To: Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Community Development Commission
Staff Name and Phone Number: Martha Cheever, 707-565-7521
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): All
Title:
Title
Community Development Commission Staffing Allocations
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Adopt a Personnel Resolution amending the Sonoma County Community Development Commission’s Department Allocation List, effective July 1, 2026, to convert one (1.0) Time-Limited Senior Office Assistant to a regular full-time position; extend one (1.0) full-time, time-limited Occupancy Specialist II position through June 30, 2027, and extend one (1.0) full-time, time-limited Community Development Program Coordinator position through June 30, 2027.
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Executive Summary:
The Community Development Commission (“Commission”) is requesting approval of modifications to its position allocation list to support the Commission’s operational needs. The County Human Resources Department has evaluated the proposed departmental position allocations and concurs with the Commission’s recommendation.
Discussion:
The Sonoma County Housing Authority (“SCHA”), a division of the Sonoma County Community Development Commission (“Commission”), administers several rental assistance programs under contract with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). These programs enable very low-income households to rent from private landlords at fair market rental rates.
Over the past several years, SCHA has been awarded several new voucher programs necessitating expanded staffing to meet the needs of the programs. Because some of the programs were intended to be short-term, in FY 21/22, the Commission added three positions as time-limited, expiring June 30, 2022. The positions have continued to be extended, funded by program-specific, pandemic-era funding and Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) administrative fees. With each extension, the needs of the organization were balanced with uncertain sunset dates of pandemic-era programs.
To reflect the current needs of the Commission, the following changes are being requested to its staffing allocation list.
1. Convert one (1.0) time-limited, full-time Senior Office Assistant position to regular full-time
2. Extend one (1.0) time-limited, full-time Community Development Program Coordinator position through June 30, 2027
3. Extend one (1.0) time-limited, full-time Occupancy Specialist II position through June 30, 2027
The Senior Office Assistant position will continue to support the Housing Authority division within CDC. Duties include scheduling, tracking reasonable accommodation requests, tracking informal hearings, completing check requests, and responding to applicant inquiries.
The Occupancy Specialist II will continue to bridge a staffing gap due to several different long -term leaves. Duties include conducting intake eligibility appointments and annual recertification examinations for the Housing Choice Voucher Program, the Mainstream Voucher Program, and the Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing Program.
The Community Development Program Coordinator will continue to supervise housing navigation staff, manage the successful landlord outreach program, and apply for grants to fund various programs for people experiencing homelessness.
While the Commission has an ongoing need for all three of these positions, only the Senior Office Assistant is being requested on an ongoing basis. If ongoing funding for the Occupancy Specialist II and Community Development Program Coordinator appears secure next year, the Commission may request that these positions also be converted from time-limited to ongoing.
Making the above noted changes to the Commission’s allocation list will ensure continued administrative support for critical housing programs and avoid issuing layoff notices to impacted employees. These changes are being requested outside of the budget process to avoid issuing lay-off notices to the impacted employees.
Strategic Plan:
This item directly supports the County’s Five-year Strategic Plan and is aligned with the following pillar, goal, and objective.
Pillar: Healthy and Safe Communities
Goal: Goal 4: Reduce the County’s overall homeless population by 10% each year by enhancing services through improved coordination and collaboration.
Objective: Objective 3: Increase investment in programs that treat underlying causes of homelessness, including substance abuse, mental illness, poverty, and lack of affordable housing.
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
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Prior Board Actions:
10/24/2023: Adopted a personnel resolution extending time-limited positions and adopted a budget resolution to support the position allocations.
8/24/2021: Adopted a personnel resolution adding time-limited positions to support Housing Authority efforts.
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY25-26 Adopted |
FY26-27 Projected |
FY27-28 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
$ 505,573 |
513,000 |
|
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
|
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
$ 505,573 |
513,000 |
|
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
|
|
|
|
State/Federal |
$ 505,573 |
513,000 |
|
|
Fees/Other |
|
|
|
|
Use of Fund Balance |
|
|
|
|
General Fund Contingencies |
|
|
|
|
Total Sources |
$ 505,573 |
513,000 |
|
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
These positions will be funded via the ongoing Rental Assistance / Housing Voucher Program’s administrative fees of approximately $4.4 million. Appropriations will be included in the FY 26-27 recommended budget.
|
Staffing Impacts: |
|
|
|
|
Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
Additions (Number) |
Deletions (Number) |
|
Senior Office Assistant |
$5,036 - $6,123 |
0 |
0 |
|
Time-Limited Occupancy Specialist II |
$6,296 - $7,654 |
0 |
0 |
|
Time-Limited Community Development Program Coordinator |
$9,230 - $11,220 |
0 |
0 |
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
The Community Development Commission has identified the need to convert 1.0 time-limited FTE position to regular full time and extend two time-limited FTEs to June 30, 2027.
Attachments:
Department Allocation List Resolution
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
N/A