Title
Chief Administrative Office, Office of Wildfire Preparedness and Resilience, recommending the Board approve and authorize the Chair to sign Resolution 047-2024, amending the Authorized Personnel Allocation Resolution 088-2023, adding four (4) full time equivalent (FTE) positions, including 1 FTE Sr. Administrative Analyst, 1 FTE Administrative Analyst I/II, and 2 FTE Defensible Space Inspector I/II.
FUNDING: State and Federal Grant Funds (90%), General Fund (10%).
Body
DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
As the Office of Wildfire Preparedness and Resilience (OWPR) continues to evolve and expand its programs and efforts to promote creating a more fire-adapted and resilient El Dorado County, staff regularly evaluate current capacity and additional resources needed to implement new projects, manage existing large-scale grant funded projects, and enhance existing programs within OWPR. As part of this evaluation, it was determined that in order to successfully manage this increasing workload, additional staff are necessary. The additional costs are estimated to be 90% grant-funded. The remaining 10% is offset by reductions in Services and Supplies due to the reduction of contracts for defensible space inspections.
In October 2023, OWPR submitted a request to Human Resources to evaluate the requested positions to determine the appropriate classifications based on the anticipated workload and scope for each. Human Resources has confirmed that the proposed work is appropriate for the classifications requested.
Provided below is information and an overview of the key duties/tasks for each proposed position.
Sr. Administrative Analyst:
This position will be tasked with serving as the project manager for the Weber Creek Project, an approximately $25 million dollar grant project funded through the California Wildfire Mitigation Program. Under this project, the County is tasked with implementing a comprehensive pilot program to perform defensible space and home hardening retrofit measures on existing residential homes in the Weber Creek Project area, spanning approximately 850 acres and containing 525 homes. Due to the critical nature and volume of work for this Project, additional staff are needed to effectively implement and oversee the Project. This position will be responsible for administering this project and coordinating contracts for defensible space clearing and home hardening work as well as ensuring collaboration and coordination across multiple agencies and organizations, including CAL FIRE, Cal OES, FEMA, the City of Placerville, the Placerville Fire Safe Council, El Dorado County Fire, other County departments, and private contractors. Anticipated duties for this position include, but are not limited to:
• Initiating RFQs/RFPs for construction services contracts to complete the defensible space clearing and home hardening work
• Negotiating, developing, and administering contracts and contract work orders with contractors to complete the work, estimated to be more than 1,000
• Completing quarterly reporting per grant requirements
• Tracking project completeness, both overall and for each phase of work for each property
• Leading the public outreach and messaging campaign to inform property owners within the project area of the opportunity
• Coordinating the completion and submittal of individual property owner applications and right of entry forms
• Providing regular project status updates to the OWPR Coordination Group, CAO, and Board
Upon completion of the Weber Creek Project and CWMP grant program, estimated to end in summer 2026, this position will be tasked with identifying, evaluating, and applying for additional large-scale project grants and managing future grant projects consistent with the mission of OWPR.
Administrative Analyst I/II:
This position will primarily be tasked with filling OWPR’s Fire Safe Coordinator role, which was previously funded through a CAL FIRE County Coordinator Grant Program under the California Fire Safe Council and contracted out with the El Dorado Georgetown Divide Resource Conservation District. The purpose of this coordinator role is to educate, encourage, and develop county-wide collaboration and coordination among various wildfire mitigation groups, including the now 31 associate fire safe councils in El Dorado County. Primary goals include building a consensus of all active wildfire mitigation groups throughout the County, identifying and analyzing gaps in county-wide wildfire resilience and preparedness with recommendations to fill the gaps, and developing mechanisms to enhance public outreach and coordination efforts.
Using the previous grant award and position as a base foundation, OWPR has recognized the importance that this coordinator role will play in both community engagement and education as well as coordination of mitigation efforts and projects across the many partner agencies of the County. Anticipated duties for this position include, but are not limited to:
• Attending the El Dorado County Fire Safe Council and associate fire safe council meetings
• Participating in fire safe council committees, such as grants and public outreach
• Representing OWPR at various public events and workshops
• Representing the County and OWPR at the California Fire Safe Council meetings
• Assisting with the coordination and education for Firewise Communities
• Assisting with the coordination and engagement of fire safe councils during the County’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) Update Project
• Assisting with the development of the CWPP Project Dashboard and long-term communication of CWPP project implementation and tracking with stakeholder groups and the public
Funding through the California Fire Safe Council for this coordinator position is expected to become effective in April 2024 upon the Board’s acceptance of the grant and continue through December 2024. It’s anticipated that future grants through the California Fire Safe Council will continue to be available to fund this on an ongoing basis; however, OWPR has identified alternative grant funding through a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) grant that is also anticipated to be awarded in Spring 2024 and can reallocate grant funding under the BLM grant if necessary to fund the coordinator position in future years should funding not be available through the California Fire Safe Council beyond December 2024.
Defensible Space Inspector I/II:
As with the Sr. Administrative Analyst position above, the two (2) proposed Defensible Space Inspector I/II positions will be primarily tasked with supporting the County’s efforts on the Weber Creek Project. Upon the award of Phase 2 funding under this grant project, these positions will be tasked with conducting defensible space and home hardening assessments, making and documenting written recommendations for vegetation and home hardening mitigation measures, assisting homeowners with completing required applications and right-of-entry forms, and documenting progress and completion of the mitigation work for each of the 525 properties within the project area.
Additionally, these proposed positions will be responsible for further implementing the County’s Defensible Space Program and completing defensible space inspections that have previously been contracted out with the El Dorado Hills Fire Department. Anticipated duties for this position include, but are not limited to:
• Coordinating and conducting defensible space inspections, both proactively for County Emphasis Areas and in response to complaints received
• Maintaining detailed records of inspections completed
• Educating homeowners on defensible space requirements and wildfire safety and preparedness
• Representing OWPR and the County at various public outreach events and meetings
• Assisting with the development of educational material and messaging related to fire prevention
As these Defensible Space Inspector positions will be required to be out in the community on a daily basis, the addition of an all-wheel drive truck is needed with an estimated cost of $35,000 (General Fund). Appropriations for this Fleet vehicle will be added at Fiscal Year 2024-25 Adopted Budget.
Recognizing the additional workload associated with the grant funded projects, associated implementation timelines, and other initiatives noted above as well as the continued evolution of OWPR and its programs, staff is recommending the Board approve this request. Upon approval, OWPR will work with Human Resources to recruit for and fill the positions during the current Fiscal Year.
ALTERNATIVES
The Board may choose to reject or make changes to the proposed staffing allocations.
PRIOR BOARD ACTION
N/A
OTHER DEPARTMENT / AGENCY INVOLVEMENT
Human Resources supports the proposed classifications and County Counsel approved the Resolution.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
There is no change to Net County Cost associated with this item. Sufficient savings exist in the Fiscal Year 2023-24 budget to cover the cost of the additional vehicle as well as the requested positions for the remainder of the fiscal year. Additionally, these positions are anticipated to be largely offset through various state and grant funding. Funding to cover costs associated with the Defensible Space Inspector I/II positions for activities not eligible for grant reimbursement in future years will be available through a reduction in professional services for defensible space inspections previously contracted out. A breakdown of the anticipated costs and funding sources is provided below.
1.0 FTE Sr. Administrative Analyst - $146,000/year and funded by the Weber Creek CWMP Grant through FY 2025-26
1.0 FTE Administrative Analyst I/II - $121,000/year and funded by a combination of California Fire Safe Council and BLM grant funding through FY 2028-29
2.0 FTE Defensible Space Inspector I/II - $173,000/year (total annual cost) and funded by a combination of the Weber Creek CWMP Grant through FY 2025-26 and budget savings as a result of decreased appropriations for professional services
If the positions are filled in the current fiscal year before grant funding is available, the costs will be absorbed by salary savings in the program. Going forward on an annual basis, the costs should be fully covered by grants with the exception of an estimated 25% of the defensible space inspector salaries ($43,250), for non-grant related defensible space program activities. This cost is offset by a reduction in Services and Supplies for outside contracts for defensible space inspections.
CLERK OF THE BOARD FOLLOW UP ACTIONS
1) Clerk of the Board to provide a copy of the executed Resolution to Michael Reddin in Human Resources; and
2) Clerk of the Board to provide a copy of the executed Budget Transfer to the Chief Administrative Office, Central Fiscal Division, for further processing.
STRATEGIC PLAN COMPONENT
Good Governance, Public Safety
CONTACT
Tom Meyer, Program Manager
Office of Wildfire Preparedness and Resilience