To: Board of Supervisors
From: Internal Operations Committee
Report Title: Policy Revisions to Administrative Bulletin No. 400 Position Management and Adjustments
☐Recommendation of the County Administrator ☒ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
RECEIVE a report on the policy revisions to Administrative Bulletin 400 Position Management and Adjustments, formerly titled Position Adjustment Requests, as presented to the Committee by the County Administrator’s Office.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact - this report is informational only.
BACKGROUND:
County Ordinance Code Section 24-4.008 requires the County Administrator to implement a system of County administrative bulletins, establish and enforce personnel policies and practices in County departments and agencies, make recommendations to the Board of Supervisors on requests for additional personnel, and apprise the Board on the financial effects of changes in compensation requested by employee organizations in the meet and confer process. The ordinance permits the County Administrator to delegate to the Director of Human Resources - Exempt any or all of the duties relating to personnel administration.
The County Administrator’s Office has prioritized the review of administrative bulletins for potential updates to the underlying policy or to make sure that the guidance being provided to departments reflects current best practices. Administrative Bulletin No. 400 has been identified as one of the “Big 3” County policies requiring modernization for effective structure and direction of major administrative functions that impact all County departments. The first two “Big 3” policies to receive a major overhaul were the administrative bulletins on purchasing and contracts and on capital projects and real estate services.
Depending on the subject and materiality of the proposed policy, administrative bulletins can be updated administratively or submitted for review by the Board of Supervisors, including its standing committees. Though revisions to Administrative Bulletin No. 400 fall within the duties of the County Administrator per County Ordinance Code and the review of this policy was not referred to a Board committee, the County Administrator’s Office thought is sensible to present the revisions to the Internal Operations Committee for further feedback.
At its December 9, 2024, meeting the Internal Operations Committee received a presentation from the County Administrator’s Office with the details provided below and as included in the attachments to this report. Committee feedback supported the policy revisions, with no further revisions requested, and asked that the report be forwarded to the full Board for their information.
PRESENTATION TO THE INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE
Since 2023, County Administrator, Human Resources, and Labor Relations staff have been working to identify and understand the various policies, guidelines, and transactions governing position adjustments (also known as P300s) within the County. The efforts to consolidate the various position adjustment communications, dating as far back as 1990, into one policy also found the need to address formal position management guiding principles in County policy. This resulted in the retitling of Administrative Bulletin 400 from Position Adjustment Requests to Position Management and Adjustments.
The most significant goals for revising this policy include:
1. Modernize, streamline, and improve position adjustment policies and procedures.
2. Merge all existing policies and memos related to position adjustments.
3. Establish position management expectations and specify who is responsible.
4. Align adjustments with the annual budget development process.
5. Provide flexibility for critical or unforeseeable staffing needs.
6. Reduce the excessive volume of midyear requests and the ongoing impacts to the Human Resources Department’s workload.
7. Establish clear and efficient workflows and approval authorities.
8. Minimize position adjustment processing times and allow for external support when needed for extensive and time sensitive studies.
9. Modernize the P300 Form - Now Rebranded as Position Adjustment Request (PAR) Form.
Summary of Policy Revisions
The current Administrative Bulletin No. 400 (Attachment A) only addresses the Position Adjustment Request (P300) form and the review and approval procedures and has not been updated for over three decades. The revised policy includes updates to position adjustment request review and processing procedures and intentionally leaves out procedural guidance on the Position Adjustment Request (formerly P300) form completion. Instead, detailed information and guidance on the completion of PARs are outlined in a supporting document to the revised PAR form.
Due to the current policy’s lack of position management and review and approval details, the policy revisions are a complete overhaul and are therefore not conducive to a redlined version for comparison. Attachment B to this report is a copy of the revised policy the County Administrator’s Office will be implementing by the end of 2024, and the following provides a summary of the policy revisions:
1. Definitions (Paragraph III) were created for consistent application of related terms and a shared understanding of position modification and adjustment actions and processes.
2. Policy (Paragraph IV) language was created to address countywide position management responsibilities and the types of position adjustments, specifically to:
a. Align position adjustments with the County’s budget development process for accurate accounting of authorized and funded positions.
b. Formally include in policy the conditions of minor midyear position adjustment requests outside of the budget development process due to urgent and unforeseen circumstances.
c. Ensure the County Administrator’s Office provides an annual reconciliation of position changes to the Board of Supervisors.
d. Clarify the delegated authority given to the County Administrator in County Ordinance Code Section 24-4.008 so that certain midyear position adjustments can be administratively approved, which will cut down processing times for position adjustments that do not require Board approval.
e. Continue to recommend the following midyear position adjustments to the Board of Supervisors during their regularly scheduled meetings:
i. Net total of all position related actions resulting in an increase to the total position count within a County agency.
ii. The creation or retitling of Exempt positions, or any position adjustment that warrants modifications to the County’s Ordinance Code.
iii. The reclassification of a position with an existing incumbent.
iv. Reallocation of the salary plan and grade of any classification.
Invitation for Department Comments
On November 5, 2024, the County Administrator’s Office issued a memo to Department Heads requesting commentary and feedback on the proposed draft policy. By Friday, November 15, eight departments submitted commentary. Submissions included the Health Services, Information Technology, Sheriff-Coroner, Conservation and Development, Risk Management, Human Resources, Labor Relations, and County Administration departments. County Counsel also provided input and suggestions for improvement. A summary of operating department comments received by November 15, 2024 are included as Attachment C to this report.
The majority of the feedback received from departments resulted in further policy language revisions and clarifications. The further revised policy was presented to representatives from all departments during a roundtable discussion on November 18, 2024. During this meeting, CAO staff addressed questions, concerns, and clarifications as requested by the feedback submitted by all departments. Minimal suggestions were made by operating departments for further revisions.
Attachment D is a copy of the presentation slides County Administrator staff used as a visual tool during its December 9, 2024 presentation to the Internal Operations Committee.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If the report is not received by the Board, the intent and revision and implementation efforts of the County Administrator for this policy update will not be know to all members of the Board of Supervisors.