Memorandum
Date: July 20, 2021
To: The Honorable Bruno Sabatier, Chair, Lake County Board of Supervisors
From: Lars Ewing, Public Services Director
Subject: a) Consideration of Certification Resolution for an exception to the 180-day wait period to hire a CalPERS retiree as an extra help County employee; and b) Consideration of Advanced Step Hiring of Jeff Rein as an Extra-Help Employee
Executive Summary:
State law prevents a CalPERS retiree from employment with the County of Lake for a period of 180 days following the date of retirement unless the appointment is necessary to fill a critically needed position, in which case the waiting period can be waived by the Board of Supervisors.
The Public Services Department currently has an allocation of Deputy Public Services Director - Projects and Operations. In 2020 the department initiated a recruitment for this position. That recruitment resulted in a pool of candidates that were all either not willing to accept the position at the salary that was offered or did not demonstrate satisfactory qualifications. In 2021 the department initiated a second recruitment for the position which resulted in two of the three eligible applicants declining to interview.
In light of these recruitment challenges and the time-sensitive projects in the department, I believe that it is in the best interest of the County to fill the position at this time on an extra help basis by Jeff Rein, who recently retired from the County after a 30+ year career and previously worked as a deputy director for Public Services. Mr. Rein is uniquely skilled for the responsibilities of the position and has significant prior experience in all facets of the department - and the County as a whole - including critically needed experience in landfill expansion, administration of the County’s communication site leases, and updates to the County’s solid waste management codes. His extensive project development experience is also needed at this particular time in order to manage a large multi-facility roof replacement project and the planning to convert the former National Guard facility for County use.
In short, adopting the attached Resolution will allow the department to accomplish several critical tasks that require specialized knowledge and skills.
Should your Board approve the Resolution, I am requesting approval for an advanced step hire for Jeff Rein at Step 5. Mr. Rein has over 20 years of management experience working for the County as a Deputy County Administrative Officer, Chief Deputy County Administrative Officer, and Deputy Public Services Director. The classification and compensation committee reviewed the advanced step request and recommends approval.
If not budgeted, fill in the blanks below only:
Estimated Cost: ________ Amount Budgeted: ________ Additional Requested: ________ Future Annual Cost: ________
Consistency with Vision 2028 and/or Fiscal Crisis Management Plan (check all that apply): ☐ Not applicable
☐ Well-being of Residents ☐ Public Safety ☐ Infrastructure ☐ Technology Upgrades
☐ Economic Development ☐ Disaster Recovery ☒ County Workforce ☐ Revenue Generation
☐ Community Collaboration ☒ Business Process Efficiency ☐ Clear Lake ☒ Cost Savings
If request for exemption from competitive bid in accordance with County Code Chapter 2 Sec. 2-38, fill in blanks below:
Which exemption is being requested?
How long has Agreement been in place?
When was purchase last rebid?
Reason for request to waive bid?
Recommended Action: a) Adopt Certification Resolution for an exception to the 180-day wait period to hire a CalPERS retiree as an extra help County employee; and b) Approve Advanced Step Hiring of Jeff Rein as an Extra-Help Employee