Memorandum
Date: July 28, 2026
To: The Honorable Lake County Board of Supervisors
From: Lars Ewing, Public Works Director
Subject: Waive the County hiring freeze for one (1) Deputy Public Works Director - Operations position in Budget Unit 1903 and authorize Human Resources to recruit
Executive Summary:
Staff requests that the Board of Supervisors approve a waiver of the County hiring freeze to allow recruitment for the Public Works Deputy Director - Operations position. This position is part of merger and reorganization of the Public Works Department, and your Board approved the position allocation in the FY 2026/27 County budget. Subsequent to the Board's adoption of the budget and the hiring freeze, Public Works submitted a request for an administrative waiver to recruit for this position, which was denied because the position is assigned to Budget Unit 1903, which is a General Fund budget unit. Therefore, staff is requesting your Board waive the hiring freeze to allow for recruitment.
The Public Works Deputy Director - Operations position is budgeted in Budget Unit 1903 (Public Works Administration). While this budget unit is in the General Fund, Public Works Administration allocates its administrative costs across all the operating divisions it supports. Consequently, approximately 94% percent of the position's costs will be recovered from non-General Fund Public Works budget units - primarily Roads and Integrated Waste Management - with less than 6% of the position’s costs remaining as a General Fund obligation. Therefore, the General Fund financial impact of filling this position is nominal.
Additionally, approval of this request will allow staff to complete implementation of the Public Works Department organizational structure previously approved by the Board. This request is therefore not an expansion of staffing beyond what the Board has authorized, but rather completion of the staffing structure that was determined to be appropriate to manage the consolidated Public Works Department.
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Estimated Cost: ________ Amount Budgeted: ________ Additional Requested: ________ Future Annual Cost: ________
Purchasing Considerations (check all that apply): ☐ Not applicable
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☐ Well-being of Residents ☐ Public Safety ☐ Disaster Prevention, Preparedness, Recovery
☐ Economic Development ☐ Infrastructure ☐ County Workforce
☐ Community Collaboration ☐ Business Process Efficiency ☐ Clear Lake
Recommended Action: Waive the County hiring freeze for one (1) Deputy Public Works Director - Operations position in Budget Unit 1903 and authorize Human Resources to recruit