Title
Chief Administrative Office recommending the Board:
1) Approve and adopt the new Assistant Director of Planning and Building class specification;
2) Adopt and authorize the Chair to sign Resolution 061-2020 to add one FTE Assistant Director of Planning and Building allocation to the Planning and Building Department, effective the first payperiod following adoption; and
3) Direct that the related budget changes be incorporated in the FY 2020-21 Recommended Budget, to be effective July 1, 2020.
FUNDING: General Fund, with some cost recovery through Permit Fees and Fines.
Body
DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND:
The Planning & Building Department has seen significant program changes over the past two years. These resulted from voter-approved initiatives relative to Commercial Cannabis, the adoption of a new ordinance relative to the permitting and monitoring of Vacation Home Rentals, and the decision to begin a more proactive approach to Code Enforcement, as well as additional code enforcement responsibilities relative to Vacation Home Rentals and Vegetation Management.
These additional programs and workload increases have expanded the scope of work and responsibility of the Planning and Building Director without the addition of management level staff to oversee these programs. As a result, the Board requested options for a reorganization of the Department to ensure the success of the wide variety of programs.
Under this model, a new Assistant Director, Planning & Building position would likely be responsible for direct oversight of the Vacation Home Rental, Code Enforcement and Cannabis programs. Cemeteries and Airports would be assigned to Planning and Building as well, and this position would provide oversight for those programs. Oversight of the Parks Division would be assigned to the Assistant Chief Administrative Officer. This structure will provide a true second-in-command for the Planning & Building Department, a position that does not currently exist but which is warranted based on the size and scope of responsibility, while also creating opportunity for greater succession planning and freeing up time for the Director to focus on the Planning, Building, and Economic Development functions.
ALTERNATIVES:
A second option that was considered, but determined not to be a preferred option, is to create a new department. Under this model, staff would recommend the Vacation Home Rental program and Code Enforcement program be transferred to a new department, which would also include other programs such as the Parks, Airports and Cemeteries divisions. This would decrease the scope of responsibility in the Planning & Building Department, and the new Department Head position could be funded by the deletion of a Deputy CAO position. While this is a viable option, it is not preferred as it removes related programs from Planning & Building, fails to address succession planning efforts, and new departments typically result in cost increases that cannot be anticipated at the time of creation.
PRIOR BOARD ACTION:
None.
OTHER DEPARTMENT / AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
Human Resources and Planning and Building.
CAO RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board approve this item.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
To fully offset the costs of this new position, a Deputy CAO position in the Chief Administrative Office would be deleted. The salary range for the Assistant Director position and the Deputy CAO position are identical. Following recruitment for the new Assistant Director position and deletion of the Deputy CAO position, there will be no additional cost associated with this item.
CLERK OF THE BOARD FOLLOW UP ACTIONS
Clerk of the Board to obtain signature of Chair on the attached Personnel Allocation Resolution and submit one (1) signed Personnel Allocation to Katie Lee in Human Resources.
STRATEGIC PLAN COMPONENT:
Good Governance
CONTACT
Don Ashton, Chief Administrative Officer