To: Board of Supervisors
From: County Administrative Office
Agenda Section: Consent
SUBJECT:
title
Adoption of Resolution Delegating Authority to the County Administrative Officer to Implement and Enforce Personnel Policies During Emergenciesend
RECOMMENDATION(S):
Recommendation
That the Board of Supervisors adopt the resolution delegating authority to the County Administrative Officer to implement and enforce personnel policies during emergencies.
Body
SOURCE OF FUNDING:
General Fund
DISCUSSION:
The Board of Supervisors and state have declared that a state of emergency exists in California, and the President declared a national emergency as a result of the threat of COVID-19. This state of emergency has been in place since March 2020. In the intervening time your Board has adopted several policies and taken action in response to the ever-shifting landscape around COVID-19 (Resolutions No. 20-20, 20-25, 20-27, 20-37, and 20-38). Since June when most state restrictions were lifted, the average daily incident case rate of COVID-19 in Humboldt County has increased dramatically and the significantly more transmissible Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus has become the predominant strain in Humboldt County.
Constant changes in the COVID-19 situation often require rapid response to effectively react to developing and changing situations in order to protect county employees and to ensure the continuity of county operations. For this reason, it is recommended that authority be delegated to the County Administrative Officer, in consultation with the Director of Human Resources/Risk Management and County Counsel, to implement and enforce personnel policies during an emergency such as the one currently facing the county. This delegation would not include authorizing any changes to employee pay, and any policy adopted pursuant to this delegation could be changed by your Board.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The financial impact is dependent upon any policies implemented under this authority.
STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK:
This action supports your Board’s Strategic Framework by furthering effective and efficient government operations and liability management.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
County Administrative Office, County Counsel, and Human Resources
ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS:
The Board could choose not to approve the resolution; however, this may hinder effectively response to rapidly changing emergency situations to protect county employees and ongoing continuity of county operations.
ATTACHMENTS:
1) Resolution Delegating Authority
PREVIOUS ACTION/REFERRAL:
N/A