To: County of Sonoma Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Department of Health Services
Staff Name and Phone Number: Nolan Sullivan 707-565-4774, Rachel Rees 707-565-4712
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Assistant Public Health Laboratory Director Time-Limited Extension
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Adopt a Personnel Resolution amending the Department of Health Services Department Allocation List to extend a 1.0 Full-Time Equivalent time-limited Assistant Laboratory Director allocation through June 30, 2027, effective November 4, 2025.
end
Executive Summary:
The Department of Health Services is requesting approval to extend the existing 1.0 full-time equivalent time-limited Assistant Public Health Laboratory Director at the Sonoma County Public Health Laboratory through June 30, 2027 (currently funded through June 30, 2026).
This extension will provide essential supervisory, technical, and operational support as the Sonoma County Public Health Laboratory transitions to a new facility and navigates an increased regulatory workload during this period.
Discussion:
The Sonoma County Public Health Laboratory provides testing services for Sonoma, Mendocino, Lake, and Humboldt counties, serves as a training and reference resource for clinical laboratories, and supports medical providers in the diagnosis and control of communicable diseases.
The Assistant Public Health Laboratory Director role is currently funded through the LabAspire program, a state initiative designed to train future public health laboratory directors, supported by AB 107 <https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB107> California Future of Public Health HERO funds. Each LabAspire grant award may only be used for expenses associated with an identified fellow.
The existing time-limited Assistant Public Health Laboratory Director is a LabAspire fellow, with funding currently approved through June 30, 2026. The Department of Health Services (hereinafter “DHS” or “the Department”) is requesting to use realignment funds to extend this allocation through June 30, 2027, to maintain leadership and technical capacity during a critical transition period.
Facility Relocation and Operational Needs
In partnership with the Sheriff-Coroner’s Office, DHS is constructing a new facility to house both the Public Health Laboratory and Coroner’s operations. The current laboratory must vacate the Chanate property by the end of 2026 due to lease expiration.
The move is complex and will significantly increase regulatory and operational demands, including:
• Relocation, installation, validation, calibration, and documentation of all laboratory equipment
• Potential temporary suspension of on-site testing, requiring contracts with neighboring laboratories and specimen routing
• Maintenance of the cold chain during transfer of sensitive materials
• Safe transport of chemicals and specialized supplies
• Additional on-site regulatory assessments (Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program, National Shellfish Sanitation Program, and routine audits)
Assistant Public Health Laboratory Director Extension
On April 15, 2025, the Board of Supervisors approved the addition of one Time-Limited Assistant Public Health Laboratory Director allocation. There is currently one Public Health Laboratory Director, one Time-Limited Assistant Public Health Laboratory Director (APHLD), and one Time-Limited Assistant Public Health Laboratory Director - Project (APHLD - Project). The demands associated with the facility relocation, increased regulatory oversight, and regional service responsibilities can only be reasonably managed by maintaining the existing leadership structure throughout FY26-27. The APHLD and APHLD - Project serve distinct but complementary functions, one providing continuity as a LabAspire fellow and the other supporting operations and compliance.
The laboratory’s dual role as both a regional testing hub and a public health emergency responder requires expanded leadership capacity during this transition period. Even with one APHLD and one APHLD - Project in place, the volume and complexity of work, such as managing simultaneous regulatory audits, overseeing sensitive specimen and materials transfers, ensuring continuity of services during temporary service interruptions, and maintaining readiness to respond to communicable disease outbreaks, create a leadership workload that cannot be absorbed without the continuation of this position.
This request does not represent a permanent expansion of the Department’s allocation list, but rather a time-limited extension of existing resources to ensure uninterrupted public health laboratory services. The Assistant Public Health Laboratory Director will oversee quality improvement, technical excellence, daily operations, and regulatory compliance. Additionally, this position will provide supervisory and management support during the laboratory transition, ensuring continuity of essential public health laboratory services during the relocation period.
Approval of this extension will ensure the laboratory maintains high-quality laboratory services, meets regulatory requirements, and successfully completes the transition to its new facility while sustaining public health laboratory capacity for the region.
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 1: Expand integrated system of care to address gaps in services to the County’s most vulnerable.
Objective: Objective 2: Identify gaps in the Safety Net system of services and identify areas where departments can address those gaps directly, and seek guidance from the Board when additional resources and/or policy direction is needed.
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Prior Board Actions:
On April 15, 2025, the Board adopted a personnel Resolution amending the Department of Health Services Department Allocation List to add 1.0 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Time-Limited Assistant Public Health Laboratory Director - Project allocation through June 30, 2027.
On March 11, 2025, the Board adopted a resolution amending the Department of Health Services Department Allocation List to extend 1.0 Full-Time Equivalent Assistant Public Health Laboratory Director - Time-Limited through June 30, 2026, in alignment with approved extended state grant.
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY25-26 Adopted |
FY26-27 Projected |
FY27-28 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
$258,344 |
$266,094 |
|
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
|
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
$258,344 |
$266,094 |
|
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
|
|
|
|
State/Federal |
$258,344 |
|
|
|
Fees/Other |
|
|
|
|
Use of Fund Balance |
|
$266,094 |
|
|
General Fund Contingencies |
|
|
|
|
Total Sources |
$258,344 |
$266,094 |
|
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
The Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Adopted Budget includes appropriations for the position, funded by the LabAspire Grant through June 30, 2026.
This resolution also authorizes DHS to utilize 1991 Public Health Realignment funds to support the position through June 30, 2027. Funding and expenditures for Fiscal Year 2026-2027 will be included in the department’s annual budget request. The Public Health Realignment fund balance is projected to be approximately $56 million at the end of Fiscal Year 2026-2027.
|
Staffing Impacts: |
|
|
|
|
Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
Additions (Number) |
Deletions (Number) |
|
Assistant Public Health Laboratory Director |
10,171.23-12,360.97 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
No Staffing impacts, this is a request for extension through June 30, 2027.
Attachments:
Attachment 1: Personnel Resolution
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
N/A