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MEMORANDUM
TO: Jim Steele, Chairman, Board of Supervisors
FROM: Brian L. Martin, Sheriff/Coroner
DATE: October 31, 2018
SUBJECT: Consideration of a Resolution Authorizing Hiring Incentives for Correctional Officer I/II, Correctional Sergeant, Public Safety Dispatcher I/II and Supervising Public Safety Dispatcher job classifications
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The history of recruitment and retention difficulties within the County of Lake is long and consistent. Within the Sheriff’s Department, this has been a common problem for decades. There are a number of factors that contribute to these difficulties including less competitive wage and benefits packages, competition for qualified candidates by neighboring agencies, and a decline in the interest for law enforcement amongst people entering the workforce.
A California Constitution Amendment from 1993 (CA Constitition Article XIII, Section 35(a)(2) which primarily addresses taxation, also outlines California’s citizens expectations of local government and local officials. The section reads: “The protection of the public safety is the first responsibility of local government and local officials have an obligation to give priority to the provision of adequate public safety services.” Article XIII, Section 36 (a)(1)(A) indicates that “Public Safety Services” includes “Employing and training public safety officials, including law enforcement personnel, attorneys assigned to criminal proceedings, and court security staff.” Clearly, we have an obligation to the communities we serve to make such services our top priority. Such services can’t be provided without employees.
The construction of the Hill Road Correctional Facility in the 1990’s served to accommodate Lake County’s growing population. The increase in capacity of the jail came with a corresponding need to increase staffing levels. In 1995, the Board of Supervisors unanimously passed Resolution #95-196 in which they reviewed and approved the Thirty Year Life Cycle Operations Costs Analysis for the Hill Road Correctional Facility. That analysis predicted that in fiscal year 2018 there would be a need to budget for 64 Correctional Officers, managers, and sergeants. In the current budget, there are only 57 of those classifications allocated. Of those positions, 19 are vacant. The vacancy rating in our Dispatch center currently sits around 50%. The staffing shortage has required me to reassign deputy sheriffs to perform the functions and duties of correctional officers and dispatchers. This has resulted in a drastic reduction in services to the public in our patrol division.
Your Board has worked collaboratively with the Sheriff’s Office to address similar issues. With your assistance, we have reclassified Deputy Sheriff positions to Deputy Sheriff/Trainee positions, we’ve put several employees through the police academy, and we’ve been able to offer hiring incentives for Deputy Sheriff position. I am very grateful for this, and intend to continue these programs. Despite these efforts, attracting qualified applicants continues to be a challenge. In an effort to attract more candidates, I am proposing this resolution to offer hiring incentives to applicants for the correctional officer series and public safety dispatcher series. Such incentives are becoming more commonplace as agencies compete for a limited pool of qualified candidates.
The question of funding for this effort is similar to the question of funding for the Deputy Sheriff incentives. AB 443 passed in 2001 and enacted Government Code Section 30070. This section directs that $18,500,000 be allocated to rural sheriff’s departments in California each year. Lake County’s allocation is $500,000. The funds are to be used to enhance law enforcement efforts. There is a prohibition in the statute about supplanting funding for public safety services. Use of the funds in the manner proposed here would not supplant anything, as this is a newly created program. It is my proposition that funds from the Rural Sheriff’s Budget (2206) be used to fund these hiring bonuses.
I respectfully request your Board’s approval of this resolution. I understand that hiring difficulties trouble multiple County Departments, and there is a desire to ease the burden for all, but the Constitutional mandate for the provision of public safety services combined with specifically designated funding for exactly this type of purpose, makes the Sheriff’s Department a unique department for this proposal.
FISCAL IMPACT: __ None _x_Budgeted __Non-Budgeted
Estimated Cost:
Amount Budgeted:
Additional Requested:
Annual Cost (if planned for future years):
FISCAL IMPACT (Narrative): Incentives will be paid from the Rural Sheriff’s budget 2206 and there is no cost to the County General Fund
STAFFING IMPACT (if applicable): ): The resolution authorizes eligibility for 10 full time Correctional Officer/Correctional Sergeant applicants and 5 full time Public Safety Dispatcher and Supervising Public Safety Dispatcher applicants to receive incentive payments.
Recommended Action
RECOMMENDED ACTION: The Sheriff’s Department recommends adoption of the Resolution authorizing hiring incentives for Correctional Officer I/II, Correctional Sergeant, Public Safety Dispatcher I/II and Supervising Public Safety Dispatcher job classifications