To: Sonoma County Board of Supervisors
Department or Agency Name(s): Human Services Department
Staff Name and Phone Number: Roy Dajalos (707) 565-7229
Vote Requirement: Majority
Supervisorial District(s): Countywide
Title:
Title
Human Services Department Appointment of Retiree Extra-Help
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Recommended Action:
Recommended action
Pursuant to Government Code §7522.56, approve the appointment of Tessa Svendsen as an Accountant III Retiree Extra-Help, in order to fill a critically needed position within 180 days of her retirement, with an appointment date as early as January 5, 2022.
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Executive Summary:
Pursuant to the California Public Employee’s Pension Reform Act (PEPRA), Government Code §7522.56, an exception can be made to reappoint a retiree as extra-help provided the governing body certifies that the appointment is necessary to fill a critically needed position, in those circumstances where 180 days from the date of retirement has not yet passed. This approval must be in a noticed public meeting and not on a consent calendar. The Human Services Department is requesting the appointment of Tessa Svendsen in a retiree extra-help capacity to provide assistance to the department’s finance branch.
Discussion:
Pursuant to the California Public Employee’s Pension Reform Act (PEPRA), Government Code §7522.56, an exception can be made to reappoint a retiree as extra-help provided the governing body certifies that the appointment is necessary to fill a critically needed position, in those circumstances where 180 days from the date of retirement has not yet passed. This approval must be in a noticed public meeting and not on a consent calendar. PEPRA includes other requirements in order for a retiree to be eligible for an Extra-Help appointment, such as not having accepted a retirement incentive and not having accepted unemployment arising out of prior public appointment. The individual and the Human Services Department have completed the Retiree Extra-Help Compliance Form certifying the appropriateness of this appointment.
Tessa Svendsen, Accountant III, retired on November 1, 2021. Tessa worked within HSD for 14 years and held the Accountant III position in the Fiscal Accounting Office (FAO) of the Finance Branch within the last 2 years. Ms. Svendsen started as an Account Clerk 14 years ago and held various job classifications within FAO until her ultimate promotion to the Accountant III classification. One of the critical duties performed by Ms. Svendsen for HSD was the filing of expense claims with the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), which nets approximately 66% of the annual revenues for HSD. The state report that Ms. Svendsen filed with CDSS on a quarterly basis is known as the County Expense Claim (CEC).
A full year before Ms. Svendsen’s retirement, she mentored and trained a fellow HSD accountant on how to file the CEC. Unfortunately, the employee being trained resigned two months prior to Ms. Svendsen’s retirement on 11/02/2021. Due to these unforeseen circumstances that disrupted the succession plan for this critical finance role, HSD is proposing to bring back Ms. Svendsen for up to 320 hours during the remainder of FY 2021-2022, whereupon Ms. Svendsen will oversee the training of a new accountant on completion of the CEC.
HSD has consulted with the Human Resources Department, which is supportive of the recommended action.
In accordance with Government Code section 7522.56, the HSD is asking the Board to certify as follows:
- Tessa Svendsen’ s appointment to Accountant III is necessary to fill a critically needed position within 180 days of her retirement date;
- Tessa Svendsen did not accept retirement incentives upon her retirement; and
- Tessa Svendsen’s appointment shall not exceed 960 hours per year.
- Per Internal Revenue Code section 401(a)(36), Tessa Svendsen meets the requirement of being of normal retirement age.
If the Board of Supervisors approves the foregoing certifications, Tessa Svendsen will be hired no earlier than January 5, 2022 as extra-help for the Accountant III position.
Strategic Plan:
N/A
Prior Board Actions:
None
Fiscal Summary
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Expenditures |
FY 21-22 Adopted |
FY22-23 Projected |
FY 23-24 Projected |
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Budgeted Expenses |
19,450 |
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Additional Appropriation Requested |
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Total Expenditures |
$19,450 |
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Funding Sources |
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General Fund/WA GF |
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State/Federal |
$19,450 |
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Fees/Other |
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Use of Fund Balance |
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Contingencies |
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Total Sources |
$19,450 |
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Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
The payroll cost of extra-help staff is a budgeted expense for FY 2021-2022.
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Staffing Impacts: |
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Position Title (Payroll Classification) |
Monthly Salary Range (A-I Step) |
Additions (Number) |
Deletions (Number) |
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Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
This is a Retiree Extra-Help appointment; no permanent allocations are being added or changed.
Attachments:
None
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
None