To: Board of Supervisors of the County of Sonoma, Board of Directors of the Sonoma County Water Agency, Board of Commissioners of the Community Development Commission, and the Board of Directors of the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District
Department or Agency Name(s): Human Resources Department
Staff Name and Phone Number: Janell Crane, 707-565-2885; Lisa Conner, 707-565-3207
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Miscellaneous Classification, Compensation, and Allocation Changes
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) Adopt a Concurrent Resolution amending Salary Resolution 95-0926, Salary Tables, to revise the classification title of Fire Services Officer to Assistant Fire Marshal and establish the new classification and salary of Deputy Fire Marshal, effective March 18, 2025.
B) Adopt a Resolution amending the Department Allocation Lists for the Human Resources Department and Sonoma Public Infrastructure, effective March 18, 2025.
end
Executive Summary:
The County’s Human Resources Department is responsible for managing the County-wide classification and compensation structure. Components of this responsibility include ensuring employees are appropriately classified, administering the County’s Compensation Plan, and assisting departments with organizational changes when they involve classification reviews.
Regularly, the department conducts classification and compensation analyses, develops reports, and presents recommendations to incumbents, unions, departments, and in many situations, the Civil Service Commission. However, four agencies (Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District, Community Development Commission, Sonoma County Fair, and Sonoma County Water Agency) are not governed by the County’s Civil Service System and the Board has sole authority to approve revisions to their classifications.
In this item before your Board today, Human Resources requests approval to extend a 1.0 full-time equivalent (FTE) Human Resources Analyst III - Project in the Human Resources Department to June 30, 2026, and implement recommendations resulting from classification and compensation studies for Permit Sonoma and Sonoma Public Infrastructure.
Discussion:
Human Resources
As part of the budget process for Fiscal Year 23-24, Human Resources (HR) added a 1.0 FTE Human Resources Analyst III - Project (HRA III - Project) with a sunset date of June 30, 2025, to increase staff capacity to meet the demands of an increasing recruitment workload from the Department of Health Services (DHS). The cost of the additional position was funded by DHS through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). At the time the HRA III - Project position was approved, the Department of Health Services had approximately 135 FTE vacancies which equated to just over a 21% vacancy rate.
Through significant recruitment efforts on the part of DHS and HR, as of February 4, 2025, the department has approximately 92 FTE vacancies which equates to an overall 12.5% vacancy rate. DHS still has several job classifications that remain hard to fill for a variety of reasons such as licensure/certification requirements, low employment rates, economic factors, and societal shifts. The recruitment challenges the County is experiencing mirror the challenges faced in the private and public healthcare/medical fields regionally and nationally, and this continues to be a critical issue as DHS staff provides state mandated services for some of the County’s most vulnerable populations.
The staffing model of one ongoing 1.0 FTE HRA III has been in place since FY 13-14. In FY 2023, DHS became concerned about their service levels due to a high number of vacancies, and as such, arranged to have an additional 1.0 FTE HRA III - Project to supplement their Recruitment and Classification (R&C) services. This staffing model has been possible as DHS subsidizes HR’s budget by providing reimbursement for the position through an MOU.
DHS has requested continuing the model in place since FY 23-24, where HR’s R&C unit has a 1.0 FTE HRA III and 1.0 FTE HRA III - Project. The latter 1.0 FTE is currently set to sunset on June 30, 2025. At this time, and in support of the current MOU between HR and DHS, HR seeks approval to extend the 1.0 FTE HRA - Project to June 30, 2026.
Permit Sonoma
CPS HR Consulting Services (CPS HR) conducted a classification study of the Fire Inspector classification series to ensure that the classification specifications and titles accurately reflected duties performed and that the training and certification minimum qualifications reflected current State of California requirements. Through the classification study process, the creation of a dedicated working supervisor Deputy Fire Marshal classification was recommended. To finalize the establishment of the new Deputy Fire Marshal class, CPS HR performed a compensation study to determine the appropriate salary range and Human Resources completed a Community of Interest.
Bargaining Unit and Fair Labor Standards Determinations:
In accordance with the County’s Employee Relations Policy, Human Resources conducted a Community of Interest analysis to determine the appropriate representation and bargaining unit for the new classification of Deputy Fire Marshal. The review determined representation by Sonoma County Administrative Management Council (SCAMC - 50) would be most appropriate, and that it should be exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Based on CPS HR’s evaluation of external market data and internal compensation alignment, Human Resources is recommending the salary for Deputy Fire Marshal be set at $13,662/top monthly step. For ongoing salary administration purposes, it is recommended that the new class be administered 9% below Fire Services Officer (retitled to Assistant Fire Marshal).
On December 19, 2024, the Civil Service Commission approved the revisions to the Fire Services Officer classification specification and established the Deputy Fire Marshal classification specification.
Therefore, Human Resources seeks approval to amend the Salary Resolution to re-title Fire Services Officer to Assistant Fire Marshal and establish the new classification and salary for Deputy Fire Marshal.
Sonoma Public Infrastructure (SPI)
At the request of the department and incumbent, Human Resources conducted a position review study for one Department Information Systems Coordinator in Sonoma Public Infrastructure. Through the classification study process and based on the duties, knowledge, skills, and abilities required, it was determined that the Department Information Systems Manager was an appropriate classification for the position which includes supervisory responsibilities, as well as information technology and technical systems duties, within and on behalf of the department, and for County-wide usage.
On February 20, 2025, the Civil Service Commission approved the reclassification of the studied position to the Department Information Systems Manager classification and the retention of the incumbent in accordance with Civil Service Rule 3.3B.
Strategic Plan:
N/A
Racial Equity:
Was this item identified as an opportunity to apply the Racial Equity Toolkit?
No
Prior Board Actions:
July 11, 2023 (item 29; 2023-0840): Board authorized the budget of HR Analyst III - Project.
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY24-25 Adopted |
FY25-26 Projected |
FY26-27 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
HR: $41,750 SPI: $2,578 |
HR: $213,000 SPI: $11,104 |
HR: $219,000 SPI: $11,795 |
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
|
|
|
|
Total Expenditures |
$44,328 |
$224,104 |
$230,795 |
|
Funding Sources |
|
|
|
|
General Fund/WA GF |
|
|
|
|
State/Federal |
|
|
|
|
Fees/Other |
HR: $41,750 |
HR: $213,000 |
HR: $219,000 |
|
Use of Fund Balance |
SPI: $2,578 |
SPI: $11,104 |
SPI: $11,795 |
|
General Fund Contingencies |
|
|
|
|
Total Sources |
$44,328 |
$224,104 |
$230,795 |
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
Human Resources
Appropriations for the position and its related reimbursement from DHS are available in the FY 24-25 Recruitment and Classification (10005-23010102) budget and will be included in the FY 25-26 Recommended Budget. The expenses for the position are recovered through an MOU between HR and DHS.
Permit Sonoma
There are no fiscal impacts.
Sonoma Public Infrastructure
Appropriations for this position change are available in the FY 24-25 SPI Admin Customer Support (10157-34400400) budget and will be included in future Recommended Budgets. All expenses incurred by the SPI Admin Customer Support Division are recovered through reimbursements from SPI operating divisions, including: Roads, Airport, Integrated Waste, Transit, Facilities Operations, Capital Projects, Real Estate, Purchasing, Veteran’s Buildings, and Fleet Operations.
|
Staffing Impacts: |
|
|
|
|
Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
Additions (Number) |
Deletions (Number) |
|
Department Information Systems Coordinator |
$9,689- $11,780 |
|
(1.0) |
|
Department Information Systems Manager |
$11,462 - $13,932 |
1.0 |
|
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
Human Resources
There are no staffing impacts to extending the Human Resources Analyst III - Project allocation to June 30, 2026.
Permit Sonoma
There are no staffing impacts associated with the creation of the Deputy Fire Marshal classification. Permit Sonoma may request approval to add an allocation at a future date.
Sonoma Public Infrastructure
There is no net change to the number of FTEs. The incumbent in the studied Department Information Systems Coordinator position will be retained in the Department Information Systems Manager allocation in accordance with Civil Service Rule 3.3B.
Attachments:
1. Resolution 1: Concurrent Resolution amending Salary Resolution 95‐0926, Salary Tables, to revise the classification title of Fire Services Officer to Assistant Fire Marshal and establish the new classification and salary of Deputy Fire Marshal.
2. Resolution 1: Attachment A ‐ Appendix A ‐ Salary Tables
3. Resolution 2: Resolution amending the Department Allocation Lists for the Human Resources Department and Sonoma Public Infrastructure.
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
1. Classification Study Report by CPS HR Consulting Services on Deputy and Assistant Fire Marshal
2. Classification Study Report on the Sonoma Public Infrastructure’s Department Information Services Coordinator Position