset by the deletion of the Secretary allocation. The difference in cost between the two positions will be funded with fee revenue from concealed carry weapons applications. The table above shows the difference in position costs over the next three years.
|
Staffing Impacts: |
|
|
|
|
Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
Additions (Number) |
Deletions (Number) |
|
Administrative Aide |
$74,447.57 - $90,476.65 |
1.0 |
|
|
Secretary |
$62,780.57 - 76,305.11 |
|
(1.0) |
|
|
|
|
|
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
This new allocation will be assigned to the Sheriff’s Investigations Bureau. This allocation will report directly to the Investigations Lieutenant. The position will have no direct reports. The 1.0 FTE Secretary position being deleted is vacant. The workload will shift to the new position where the job duties are better aligned to the job class.
Attachments:
Resolution to Amend Sheriff’s FY 24-25 Position Allocation List
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
FY 23-24 Program Change Request - CCW-Administrative Aide