To: Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Sonoma County Public Infrastructure
Staff Name and Phone Number: Johannes J. Hoevertsz, 707-565-2231
Vote Requirement: 4/5th
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Organizational Changes Regarding Merging of General Services Department and Transportation and Public Works Department
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) Receive update on steps to consolidate the General Services Department and Transportation and Public Works Department including interim organizational structure.
B) Approve Sonoma County Public Infrastructure as the new department name of the merged departments .
C) Adopt a Resolution amending the Department Allocation list of the Sonoma County General Services Department to delete 1.0 FTE Account Clerk II and add a .50 FTE Senior Account Clerk effective December 13, 2022.
(4/5th Vote Required)
end
Executive Summary:
County staff continue working towards consolidation of General Services and Transportation and Public Works. This report shares the interim organizational structure, recommends some initial position allocation changes, and recommends a new name for the combined departments.
Discussion:
Background
On August 2, 2022, a consolidation of the General Services and Transportation Departments was approved, which also included the move of the General Services, Energy and Sustainability Division to the County Administrator’s Office (CAO). Direction was provided to staff of the appropriate departments to take the necessary steps to effectuate the consolidation. Following this direction, further steps have been taken to consolidate the General Services and Transportation Departments into one department.
New Department Name - Sonoma County Public Infrastructure Department
Consolidation of the two departments created need for a new department name inclusive of the various divisions and operational areas. After consideration and input from employees, Sonoma County Public Infrastructure (SPI) was selected as the department name going forward. This item requests formal approval and adoption of the new department name. The new name will be used officially to refer to the department.
Organizational Chart
Since Board approval of the consolidation, options have been analyzed for an organizational structure that meets the consolidated department’s operational needs at this stage of the consolidation. The SPI, County Human Resources, and CAO teams worked with a Human Resources (H/R) consultant that specializes in organizational development. All department divisions are being analyzed. At this stage of the analysis, there have been decisions made regarding parking, veterans services, County Purchasing, administration and fiscal, and information technology teams. The organizational chart addresses changes to duplicative administrative functions and the reporting structure of these functional areas. While the Department is recommending add/delete of some positions as part of the recommended action, no other position changes have been identified at this time. Prior to the submission of this report, in consultation with County Human Resources, the Department participated in a meet and confer process with union representatives to discuss impacts to staff with the proposed organizational chart.
The organizational chart (Attachment A) represents an interim plan to help the SPI achieve maximum efficiency and efficacy. Following is a high-level summary of proposed organizational changes:
• All administrative functions moved under a new Administrative Services section, including H/R, Fiscal and Accounting, Payroll, Information Technology (IT), County Purchasing, Customer Service, and Grants.
• Parking enforcement/Campus security and Veteran’s Building facilities moved under Facilities Operations.
The Department will continue to work with the consultant to identify efficiencies and will return to the Board with any future recommendations for position changes. Long-term organizational structure and analysis will focus on aggregating functional areas with the goal of maximizing skill sets and maximizing organizational efficiencies, particularly in the general administrative and operational functional areas.
Proposed Position Changes
As organizational structures were being analyzed, certain position changes were determined necessary to support the needs of the newly combined department.
Currently the General Services Department Position Allocation List includes 2.0 FTE Account Clerk positions. One position is currently vacant, and the department is requesting the deletion of 1.0 FTE Account Clerk II position, and the addition of .50 Senior Account Clerk. This elevated position will provide the necessary higher level account clerk functions and will allow for more flexibility in coverage across the divisions. Additionally, the .50 position will bring the existing Senior Account Clerk FTE position to a 1.0 FTE.
Position Classification Studies
The General Services Department, Facilities Operations Division has a 1.0 FTE Assistant Facility Manager position who is responsible for the maintenance of county buildings, including managing a team of 4.0 direct reports (supervisors), and 22.0 indirect reports comprised of building mechanics and a janitorial supervisor. The proposed organizational chart would expand this scope of responsibility to include oversight of Veteran’s Buildings and campus parking and security, which includes two supervisor positions and 2.5 other positions. With these expanded duties and to provide the appropriate level of management and oversight for county facility operations, the department will work with HR to conduct a reclassification study over the coming months to determine whether a Facility Manager position is the most appropriate classification to perform the management level responsibilities necessitated for Facility Operations and this organizational structure.
The department will continue to analyze any vacant positions prior to submission of the recommended budget for any position changes. Other job classification changes will be required to fully implement the consolidation of the two departments including determining the most appropriate job class to manage the division that is responsible for overseeing administrative functions, accounting/fiscal, IT, County purchasing, and customer service. The Department is currently working with Human Resource to create a new job classification for an executive level position responsible for managing the Administrative Division as shown on Attachment A. It is expected that this will come to the Board for consideration in early 2023. The position is critical to the organizational structure.
SPI will continue to work with H/R to facilitate the necessary position changes.
Next Steps
The Department will continue to work toward full, formal consolidation of the General Services and Transportation and Public Works Departments, including with regard to fiscal/budget arrangements, human resources systems, delegations of authority, position allocation and job classifications, and legal references in the Sonoma County Code. An internal working group continues to identify needed steps and required timing and processes for measures to complete the merger over the next year. Human Resources will work with SPI to prioritize classification analyses in support of organizational recommendations with anticipated timeline for completion in early 2023. SPI budget and position allocation structural changes in the County’s financial and human resources systems are anticipated to be in place for the development of the FY 24/25 budget. Further action items will be brought to your Board via the FY 24/25 Recommended budget or, if required/appropriate via separate board action.
Strategic Plan:
N/A
Prior Board Actions:
8/2/2022 Consolidation of Transportation and Public Works, and General Services Departments
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY 22-23 Adopted |
FY23-24 Projected |
FY 24-25 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
$(24,964) |
$(52,425) |
$(55,046) |
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
|
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
$(24,964) |
$(52,425) |
$(55,046) |
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
$(24,964) |
$(52,425) |
$(55,046) |
|
State/Federal |
|
|
|
|
Fees/Other |
|
|
|
|
Use of Fund Balance |
|
|
|
|
Contingencies |
|
|
|
|
Total Sources |
$(24,964) |
$(52,425) |
$(55,046) |
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
The proposed deletion of 1.0 FTE Account Clerk II and the addition of 0.50 Senior Account Clerk would result in a net General Fund savings of ($24,964) for FY 22-23.
|
Staffing Impacts: |
|
|
|
|
Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
Additions (Number) |
Deletions (Number) |
|
Account Clerk II |
$3,857.69 - $4,687.32 |
|
-1.0 |
|
Senior Account Clerk |
$4,254.25 - $5,170.84 |
0.50 |
|
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
This request would delete 1.0 FTE Account Clerk II and add 0.50 FTE Senior Account Clerk. There are no affected employees by this action.
Attachments:
Attachment A - Interim Organizational Chart
Attachment B - Position Allocation Resolution
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None.