To: Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Permit Sonoma
Staff Name and Phone Number: Scott Orr, Interim Director, (707) 565-1754; Alex Rosas, Engineering Division Manager, (707) 565-3507
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Permit Sonoma Position Allocation Change Request for County Surveyor's Office
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Adopt a Resolution amending the Permit Sonoma Department Allocation list to add a 1.0 full-time equivalent Associate Land Surveyor allocation and delete a 1.0 full-time equivalent Engineering Technician III allocation, effective September 23, 2025.
end
Executive Summary:
Permit Sonoma is requesting deletion of 1.0 FTE vacant Engineering Technician III position and addition of 1.0 FTE Associate Land Surveyor to support work performed by the County Surveyor’s office.
This request will replace a non-licensed support position with a permanent licensed land surveyor position. The new, licensed position will provide greater professional oversight to the work performed by the County Surveyor’s office, will ensure a licensed surveyor professional is available to perform the duties of the County Surveyor during periods of absence, and will support Permit Sonoma in developing a succession plan for leadership changes in the County Surveyor’s Office. Succession planning for this role is critical, as filling the position has historically been challenging and often requires reliance on retiree extra help support from former County Surveyors. While this approach has provided short-term coverage, it is not a sustainable long-term solution.
Discussion:
Background
The County Surveyor’s office is responsible for administering and reviewing subdivision maps and processing various entitlements (certificates of compliance, records of survey, corner records, summary vacations, etc.) and ensures compliance with recording requirements. The County Surveyor’s office currently has 2.0 Engineering Technician III allocations, and 1.0 Licensed Land Surveyor allocation appointed by the Board of Supervisors to serve as the official County Surveyor, in accordance with California Government Code § 27550. In the past 15 years, twice have County Surveyors retired, leaving the department without a licensed professional to perform the survey duties required by state law. These departures created a critical staffing gap that could not be filled by existing non-licensed staff. To comply with state law and until such time a new County Surveyor was hired, the Board of Supervisors appointed retired County Surveyors to serve as interim County Surveyor in a retiree extra help capacity. This approach is not sustainable as former County Surveyors may be unwilling or unavailable to assist and may not be an option in the future County Surveyor departures.
The Human Resources department conducted a classification job study of the Licensed Land Surveyor classification and determined a new journey-level Associate Land Surveyor classification would provide the department with the ability to have a lower-level professional surveyor position, supervised by a Licensed Land Surveyor, to provide additional surveying support as well as continuity and coverage when the Licensed Land Surveyor is not available. The study also found that a new entry-level Assistant Land Surveyor position would provide unlicensed staff to learn to perform and assist with a variety of professional and para-professional land surveying work, as well as to create a career pathway for Engineering Technicians. To this end, two new job classes of Assistant and Associate Land Surveyor were established by the Board of Supervisors on September 16, 2025.
Request
With the establishment of the new Associate Land Surveyor classification, Permit Sonoma is requesting deletion of 1.0 FTE vacant Engineering Technician III position and addition of 1.0 FTE Associate Land Surveyor. This position will be responsible for reviewing and approving various survey-related maps and documents for compliance with county regulations and standards as well as state law requirements, assume more complex work assignments and provide more professional oversight to the work performed by the County Surveyor’s office. With the added position, the office’s efficiency and service will be enhanced by allowing more work to be assumed by the additional licensed professional, freeing up the County Surveyor’s capacity to focus on complex projects, speed up reviews and approvals, and supporting mentorship and development of staff. The position will also provide critical coverage of the duties of the County Surveyor during periods of absence and allow Permit Sonoma to develop a succession plan for future workforce transitions.
Strategic Plan:
N/A
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Prior Board Actions:
9/16/25 The Board established new classifications and set the salaries for Assistant Land Surveyor and Associate Land Surveyor, effective September 16, 2025.
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY25-26 Adopted |
FY26-27 Projected |
FY27-28 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
$22,511 |
$34,779 |
$35,823 |
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
$22,511 |
$34,779 |
$35,823 |
|
Total Expenditures |
|
|
|
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
$6,753 |
$10,434 |
$10,747 |
|
State/Federal |
|
|
|
|
Fees/Other |
$15,758 |
$24,345 |
$25,076 |
|
Use of Fund Balance |
|
|
|
|
General Fund Contingencies |
|
|
|
|
Total Sources |
$22,511 |
$34,779 |
$35,823 |
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
The difference in annual salary and benefits cost between the Engineering Technician III and Associate Land Surveyor position is $22,511 in FY 2025-26 (prorated for 8 of 12 months; anticipating a start date in November 2025). The FY 2025-26 budget has sufficient expenditure appropriations to absorb the increased cost through savings in the extra-help expense already programmed but not anticipated to be utilized. Future years will be funded by a combination of fees for services 70% and general fund 30%.
|
Staffing Impacts: |
|
|
|
|
Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
Additions (Number) |
Deletions (Number) |
|
Engineering Technician III |
$7,903 - $9,608 |
|
(1.0) |
|
Associate Land Surveyor |
$9,823 - $11,940 |
1.0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
This request will add 1.0 Associate Land Surveyor full-time equivalent position and delete 1.0 vacant Engineering Technician III full-time equivalent position.
Attachments:
Resolution
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
N/A