To: Board of Supervisors
From: Dr. Ori Tzvieli, Interim Health Services Director
Report Title: Reallocate the salary of the Chief Operations Officer - Exempt (VWD1) classification in the Health Services Department
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
ADOPT Position Adjustment Resolution No. 26478 to reallocate the salary of the Chief Operations Officer - Exempt (VWD1) classification to a five-step (5-step) salary plan with five percent (5%) increments between steps at salary plan and grade BL8 2449 ($23,500 - $28,564) in the Health Services Department.
FISCAL IMPACT:
This action will incur an additional annual cost of $170,031.97, including $24,839.91 in pension costs.
BACKGROUND:
Contra Costa Health (CCH) is actively implementing significant systemwide changes aimed at enhancing transparency, modernization, and overall quality within its operations. These efforts are driven by CCH’s commitment to building a health department capable of effectively navigating the evolving structural, economic, and policy landscape shaping healthcare in California and across the nation. Recent vacancies and retirement announcements among key CCH leadership have further underscored the need to address leadership capacity promptly.
There are currently two Chief Operations Officer (COO) positions within CCH - one assigned to the Contra Costa Regional Medical Center and Health Centers, and the other to the Contra Costa Health Plan division. Each position is responsible for overseeing the administration and operational management of its respective division. The base salary for the COO classification is presently a single-step salary plan of $236,900.64 annually.
At CCH’s request, Human Resources conducted a comprehensive salary study of the Chief Operations Officer-Exempt (COO) classification, comparing compensation data across the nine Bay Area counties. The study identified a significant market disparity, with the County’s COO salary approximately 31% below both the median and mean of comparable positions in other county hospitals and health plans. This discrepancy has adversely affected recruitment efforts, resulting in prolonged vacancies for these critical leadership roles. Based on these findings, Human Resources recommends the salary be reallocated to match the market median, and placement of the classification on a five-step salary range with 5% increments between each step. Aligning the salary with market standards is expected to strengthen CCH’s ability to attract and retain highly qualified candidates for these essential leadership positions.
Additionally, due to the nature of their roles within the organization, all incumbents are expected to be available to report to work at any time, including outside of their regular work hours. The classification of Chief Operations Officer - Exempt will be removed from the list of classes eligible for on-call pay and call back pay in the Unrepresented Management Benefits Resolution.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If this action is disapproved, the department will continue to be unequipped to recruit for critical executive-level positions in the competitive healthcare and community health industries.