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 Board of Directors of the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District
Department or Agency Name(s): County Administrator’s Office and Human Resources Department
Staff Name and Phone Number: Christina Cramer, 707-565-2988
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Establishment of Office of Equity
End
Recommended Action:
Recommended action
A) Receive report on the Office of Equity and the recruitment plan for Equity Officer.
B) Adopt a Concurrent Resolution establishing the Office of Equity.
C) Adopt a Concurrent Resolution amending the Salary Resolution 95-0926, Salary Tables, to establish the job classification of Equity Officer, effective August 18, 2020.
D) Adopt a Resolution establishing the Office of Equity department allocations of 1.0 Equity Officer, and 1.0 Administrative Aide, and adding .7 FTE Administrative Aide to the Human Resources Department, effective August 18, 2020.
E) Adopt Resolution establishing the Office of Equity department FY 2020-21 Budget of $535,842 and adding $71,447 to the Human Resources Department FY 2020-21 Budget, both financed with General Fund Contingencies (4/5th Vote Required)
end
Executive Summary:
On July 7, the Board of Supervisors approved staff recommendations to establish an Office of Equity and an Interim Equity Officer. This report and Resolutions formally establishes the Office of Equity, the job classification of Equity Officer, and establishes an additional position for administrative needs within the Office of Equity. The third staff position in the new office that will support program needs will come back to the Board for approval after the permanent Equity Officer is appointed and can provide input to the appropriate job classification that is needed. The recommendations include restoring administrative support to the Commissions on the Status of Women and Human Rights. The report also states the tentative recruitment plan for the Equity Officer and presents for adoption resolutions codifying the establishment of the new department, as well as authorizing the two initial positions and the leased space, services and supplies budget of $535,842 for the two, financed with FY 2020-21 General Fund Contingencies.
Discussion:
On July 7, 2020 the Sonoma County Board of Supervisor’s (Board) affirmed a new strategic priority of Racial Equity and Social Justice. At this meeting, the Board agreed to staff recommendations to establish a new department, the Office of Equity. Staff committed to returning to the Board as soon as possible for the formal, administrative components to establish the Office of Equity and positions. Additionally, staff assisted the Board with a selection process for an Interim Equity Officer, which resulted in Alegria De La Cruz taking on the role.
Human Resources developed the job classification of Equity Officer. The position will be responsible for planning, organizing, and managing the development and implementation of equity programs for the County of Sonoma; will plan, lead, and promotes diversity, equity and inclusion strategies and activities including policy analysis and development, data analysis, interdepartmental coordination, and community collaboration; will manage the staff directly assigned to the office; and perform related duties as required. Attachment A is the full job classification. The Interim Equity Officer and other employees who have been involved in equity working groups at the County provided feedback to the position as part of the draft process.
Human Resources conducted a salary analysis to determine the appropriate salary range for the position following the County’s methodology of establishing salary for new job classes. Equity work is a fairly new focus in California County governments and the data was limited. Therefore, Human Resources is basing the salary recommendation on internal equity, whereby the new position was compared to department head positions with similar scope of responsibilities. Staff recommend the salary range for the Equity Officer be set at $12,194 - $14,824 as the monthly salary range ($146,328-$177,885/year). The attached Concurrent Resolution establishes the Equity Officer and salary range within the County’s Salary Resolution 95-1926.
Human Resources also evaluated the anticipated responsibilities of the new Office and recommend one additional position that was discussed in concept at the July 7, 2020 meeting - an Administrative Aide. The attached Resolution establishes the first phase Office of Equity position allocations, the Equity Officer and the Administrative Aide positions. The recruitment process for the Administrative Aide position will be opened this month. An interim staffing plan has been developed to the support the Interim Equity Office. A third program manager level position was approved in concept at the July 7 meeting, which will be added at a future date. Staff’s recommendation is to allow the permanent Equity Officer the opportunity to provide input on this position’s responsibilities and appropriate job classification based on their vision for the position.
Also at the July 7, 2020 meeting, the Board approved a shared administrative services model, which will provide professional level general administration support to the Office of Equity, specifically 20% of an administrative manager. This partial position will be added to the Office of Equity when the Board considers and adopts the FY 20/21 budget in the September 2020 budget hearings. Additionally, other budget aspects of the Office of Equity such as office space, services, and supplies are included in the budget estimates and Resolution regarding the Office’s budget.
Staff recommend the recruitment for the permanent Equity Officer commence in September.
Commissions on Status of Women and Human Rights
The Commissions have been placed under the Human Resources Department for over 15 years. Over the last several fiscal years, with challenges of successive budget reductions in the general fund, the staff support to these Commissions has been significantly reduced. Human Resources has worked with the Commissions to find creative ways to provide limited support, spread among a number of Human Resources positions, and re-tooling the Commissioner’s responsibilities to make up the balance of their administrative support needs. This situation has negatively affected the Commission’s ability to be effective. With the desire to emphasize equity work at the County and the fact that these Commission’s mission is about equity, staff recommend restoring administrative support to these Commissions with a .7 FTE Administrative Aide.
The new Equity Officer will work with Human Resources to determine the best long-term placement of these Commissions now that an Office of Equity has been established.
Prior Board Actions:
None.
Fiscal Summary
|
Expenditures |
FY20-21 Projected |
FY 21-22 Projected |
FY 22-23 Projected |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
0 |
$625,557 |
$644,273 |
|
Additional Appropriation Requested |
$607,289 |
N/A |
|
|
Total Expenditures |
$607,289 |
$625,557 |
$644,273 |
|
Funding Sources |
|
$625,557 |
$644,273 |
|
General Fund/WA GF |
|
|
|
|
State/Federal |
|
|
|
|
Fees/Other |
|
|
|
|
Use of Fund Balance |
|
|
|
|
Contingencies |
$607,289 |
|
|
|
Total Sources |
$607,289 |
$625,557 |
$644,273 |
Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
The above FY 20/21 fiscal impacts reflect the estimated cost of two position allocations only - Equity Officer and Administrative Aide in the Office of Equity, pro-rated, totaling $407,818, as well as pro-rated lease space and services and supplies costs projected to be $128,024. The estimates for FY 21/22 include the full year costs for the two positions, space, and services and supplies, and includes escalation estimates. Consistent with the Board’s 7/7/2020 direction, a shared administrative manager will be supporting the new department, and an additional program manager position was approved. Positions and costs associated with the administrative manager will be included in the FY 20/21 Budget, and once there is a determination of the program management position job class, the budget for this position will be added. The fiscal impacts also include the addition of a .7 FTE Administrative Aide in Human Resources, pro-rated for FY 20/21 for an amount of $71,447.
|
Staffing Impacts: |
|
|
|
|
Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
Additions (Number) |
Deletions (Number) |
|
Equity Officer |
$12,194-$14,824 |
1.0 |
|
|
Administrative Aide |
$4,713-$5,729 |
1.0 |
|
|
Administrative Aide |
$4,713-$5,729 |
.70 |
|
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
These reflect the new positions allocations for the Office of Equity.
Attachments:
1. Attachment: Equity Officer Job Classification
2. Resolution 1: Concurrent Resolution adding the Office of Equity
3. Resolution 2: Concurrent Resolution amending Salary Resolution No. 95-0926
4. Resolution 2: Appendix A - Salary Tables
5. Resolution 3: Office of Equity and Human Resources Department Allocation Table
6. Resolution 4: FY 2020-21 Office of Equity and Human Resources Budget
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None.