Agenda

Return

C. 35

To:	Board of Supervisors
From:	Dianne Dinsmore, Human Resources Director
Date:	October 22, 2019

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

Create Classification of Elections Temporary Assignment (EBWA)

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 10/22/2019

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor
Diane Burgis, District III Supervisor
Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor

ABSENT:

Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor

Contact:	Debi Cooper 925-335-7899
cc:	Debi Cooper

I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: October 22, 2019
David Twa,

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

ADOPT Position Adjustment Resolution No. 22521 to establish the classification of Elections Temporary Assignment (EBWA) (represented) at Salary Plan and Grade 3RX 1000 ($22.59/hour) in the Clerk Recorder - Elections Department.

FISCAL IMPACT:

100% General Fund. The increased costs are within the division's appropriated budget for temporary salaries for FY 2019-20. The division has estimated the increase at $54,000.

BACKGROUND:

For each major election cycle, the Clerk-Recorder Department must recruit between 50-75 temporary staff to assist with the Primary and General Elections. Many of these employees only work for the department for 3-6 weeks. Without these workers, the County cannot successfully conduct these major elections. With change at the State Legislature to move the 2020 Presidential Primary Election up to March instead of June, the Department needs to have staff hired and available to work no later than the first week of December. It is promising to be a high-profile election with a significant turnout.

BACKGROUND: (CONT'D)

The County has been losing Contra Costa temporary staff to Alameda County because Alameda's pay for this work is significantly higher. This is particularly apparent in West County, which is close to the Alameda County offices. The Department already has difficulty recruiting quality temporary staff due to the low unemployment rate and the fact that surrounding counties pay their temporary staff up to 50% more than we currently offer.

It currently takes an average of 2-3 weeks for a candidate to complete the County's pre-employment and onboarding processes. When the Department needs to bring on more than 50 people at one time, it creates great challenges for the Clerk-Recorder and Human Resources Departments to handle the volume.

The Clerk-Recorder Department's Elections Division and Human Resources have worked together to create a plan to establish an Elections Temporary Assignment Pool (ETAP) of candidates in order to ensure sufficient time to recruit and onboard before the need to deploy staff begins. In this way, we hope to spread out the onboarding process for the Clerk-Recorder and Human Resources Departments. Instead of all candidates needing to be processed at one time, we would have a continuous recruitment for candidates interested in working at election time. Alameda County has a Temporary Assignment Pool (TAP) program that has been in place for several years, and the framework for the ETAP program in Contra Costa is modeled off Alameda County's program.

CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:

Failure to create a classification and provide a competitive salary for election temporary help will interfere with the County's ability to conduct successful elections. Quality workers will continue to move to nearby counties that pay more.