Memorandum
Date: April 23, 2024
To: The Honorable Lake County Board of Supervisors
From: Susan Parker, County Administrative Officer
Pam Samac, Human Resources Director
Subject: Consideration of the Classification, Compensation, Recruitment, and Retention Committee (CCRR) 2023-2024 Reclassification Cycle Findings and Recommendations
Executive Summary:
The Classification, Compensation, Recruitment, and Retention Committee (CCRR) has completed the review of department reclassification and salary adjustment requests that were submitted for FY 2023/2024 reclassification cycle. The Committee met, reviewed and discussed the requests, and made Committee recommendations.
In total, 7 Departments submitted 33 requests for review listed below.
1. Rich Ford, Assessor-Recorder Request and Justification
We have had numerous failed recruitments in the Appraiser classification. The Appraisers the county currently employs started as Deputy Assessor Recorders (DAR). To continue to function, we need to decrease our vacancies. Property tax and the revenue generated from them account for 50-55% of the discretionary budget of the County.
The responsibility for working the property tax resides with these employees. If the tax roll does not close, the County will not have proper funding. We will continue to develop from within our department, but to grow an Appraiser from the DAR position it takes approximately four years. This time frame is due to a California state requirement, that a candidate for an Appraiser license must have a four-year degree or four years working in the Assessor office or any combination thereof.
An Appraiser Aide cannot value properties under California state regulations. The shift to a higher grade is based on the work level and complexity. Having worked in both the Auditor-Controller’s office and my current office, I felt that the accounting grade classification best suited the complexities of the Appraiser Classification. With the California state requirements being quite strict, and to the best of my knowledge, unusually restrictive compared to other office position requirements, I feel the grade shift appears to be appropriate.
The Auditor-Appraiser Class would need to be adjusted to maintain the same parity that currently exists.
2.5 % Advanced Appraiser Add-Pay
To become an Advanced Appraiser, an Appraiser must pass six week-long, calculation intensive classes with a three-hour test for each. Three years of serving as an Appraiser after you pass your basic appraisal license is also a requirement. With a basic appraisal license, an Appraiser is required to take 24 hours of continuing education. This is achieved through webinars, conference training, or limited online training. The county is responsible for the cost of this online training.
Once an Appraiser reaches the Advanced Appraisal license, the continuing education requirement is reduced to 12 hours. It becomes possible to reduce costs and maintain required licensing with the office in a more sustainable way when the Appraisers achieve the Advance Appraiser License.
There is a need for an incentive to encourage the achievement of the Advanced Appraisal license. There is no state or local requirement to achieve the Advance Appraiser license. The County benefits when appraisers working in the Assessor’s office are Advanced Appraisers.
Assessor-Recorder Position Changes
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Title |
Current Grade |
Current Salary |
Proposed Grade |
Proposed Salary |
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5. 2.5% Add Pay for Certified Advanced Appraisers |
CCRR Recommendation: The CCRR Committee denied the request for a salary increase as it is not within the scope of the Classification and Compensation policy, this is not a request for reclassification but solely a request for a salary increase.
2. Jenavive Herrington, Auditor-Controller Request and Justification
20-40% TDLS- Tax Defaulted Land Sales - huge increase in volume (work and resource-wise)
25% Tax collector corrections and other roll corrections have increased roughly 8 times the average and continues to grow. These corrections are necessary and very time sensitive. Long-time outstanding issues are being resolved now but are creating a tremendous amount of complex work that has “never been done before”. Sometimes late nights are necessary to get caught up and ensure taxpayers don’t wait as long for their corrections and refunds.
Peter is learning Megabyte in ways we haven’t been able to in the past. Much of these longstanding corrections are complex and have no procedures to direct how to accomplish it. He works directly with Megabyte and with his knowledge of our finance system, can reconstruct data and accomplish great fixes that we would not have been able to otherwise accomplish.
20-25% Additional RDA Responsibilities- will perform the duties the Assistant Auditor-Controller used to do. Be mindful of Brown Act Requirements and agenda processes.
15-20% School Bonds - at least 3 times increase in volume over the last 7 years. With the increase in financial activity being performed by the schools, our bond management responsibilities have greatly increased.
This is in addition to the normal property tax functions that are performed daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annually. This position was already designed to be supervisorial; this change is primarily to make the compensation and schedule appropriate for the type of work.
Auditor-Controller Position Changes
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Title |
Current Grade |
Current Salary |
Proposed Grade |
Proposed Salary |
1. Property Tax Coordinator New Title Property Tax Manager |
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$37.41-45.47 77,812-94,557 |
CCRR Recommendation: The Committee recommends approval for 2024/2025 Budget.
Cost Information: The department will be making adjustments to their 2024/2025 budget in order to accommodate the costs associated with the salary increase.
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Title |
Difference |
PERS 23.3% |
FICA 7.65% |
Cost to Budget |
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1. Property Tax Coordinator |
$ 18,844.80 |
$ 4,390.84 |
$ 1,441.63 |
$ 24,677.27 |
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New Title Property Tax Manager |
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Union: Courtesy notice only position being reclassified to management.
3. Elise Jones, Behavioral Health Request and Justification
Lake County Behavioral Health Services requests compensation increases for all clinical, direct service positions. These positions are the most difficult to fill in the Department in both the Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder programs. In short:
• Wages for these staff are not commensurate with similarly qualified positions in-County and outside in the private sector.
• Every vacant position means that roughly 28 hours of service to clients will not be delivered every week.
• Beyond service provision, we also miss out on the revenue generated by direct services providers that would enable us to continue to expand staffing and meet the demands of the community. Missed revenue from vacant positions is estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Behavioral Health Position Changes
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Title |
Current Grade |
Current Salary |
Proposed Grade |
Proposed Salary |
1. Behavioral Health Clinical Specialist |
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2. Behavioral Health Clinician |
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3. Behavioral Health Clinician Senior |
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4. Licensed Vocational Nurse |
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5. Licensed Vocational Nurse Senior |
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6. Mental Health Case Manager |
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10. Psych Technician Senior |
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11. Substance Abuse Programs Coordinator |
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12. Substance Abuse Counselor I |
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13. Substance Abuse Counselor II |
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14. Substance Abuse Counselor III |
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15. Substance Abuse Counselor SR |
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CCRR Recommendation: The CCRR Committee denied the request as it is not within the scope of the Classification and Compensation policy, this is not a request for reclassification request but solely a request for a salary increase.
4. Lars Ewing, Solid Waste (Integrated Waste Management) Request and Justification
The new position of Integrated Solid Waste Manager is proposed to reclassify the existing position of Landfill Manager. The Integrated Waste Management division of the Public Services Department operates the Eastlake Landfill; administers franchise contracts for waste and recycling collection in the unincorporated areas of the county; develops and implements programs for recyclable materials that require special handling; provides environmental education related to solid waste reduction, reuse, and recycling; and oversees the state-mandated countywide integrated waste management plan.
Presently, the responsibilities of the Landfill Manager are limited to the first listed item, while the remaining items are managed by the Public Services Director with support staff who split their time between integrated waste, facilities, parks, and museum tasks.
A variety of compounding factors will significantly increase the time required to be devoted to both landfill operations and integrated waste management, which is justification for the increased workload of the new position. These factors include new legislation expanding organics collection and processing, new environmental laws further complicating landfill operations, a push for mandatory garbage collection in the unincorporated area, and a landfill expansion that will require ongoing design and construction management over the next 15 years.
A key component of this position will be proactively seeking solid waste and recycling grants that otherwise would not have been pursued by Public Services because of a lack of staff availability. Consequently, the increased salary costs of the reclassification are likely to be offset, if not eclipsed by, new grant revenues.
Currently the Landfill Manager supervises six permanent Heavy Equipment Operators, two permanent Weighmasters, and approximately five extra help staff throughout the year. This supervision would remain the same, with a proposed increase to include supervision of a Staff Services Specialist who currently reports directly to the Public Services Director.
Current class title: Landfill Manager
Proposed class title: Integrated Solid Waste Manager
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Title |
Current Grade |
Current Salary |
Proposed Grade |
Proposed Salary |
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CCRR Recommendation: The Committee recommends approval for 2024/2025 Budget.
Cost Information: The department will be making adjustments to their 2024/2025 budget in order to accommodate the costs associated with the salary increase.
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Title |
Difference |
PERS 23.3% |
FICA 7.65% |
Cost to Budget |
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Union: Courtesy notice only position being reclassified to management.
5. Maria Valadez, Registrar of Voters Request and Justification
During the 2018/2019 class and comp study, it appears that the Deputy Registrar of Voter was lined up with that of a supervisor position. The Deputy Registrar of Voters is not only the supervisor and manager of the department but also serves as Assistant to the Registrar of Voters, and therefore should be classified accordingly.
The Deputy Registrar of Voters classification, attached, has been updated to match the duties and responsibilities accordingly. The classification is being mirrored to that of a Deputy Public Services/Works Director Administrator I position along with the salary range which is more suitable for the level of responsibility and work that is required.
I ask that this request be approved to provide a career path and help with the retention of current staff. Thank you for your time and consideration in this matter. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
I feel that the positions within the Registrar of Voters office were not properly graded during the 2018/2019 class and comp study. Existing staff can go to another department with potentially less strenuous job duties and responsibilities and have the ability to obtain higher pay.
The Elections Specialist classifications, attached, have been updated to match the duties and responsibilities accordingly. These classifications have been mirrored to those of the Community Development Technician positions along with the salary range which is more suitable for the level of responsibility and work that is required.
I ask that these changes be approved to provide a career path and help with the retention of current staff. Thank you for your time and consideration in this matter. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
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Title |
Current Grade |
Current Salary |
Proposed Grade |
Proposed Salary |
1. Deputy Registrar of Voters |
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3. Elections Specialist, Senior |
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CCRR Recommendation: The CCRR Committee denied the request for a salary increase as it is not within the scope of the Classification and Compensation policy, this is not a request for reclassification but solely a request for a salary increase.
6. Scott Harter, Special Districts Administration Request and Justification
Our previous CMOM Coordinator II retired in March of 2019 after 10 years in the position. Upon his retirement the department ran a recruitment but were unsuccessful in attracting qualified candidates. The position was advertised again with no candidate hired and the department administration decided to temporarily not fill the vacancy. Duties of the position were shifted around to other staff which wasn’t the most effective approach but most tasks managed to get completed.
Recently development has started to increase and the need for a dedicated CMOM Coordinator has become pressing. Prior to listing the position again under the current job descriptions and compensation levels I decided to review the listed duties, minimum qualifications, and salary levels with staff. This effort and the proposed changes seek to position the recruitment for success and not for another failed recruitment.
The last time the CMOM coordinator job description was updated was 2008, just prior to hiring the previous incumbent. It appears that the salary structure with the CMOM Coordinator I/II and CMOM Engineer I/II positions was also adjusted at that time. As adjusted in 2008 the CMOM Coordinator I and II positions both earn more than the CMOM Engineer I position which is odd as the CMOM Engineer requires a 4 year engineering degree. Education requirements were also added to the CMOM Coordinator requiring a 4 year degree. These changes both appear to be tailored to the previous incumbent in an effort to entice him to transfer from a different County department, restrict any competing applications, and pay him more than he was previously making.
I’ve reviewed the pay grade for comparable positions and those with similar, greater, and lesser requirements within County employment focusing primarily on the Civil Engineer series (Associate Civil Engineer {licensed}, Assistant Engineer Senior/II/I{unlicensed}), the Deputy Special Districts Administrator I/II (unlicensed/licensed), Utility Systems Compliance Coordinator, Utility Area Superintendent, and the Utility Worker series (Senior/II/I), as well as the management staff within this department. When looking to propose a pay grade structure I considered the CMOM Coordinator and CMOM Engineer series even though proposed changes at this time are only within the Coordinator positions. I also considered career paths from our field staff and what that potential looked like.
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Title |
Current Grade |
Current Salary |
Proposed Grade |
Proposed Salary |
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CCRR Recommendation: The Committee recommends approval for 2024/2025 Budget.
Cost Information: The department will be making adjustments to their 2024/2025 budget in order to accommodate the costs associated with the salary increase.
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Title |
Difference |
PERS 23.3% |
FICA 7.65% |
Cost to Budget |
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1. CMOM Coordinator I |
$ 4,129.20 |
$ 962.10 |
$ 315.88 |
$ 5,407.18 |
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2. CMOM Coordinator II |
$ 2,246.40 |
$ 523.41 |
$ 171.85 |
$ 2,941.66 |
Union: Initiate the Meet and Confer process.
7. Patrick Sullivan, Treasurer - Tax Collector Request and Justification
The Treasurer - Tax Collector position has changed considerably over time. Over time, while the job duties have expanded greatly, there has not been a review of the position reflecting this. There is now the addition of the cannabis tax program, which the Assistant T-TC has helped manage start to finish. This includes both the assessment of taxes, billing, collection, and enforcement. Likewise, Transient Occupancy Tax now requires a full enforcement program, including both identifying unregistered operators and then auditing their records. These gross receipts programs are forcing the department to build programs that require managing a program start to finish. The County, for the first time, has enacted a full-scale investment program, which requires significant effort to effectively manage. The Assistant TTC also helps oversee the Court Collections division, which is now scaling up to utilize more of its enforcement abilities.
The T-TC staff proposed and the Board of Supervisors recently approved a reclassification for the Accounting Technicians in the T-TC to match the Accounting Technician series in the Auditor’s office, which has actually caused the entry level position wage range to overlap into the Accountant I range. In order to pick up a wage increase upon promotion an employee would have to start at Step 4 or Step 5 of the Accountant I range. The same proposed Accountant series reclassification would represent a 7.7% pay increase. That same 7.7% increase is proposed for the Assistant T-TC with the shift from M47 to M50.
The reclassification of the Accounting Technicians to bring them into alignment with the other financial offices created a domino effect in our office as discussed above, pushing them deep into the Accountant’s pay scale. This triggered the proposal to reclassify the accountants in turn, which then pushed them even closer to the Assistant T-TC. Once the Assistant T-TC is reclassified, and the departmental wage scale is restored, that then leaves the Treasurer - Tax Collector in the unusual position of making only slightly more than the Assistant T-TC. Department appear to range 22% - 28% higher than their Assistant position. The spread between the positions was already unusually tight, at only 16%. The proposed increase nearly closes that gap to just 7.9%. Therefore, the same 7.7% increase applied to the other positions should be applied here as well to at least maintain the status quo with adjustment from E61 to E64.
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Title |
Current Grade |
Current Salary |
Proposed Grade |
Proposed Salary |
1. Accountant I reclass to Accountant I Auditor / Tax |
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2. Accountant II reclass to Accountant II Auditor / Tax |
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3. Add Accountant, Senior Treasurer - Tax Collector |
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4. Collections Supervisor Reclass to Accountant I, II, Senior Auditor / Tax |
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5. Assistant Treasurer - Tax Collector (Pay) |
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6. Treasurer - Tax Collector (Pay) |
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CCRR Recommendation: The Committee recommends approval of items 1-4 for the 2024/2025 Budget.
The CCRR Committee denied the request for items 5 and 6, salary increases are not within the scope of the Classification and Compensation policy, this is not a request for reclassification but solely a request for a salary increase.
Cost Information: The department will be making adjustments to their 2024/2025 budget in order to accommodate the costs associated with the salary increase.
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Title |
Difference |
PERS 23.3% |
FICA 7.65% |
Cost to Budget |
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1. Accountant I reclass to Accountant I |
$ 4,659.20 |
$ 1,085.59 |
$ 356.43 |
$ 18,303.66 |
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Auditor / Tax (3 Allocations) |
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2. Accountant II reclass to Accountant II |
$ 5,158.40 |
$ 1,201.91 |
$ 394.62 |
$ 6,754.93 |
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Auditor / Tax |
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3. Collections Supervisor Reclass to |
$ 3,140.80 |
$ 731.81 |
$ 240.27 |
$ 4,112.88 |
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Accountant I, II, Senior Auditor / Tax |
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Cost for all Allocated Positions |
$ 29,171.47 |
Union: Initiate the Meet and Confer process.
If not budgeted, fill in the blanks below only:
Estimated Cost: ________ Amount Budgeted: ________ Additional Requested: ________ Future Annual Cost: ________
Purchasing Considerations (check all that apply): ☐ Not applicable
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Consistency with Vision 2028 <http://www.lakecountyca.gov/Government/Directory/Administration/Visioning/Vision2028.htm> (check all that apply): ☐ Not applicable
☐ Well-being of Residents ☐ Public Safety ☐ Disaster Prevention, Preparedness, Recovery
☐ Economic Development ☐ Infrastructure ☐ County Workforce
☐ Community Collaboration ☐ Business Process Efficiency ☐ Clear Lake
Recommended Action: Approve the CCRR recommendations and authorize the Human Resources to initiate the meet and confer process with the applicable employee associations as needed.