To: Board of Supervisors
From: Planning and Building Department
Agenda Section: Consent
SUBJECT:
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Add 1.0 FTE Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Coordinator position (Salary Range 454, Class 0338) to the Planning and Building Department Staffing Plan in Budget Unit 1100277 (Current Planning), and add 1.0 FTE Limited Duration, Planner I/II Position (Salary Range 390/417, Class 0333) to the Planning and Building Department Staffing Plan in Budget Unit 1100282 (Advance Planning)
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RECOMMENDATION(S):
Recommendation
That the Board of Supervisors:
1. Authorize the addition of one (1) GIS Coordinator (Salary Range 454, Class 0338) to the Planning and Building Department staffing plan in budget unit 1100277 (Current Planning); and
2. Authorize the addition of one (1) limited duration Planner I/II (Salary Range 390/417, Class 0333) to the Planning and Building Department staffing plan in budget unit 1100282 (Advanced Planning).
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SOURCE OF FUNDING:
GIS Coordinator: Fees associated with GIS work and currently budgeted General Fund allocation.
Planner I/II: Grant funds associated with Advanced Planning
DISCUSSION:
GIS Coordinator:
The GIS application currently hosted by the county is maintained as a function of the Planning and Building Department. Humboldt County has one of the most robust GIS applications in the state. The importance of a well-maintained and continuously updated GIS application has proven an invaluable county resource.
In addition to the Planning and Building Department, GIS is used by many other county departments including, but not limited to, Sheriff’s Department, Elections, Office of Emergency Services, and Economic Development. Agencies of the State such as California Department of Fish and Wildlife and California Department of Food and Agriculture also depend on the County GIS for information. Public use of the GIS application is also substantial with over 11,000 WebGIS views in the 30-day period ending on September 24, 2020.
With the recent fire activity, GIS provided mapping for evacuation routes for areas of Humboldt County under evacuation orders.
The GIS is currently maintained by a GIS Analyst who has been in this position for many years. In the person’s tenure he has progressed within the role and can work independently at a very high level. The current GIS analyst independently identifies improvements needed to the GIS, and provides services to many different departments with minimal oversite. The recent class and compensation study did not address this position. It is important to provide appropriate career growth opportunities and acknowledge outstanding achievement of employees.
Some of key functions of the GIS Coordinator include providing leadership and direction, providing technical direction, control and support in developing short and long range GIS goals and plans, providing GIS support to staff and other departments for a variety of specialized and time sensitive plans and reports, directing and conducting complex studies, preparing reports and making recommendations.
Approval of this addition to the current staffing plan will allow the county to continue to grow and improve the GIS application for all users.
Planner I/II:
The Advanced Planning budget unit of the Planning and Building Department is responsible for the administration of several grant programs and it is anticipated that additional grant funds will be awarded.
With the adoption of the 2019 Housing Element, the county made a commitment to implement the Housing Element’s programs. Both the Senate Bill 2 Planning Grant Program (SB 2 PGP) and the Local Early Action Planning (LEAP) grant programs provide financial support to the County to implement programs to increase housing production. These grant programs are designed to increase housing production by removing regulatory barriers, making procedural improvements, and aim to make residential development generally more accessible and obtainable for members of the community.
Additional staff is requested to aid in administration of these important grant programs.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
GIS Coordinator: The addition of this position will add approximately $110,000.00 to the salary costs for the Current Planning budget unit (1100277). Existing positions remain vacant at this time to offset the additional costs.
Planner I/II: The addition of this position will add approximately $71,000 to the salary costs for the Advanced Planning budget unit (1100282). The position will be underfilled for the remainder of the current fiscal year from existing Planner positions. This will reduce the cost of the salaries in the budget unit (Cannabis Planning 1100268) because the salaries will be cost applied from Cannabis Planning to Advanced Planning and bill the applicable grants for the eligible administrative costs.
At this time, no supplemental budget is being submitted or requested for these position allocation requests.
STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK:
This action supports your Board’s Strategic Framework by providing community-appropriate levels of service and investing in county employees.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
N/A
ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS:
The Board could choose not to allocate the additional positions or choose to allocate only one of the positions. These options are not recommended due to the amount of work required to maintain the county GIS application and the work required to implement the 2019 Housing Element programs.
ATTACHMENTS:
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PREVIOUS ACTION/REFERRAL:
Board Order No.: N/A
Meeting of: N/A
File No.: N/A