To: Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Probation
Staff Name and Phone Number: Vanessa Fuchs, 707-565-2731
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Probation Department Staffing Update
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Adopt a Resolution to Amend the Probation Department's Position Allocation Listing to delete a vacant 1.0 Account Clerk II and add a 1.0 Accounting Technician, effective December 23, 2025.
end
Executive Summary:
The Probation Department’s Accounting Unit conducted an evaluation of staffing resources that work on collecting Court Ordered restitution payments and distributing them to victims. In light of evolving legislative changes, paired with a substantial change in the software used to manage this work, the department determined that a higher-level accounting position is necessary. Probation recommends deleting a vacant 1.0 Account Clerk II and adding a 1.0 Accounting Technician to better align with operational needs.
Discussion:
The Accounting Unit in the Probation Department processes court-ordered restitution payments due to victims, the total value of which currently stands at over $30 million, with about $1 million collected annually. This work has recently experienced notable changes which caused the Department to evaluate its staffing to ensure alignment with the current work. The changes that triggered this review are as follows:
• Legislative Changes: restitution collection is frequently impacted by changing legislative requirements, as well as regulatory requirements related to communication standards related to payments due. The most recent example of this is AB 1186, which prohibits the collection of restitution fines after 10 years and which requires that staff review, reconcile and adjust such accounts monthly. When changes arise, an impact analysis must be completed and internal procedures must be updated, which includes completing internal staff training to ensure compliance with new procedures.
• Software Changes: in June 2025, the software collection platform used to complete restitution collections underwent a major upgrade. This upgrade is beneficial because it allows for work to be done more effectively. There are two long-term impacts of this change that have raised the level of staffing expertise needed in the Accounting Unit. First, the prior platform had been substantially supported by the Auditor’s Office due to a collaborative ownership of the platform. Now, Probation is the sole owner of the new platform and has new responsibilities because of the change. Examples of new responsibilities as a result of this change are as follows: build, test and maintain complex distribution tables per the State Controller’s Office Trial Court Revenue Distribution Guidelines, regularly complete mass imports and exports of data to be used for data validation and to assist other accounting staff with their daily work, work with the vendor to configure new reports, and provide specifications to the vendor to comply with new regulations. This includes testing changes and creating instructions to all Accounting staff on how to implement these changes. Second, the new system will also ultimately require less manual work, freeing time to be spent on deeper analytical reviews of financial records, which should improve collections outcomes, but changes the nature of the work in the Accounting Unit to require capacity for higher level data analysis.
As a result of these changes, the department completed a program change request outlining the new responsibilities for the unit, recommended deleting a 1.0 Account Clerk II and replacing it with a 1.0 Accounting Technician. This change in job class reflects the increased complexity and shifting requirements completed within that unit. Human Resources concurs with this recommendation.
Strategic Plan:
This item directly supports the County’s Five-year Strategic Plan and is aligned with the following pillar, goal, and objective.
Pillar: Organizational Excellence
Goal: Goal 3: Become an employer of choice with a diverse workforce that reflects our community, and an employer with a positive work culture that builds engaged and developed employees.
Objective: Objective 3: Support employee professional growth and retention by investing in high quality training, development, and leadership programs.
Ensuring that job classes are correct and align with the work to be done is a key element of supporting staff by ensuring that their work is well understood and valued.
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Prior Board Actions:
None
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY25-26 Adopted |
FY26-27 Projected |
FY27-28 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
$17,442 |
$17,965 |
$18,504 |
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
|
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
$17,442 |
$17,965 |
$18,504 |
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
$17,442 |
$17,965 |
$18,504 |
|
State/Federal |
|
|
|
|
Fees/Other |
|
|
|
|
Use of Fund Balance |
|
|
|
|
General Fund Contingencies |
|
|
|
|
Total Sources |
$17,442 |
$17,965 |
$18,504 |
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
The costs above reflect the total salary and benefit cost increase of deleting an Account Clerk II and adding an Accounting Technician. Probation can absorb this cost within its annual budget and is not seeking additional General Fund support for this position.
|
Staffing Impacts: |
|
|
|
|
Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
Additions (Number) |
Deletions (Number) |
|
0402- Account Clerk II |
$4,937.78 - $6,002.21 |
0.0 |
1.0 |
|
0404- Accounting Technician |
$5,777.84 - $7,021.42 |
1.0 |
0.0 |
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
The Account Clerk II position is currently vacant, as such, there are no direct staffing impacts as a result of this change.
Attachments:
Personnel Resolution
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None