To: Board of Supervisors
From: Human Resources
Agenda Section: Consent
SUBJECT:
title
Adoption of Revised County Surveyor Job Specification and Salary Range Adjustment and Appointment of Interim County Surveyor
end
RECOMMENDATION(S):
Recommendation
That the Board of Supervisors:
1. Adopt the amended job classification specification (Attachment 1) and salary range for County Surveyor (class 0207, salary range 524, unit 08) into the classification plan effective the first full pay period following board adoption;
2. Adopt the Resolution (Attachment 5) approving 1) the amendment of the July 1, 2020 - December 31, 2021, Compensation Plans for Management & Confidential Employees 2) a Comprehensive Compensation Schedule and Classification Summary effective August 10, 2021 (Attachment 2); and
3. Appoint Robert W. Bronkall as Interim County Surveyor effective August 14, 2021.
Body
SOURCE OF FUNDING:
1100168 - County Surveyor
DISCUSSION:
Background
On Apr. 14, 2009, the Board of Supervisors adopted Ordinance No. 2413 to establish the office of the County Surveyor and comply with California Government Code Section 27550. The ordinance makes the County Surveyor an appointment by the Board of Supervisors under the supervision and direction of the Director of Public Works. California Government Code also requires that a person holding the position of County Surveyor must possess registration as a licensed Professional Land Surveyor in the State of California or licensure as a Professional Civil Engineer in California obtained prior to 1982.
The Board-appointed position of County Surveyor will become vacant on Aug. 14, 2021, as Public Works has received a letter of resignation from the current incumbent. This critical position is required by California Government Code and is extremely competitive across the state as indicated by extensive research completed by the Public Works and Human Resources Departments (Attachment 3). In addition to statewide competition for candidates that meet the qualifications, the County of Humboldt must also compete with one of the most desirable employers in this field, that being the California Department of Transportation (CalTrans). CalTrans is a specialized state agency with multiple offices within Humboldt County. The County of Humboldt will not be able to match CalTrans in terms of compensation on an agency-wide basis, however, the circumstance that the county faces with the impending vacancy of this state-mandated position necessitates a review of the county’s competitiveness in recruiting and retaining a qualified County Surveyor.
Research
The Public Works and Human Resources Departments completed extensive research related to the availability of and compensation for licensed surveyors throughout the state of California. This research can be found in Attachment 3 and highlights of this research are summarized below.
• Data available from the State of California Department of Consumer Affairs (Attachment 4), the State agency that licenses Land Surveyors and Civil Engineers, indicates that there are currently 3,999 licensed land surveyors; and 7,276 civil engineers who were licensed prior to 1982. Prior to 1982, civil engineers were authorized to practice land surveying. This makes a combined pool of 11,275 potential candidates who meet the minimum qualifications for County Surveyor. When considering a 30-year working career, the pool of licensed land surveyors licensed after 1990 shrinks to 2,691. It is very rare that the county is able to ascertain the entire pool of candidates who meet minimum qualifications for a position. This information helps the county to assess the availability of land surveyors.
• Compensation data was collected from 49 of the 58 counties in the state. In general, the majority of the counties have a classification title County Surveyor. The remainder of the counties have the duties of the County Surveyor assigned to a person with a different title. The data indicates that the median top annual salary for a County Surveyor, or equivalent classification, is $135,052.00. The closest salary range to this on the County of Humboldt Salary Range Schedule is 565 which has a top annual salary of $134,857.56. The County of Humboldt currently falls nearly at the bottom of the data collection list at a top annual salary of $94,642.20. Assigning the County Surveyor to range 565 would be a 35.5% increase.
Based upon the research completed by the Public Works and Human Resources Departments, the Human Resources Department recommends a 14% increase to the County Surveyor compensation assigning the classification to the 524 salary range with a top annual salary of $109,917.48. Human Resources makes this recommendation based on the critical nature of recruiting and retaining a candidate to comply with California Government Code, but also takes into consideration fiscal sustainability. Furthermore, the compensation data collected from other counties does not consider regional cost of labor. Analysis of regional cost of labor is not readily available and would likely come at an additional cost to the county as it is proprietary. Although this information is not readily available, regional cost of labor should be considered to some degree when making a compensation recommendation and Human Resources is comfortable making this recommendation based on the sample of regional cost of labor data obtained during the countywide classification and compensation study. As per Humboldt County Merit System Rule II.3 the revisions to the classification specifications will be effective upon approval by your Board. Staff also recommends that your Board approve County HR-recommended enhanced minimum qualifications classification specifications and adopt the associated resolution.
Interim Appointment
Upon the resignation of the County Surveyor, Robert W. Bronkall will be the only person in Public Works who has the license to perform the duties of County Surveyor. Public Works is proposing to have Mr. Bronkall appointed County Surveyor during the recruitment period. This will ensure that there is not an interruption in service.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The duties of the County Surveyor are split between the Road Fund and the General Fund. Within the General Fund, the County Surveyor is compensated through fees paid by applicants. Some fees are established as “actual cost.” Other fees are fixed. The fixed fees will need to be adjusted in the fiscal year 2021-22 fee schedule. Work done on roads projects are either reimbursable through funding grants or paid through the road fund (1200). Public Works estimates that the increased cost to the General Fund for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2021-22 is $6,460. The current maximum annual salary for the County Survey is $94,642.20 and the recommended new maximum is $109,917.48, an increase of 14% or $15,275.28.
There is no additional expense for the appointment Mr. Bronkall as County Surveyor as his salary is already calculated and allocated in the Fiscal Year 2021-22 budget in 1100-166.
STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK:
This action supports your Board’s Strategic Framework by providing community-appropriate levels of service, providing for and maintaining infrastructure, investing in County employees, and managing our resources to ensure sustainability of services.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
Koff & Associates
ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS:
The Board of Supervisors could choose not to approve all or a portion of these recommendations. This is not recommended as the current salary is not competitive enough to successfully recruit the state mandated position of County Surveyor.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Amended County Surveyor Job Classification Specification
2. Comprehensive Compensation Schedule and Classification Summary effective 8-10-21
3. County Surveyor Compensation Research
4. Department of Consumer Affairs - Roster of Active Licensed Land Surveyors and Active Pre-1982 Civil Engineers
5. Resolution amending the July 1, 2020 - December 31, 2021, Compensation Plans for Management & Confidential and approving a Comprehensive Compensation Schedule and Classification Summary effective August 10, 2021
PREVIOUS ACTION/REFERRAL:
Board Order No.: Unk, I-4
Meeting of: April 14, 2009, October 6, 2015
File No.: 16-7142, 15-1069