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Chief Administrative Office recommending Resolution 133-2008 amending the Authorized Personnel Allocation Resolution by adding one (1) Fiscal Administrative Manager position and deleting one (1) Deputy Director of Administration position; adding one (1) Associate Planner position and deleting one (1) Sr. Planner position; adding one (1) Development Technician I/II position and deleting one (1) Executive Secretary position; deleting three (3) additional Sr. Planner positions, one (1) Assistant Planner position, one (1) Sr. Civil Engineer position, one (1) Plans Examination Engineer position, one (1) Development Services Branch Manager position, two (2) Administrative Technician positions, one (1) Information Technology Department Specialist position, one (1) Sr. Development Technician position, two (2) Development Technician I/II positions and one (1) Assistant Building Inspector position; and further recommending Human Resources Department implement a reduction in force (RIF) if necessary for Administrative Technician, Information Technology Department Specialist, Sr. Development Technician, Development Technician I/II's and Assistant Building Inspector.
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Fiscal Impact/Change to Net County Cost: The recommended changes will have little to no effect on net county cost for fiscal year 2007-08. Salary savings will be offset with vacation/sick payouts. Savings of approximately $560,000 will be recognized in fiscal year 2008-09.
Background: With the slowdown in the housing market, planning and building revenues for the Development Services department have decreased. Specifically on the building permit side, permits for single family dwellings have decreased significantly while other smaller building permit activity has remained constant. The single family dwelling permits are the main source of revenue for this division. This division also handles the code enforcement duties for the County. Code enforcement is a discretionary service that generates little to no revenue for the County. These duties can be shifted to revenue generating activities during times of economic downturn. The Planning division is also receiving less revenue and several planning positions have been held vacant to help mitigate the effect of these lower revenues. The Board has expressed concern regarding the general fund subsidy for both planning and building activities. An option available to the County is to look at reducing the administrative overhead of the department to compensate for reduced revenue.
The Chief Administrative office is recommending the following changes to Development Services personnel allocations:
1) Add one Fiscal Administrative Manager and Delete one Deputy Director of Administration. The Fiscal Administrative Manager is a lower classification with a reduced compensation amount. The Fiscal Administrative Manager classification is appropriate for the size and complexity of the department.
2) Add one Associate Planner and delete one Sr. Planner. The department currently has an Associate Planner underfilling a Sr. Planner allocation. The Associate Planner is a lower classification with reduced compensation and is appropriate for the needs of the department.
3) Add one Development Tech I/II and delete one Executive Secretary. The department currently has a Development Tech I/II underfilling an Executive Secretary allocation. The Development Tech I/II classification is more appropriate for the department as this position creates more permit processing capacity.
4) Delete three Sr. Planner positions. These position are currently vacant within the department and are not necessary due to the current number of permits being processed. While the department does have some current planning backlog, there is not enough to warrant the addition of full time staff. The department is proposing to utilize extra-help over a three to six month period to eliminate this backlog.
5) Delete one Sr. Civil Engineer and one Plans Examination Engineer. These positions are currently vacant and hard to fill. The decreased workload does not warrant full time staff in these positions.
6) Delete one Development Services Branch Manager. This position is currently vacant. The closure of the El Dorado Hills office deletes the need for this additional branch manager.
7) Delete two Administrative Technicans and one Information Technology Department Specialist. Currently all three of these positions are filled and if deleted will result in a reduction in force. Reduced workload within the department results in less administrative workload. The Administrative Technicians are currently handling personnel issues, travel and training, and some basic accounting duties. There is administrative capacity within the department that these duties can be shifted to. The Department currently has two full time dedicated Information Technology (IT)staff. The proposed deletion would leave the department with one full time IT employee.
8) Delete one Sr. Development Technician, two Development Technician I/II's, and one Assistant Building Inspector. Currently all four of these positions are filled and if deleted will result in a reduction in force. The Code Enforcement division includes one Operations Supervisor, one Sr. Building Inspector, one Building Inspector II, one Sr. Development Technician and one Development Technician I/II. The department proposes deleting the Sr. Development Technician, two Development Technicians I/II and one Assistant Building Inspector. The Sr. Building Inspector and Building Inspector II, would be shifted out of Code Enforcement into the building division to handle current building activities. These positions are higher level positions with specialty training that provide depth and flexibility that is important to the department as functions need to be shifted due to economic uncertainties.
Reason for Recommendation: Implementing the reduction in force at this time will create twelve months of net county cost savings totaling approximately $560,000 for fiscal year 2008-09. Revenues have decreased significantly in the department and this right sizing is needed in order to maintain sustainable operations.
Action to be taken following Board approval: Board chair to sign new personnel resolution and forward a copy to Human Resources. Human Resources will compile and send out reduction in force letters to affected employees.
Contact: David Storer x5569
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