To: County of Sonoma Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Department of Health Services
Staff Name and Phone Number: Tina Rivera, 707-565-4774
Vote Requirement: 4/5th
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Department of Health Services Staffing Allocations
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) Adopt a personnel resolution amending the Department of Health Services allocation list to add 1.20 full-time equivalent positions as detailed in the attached resolution, effective April 4, 2023.
B) Adopt a resolution authorizing budgetary adjustments to the fiscal year 2022-2023 adopted budget, appropriating $52,008 to reflect revenue and expenditures associated with the requested position allocations. (4/5th vote required)
(4/5th Vote Required)
end
Executive Summary:
The Department of Health Services (DHS or “the Department”) is centralizing of all department human resources (HR) functions into an HR unit within DHS Administration. The DHS HR unit has identified a need to add 1.00 full-time equivalent (FTE) Senior Office Assistant (SOA). The position allocation is key to centering all of the HR functions as it is a critical to coordinate interviews, preparing documents, maintaining records, and providing status updates for all referred candidates as timely as possible.
The Health Data and Epidemiology (HDE) unit was established in DHS Administration in late 2022. Evaluation and epidemiology functions and associated staff previously housed within the Health Policy, Planning and Equity (HPPE) unit (formerly known as Health Policy, Planning and Evaluation) have been moved to the HDE unit within DHS Administration. The HDE unit is responsible for processing and analyzing a large volume of health-related data and is in need of staff to assist with data management and quality. This Item requests adding a 0.20 FTE Department Analyst allocation to a currently vacant 0.80 FTE to increase the allocation to 1.00 FTE.
This item also requests approval of a resolution authorizing budgetary adjustments to the fiscal year 2022-2023 adopted budget, funding in the amount of $52,008 for fiscal year 2022-2023 costs. Annualized cost for adding these positions is $127,943 with $10,000 in one-time costs in year one to be funded with a mixture of the Departments funding sources through the allocation of shared Administration costs.
Discussion:
Senior Office Assistant (1.00 FTE) - Human Resources Unit
DHS has made the centralization of all human resources HR functions into the centralized HR unit within DHS Administration a priority. The DHS human resources (HR) unit is currently understaffed and unable to effectively manage the workload, as DHS currently has a 22% vacancy rate with over 135 vacancies to recruit and fill. The DHS HR unit has identified a need to add 1.00 full-time equivalent (FTE) Senior Office Assistant (SOA) position allocation to support centralized HR efforts. The SOA will perform a critical function, with duties including interview coordination, document preparation, and record maintenance. The SOA will also be responsible for providing status updates for all referred candidates as timely as possible. This item requests approval to add a 1.00 FTE SOA allocation to the HR unit within DHS Administration.
The overall benefit of adding a 1.00 SOA allocation is the increase operational efficiency for supporting post recruiting efforts including the scheduling of interviews and other recruiting support functions associated with Department vacancies. The benefit aligns with the goal to align all HR functions into the centralized DHS HR unit.
Department Analyst (0.20 FTE) - Health Data and Epidemiology Unit
The Health Data and Epidemiology (HDE) unit was established in DHS Administration in late 2022, instead of being housed within the Health Policy, Planning and Equity (HPPE) unit (. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for DHS to strengthen the evaluation and epidemiology functions. The HDE unit is responsible for processing and analyzing a large volume of health-related data and is in need of staff to assist with data management and quality. The HDE unit currently has a vacant 0.80 FTE Department Analyst position allocation, with a need to increase the allocation to 1.00 FTE. This item requests approval to add a 0.20 FTE DA allocation to the HDE unit within DHS Administration.
The Department Analyst role will provide ongoing support to help ensure that data is complete and high quality and will facilitate the County’s ability to meet California Department of Public Health requirements for hospitalization and death record review and data entry. Without this role in place, epidemiologists would need to do this data management work themselves which would delay their ability to fulfill analytic requests and underutilize their highly specialized skillsets and training.
To support the requested position allocations, this item includes a request for approval of a resolution authorizing budgetary adjustments to the fiscal year 2022-2023 adopted budget, funding in the amount of $52,008 for fiscal year 2022-2023 costs. Annualized cost for adding these positions is $127,943 with $10,000 in one-time costs in year one to be funded with a mixture of the Departments funding sources through the allocation of shared Administration costs.
Strategic Plan:
N/A
Prior Board Actions:
N/A
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY 22-23 Adopted |
FY 23-24 Projected |
FY 24-25 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
|
$131,738 |
$135,642 |
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
$52,008 |
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
$52,008 |
$131,738 |
$135,642 |
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
|
|
|
|
State/Federal |
$52,008 |
$131,738 |
$135,642 |
|
Fees/Other |
|
|
|
|
Use of Fund Balance |
|
|
|
|
Contingencies |
|
|
|
|
Total Sources |
$52,008 |
$131,738 |
$135,642 |
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
Senior Office Assistant (1.00 FTE) - Human Resources Unit
The payroll cost of the SOA will be approximately $32,165 in FY 22-23 for base salary/wages and benefits. A 3% cost-of-living increase is assumed for each of the two subsequent years. One-time costs for computer equipment and office furniture of $10,000 would be expensed in FY 22-23.
Annualized cost for adding the SOA position is $118,100. The funding source for the SOA will be DHS administrative allocation, which is a blended sum of all state and federal revenues from each division for which the SOA is assigned work. Actual cost can be calculated based on direct billing to each division.
Department Analyst (0.20 FTE) - Health Data and Epidemiology Unit
The incremental cost from adding the 0.20 FTE of $9,843 will be paid for from DHS administrative allocation charged to all divisions within DHS. The admin allocation cost is covered by all federal and state revenues coming into the divisions throughout the fiscal year.
|
Staffing Impacts: |
|
|
|
|
Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
Additions (Number) |
Deletions (Number) |
|
Department Analyst |
6,250.92 - 7,598.86 |
0.20 |
0.0 |
|
Senior Office Assistant |
3,916.83 - 4,760.37 |
1.00 |
0.0 |
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
If approved, the Department will coordinate with County Human Resources to process recruitments. It is anticipated that the process will be initiated within a one-month timeframe following approval.
Attachments:
Attachment 1 - Personnel Resolution
Attachment 2 - Budget Resolution
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None