DATE: April 4, 2017
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Brandi Orth, County Clerk/Registrar of Voters
SUBJECT: County Clerk - Elections Salary Resolution Amendment
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
Approve Salary Resolution Amendment as reflected in Appendix “F” adding one (1) Program Manager position to County Clerk-Elections Organization 2850 effective April 10, 2017.
REPORT
Approval of the recommended action will add one (1) new Program Manager position. This position will ensure the Department has sufficient managerial positions to mitigate the excessive amount of overtime required of staff during election cycles. The position will provide an adequate number of managers to conduct elections without negatively impacting other divisions in this department.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Your Board could opt not to approve the recommended action. Should the requested position not be approved, the Department will continue to have an inadequate number of managerial staff to perform and oversee multiple operations within the timeframes prescribed by law. The unpaid mandatory overtime hours required of managers will continue at unsustainable levels. During the 150-day period covering a major election cycle, the service levels of the non-election divisions of the department will be impacted by the reassignment of staff from those programs to perform elections duties.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no increase in Net County Cost associated with the recommended action. The recommended Salary Resolution Amendment adds one (1) position. The estimated increased cost for salaries and benefits associated with the one (1) position in FY 2016-17 of $25,858 will be offset by contract reductions. Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues are included in the Department’s Org 2850 FY 2016-17 adopted budget. The FY 2017-18 cost of $133,747 for the position will be funded with fee revenues of $43,468 and full year contract reductions of $90,279.
DISCUSSION:
In 2016, there were over 437,000 registered voters in Fresno County, which reflects an increase of 11% since 2012. The passage of AB1461, the new “motor voter bill” will exponentially increase the number of registered voters in every county. Implementation of SB450, the “Voter Choice Act” will require an overhaul of the way elections are conducted. A new voting system will be needed, voting centers will replace the traditional polling places and staffing of those voting centers will be required over a 10-day period. Due to the cyclical nature of elections, it takes four years for an elections official to gain the experience of conducting each of the various types of elections. The Department needs a sufficient number of talented, trained, experienced managers in place to adequately address these challenges.
The Department conducted a total of five (5) elections in 2016. Since 2012, the average has been 3.5 elections per year. Each election cycle covers a 150-day period. Election cycles often overlap. The Department relies heavily on seasonal extra help and overtime to achieve staffing levels to meet legal processing deadlines each election cycle. Managing a temporary workforce of 90-100 individuals over an election cycle (not including the additional 1,600 precinct officers, 350 drivers team participants, 160 drop-off site workers, and 30 election night warehouse workers hired for election day only) places greater demands on the managers and supervisors in the department in the form of training and close supervision requirements. In 2016, the six Department managers and supervisors worked many hours of unpaid overtime. Much of this time was shiftwork on nights and weekends due to the heavy volume of elections processing to be completed for the 2016 Presidential election cycles. Because this time is not paid to managers, revenue is lost and districts are not charged for the true cost of the election. This workload is not sustainable for our employees. Managers are unable to take leave time during these peak processing periods and lose the accrual of earned vacation hours until they are able to schedule time off after the election, which usually falls to the next year. Routine operations are adversely affected when managers take leave in off-election cycles, since the timeframe for scheduling leave is condensed and staffing levels are low during those times.
Approval of the recommended action will increase the number of staff from 30 to 31, a net increase of one (1) total position. The new County Clerk Program Manager position will be responsible for program operations at the Elections Warehouse, including polling places, supplies, Vote By Mail processing and Records Management Center. These functions are currently under the County Clerk Business Manager. The new position will make it possible for the Business Manager to maintain continuity within the Finance unit throughout the election cycles, complete election billing timely to meet revenue projections, conduct master schedule of fees studies/changes, and address planning and budgeting for implementation of AB1461 and SB450. The number of unpaid overtime hours for managers will be reduced by the addition of this position.
With your Board’s approval, the recommended Salary Resolution Amendment is effective April 10, 2017. The Department of Human Resources concurs with the Resolution.
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
Salary Resolution Amendment - Appendix “F”
CAO ANALYST:
Ron Alexander