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C. 24

To:	Board of Supervisors
From:	Mark Peterson, District Attorney
Date:	December 8, 2015

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

Add Three (3) Legal Assistant Positions in the District Attorney's Office

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 12/08/2015

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor
Mary N. Piepho, District III Supervisor
Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor

Contact:	Cherie Mathisen, (925) 957-2234
cc:	Cherie Mathisen Cheryl Koch James Hicks Tanya Williams Amanda Monson

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: December 8, 2015
David Twa,

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

ADOPT Position Adjustment Resolution No. 21787 to add three (3) Legal Assistant (2Y7B) (represented) positions at salary plan and grade ZB5 1337 ($4,182 - $5,083) to support prosecution of Real Estate, Consumer, Environmental and Insurance Fraud in the District Attorney's Office - Special Operations.

FISCAL IMPACT:

Upon approval, this action will result in an annual cost of approximately $292,000, of which approximately $65,167 will be attributable to employer pension costs. One position will be funded by the Real Estate Fraud special fund; one position will be funded jointly by the Consumer Protection and Environmental prosecution special funds; and one position will funded by the Insurance Fraud grants received from the Department of Insurance.

BACKGROUND:

These units have been utilizing the services of paralegals on a temporary basis for some time. The District Attorney's office is seeking to add full time Legal Assistant positions in order to maintain consistent and reliable staffing in these units.

Real Estate Fraud: The paralegal in this unit coordinates case intake, assists in investigations and case preparation, and has primary responsibility for two programs which seek to prevent real estate fraud in Contra Costa County. These programs include: 1) District Attorney Foreclosure Advisory Letter Notification, and 2) Real Estate Fraud Notification Program.

Consumer and Environmental:
Environmental Protection: The paralegal processes documents and manages and reviews documents generated by the litigation process. The paralegal also drafts summaries and memorandum and assists in fact-gathering for cases. In addition, the paralegal conducts legal research regarding environmental laws, procedures, and case histories.

Consumer Protection: The paralegal screens, reviews and responds to consumer complaints from the general public, assists with the preparation of legal documents, including but not limited to, complaints, preliminary injunctions and stipulated judgments.

Insurance Fraud Unit:
This position is responsible for case intake and evaluation, coordination of investigation, maintaining statistics required for reporting to the state to maintain and increase the size of our grants, writing grant applications, processing evidence seized from search warrants, coordinating discovery, coordinating witnesses, and assisting with trial and grand jury preparation.

CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:

The department will not have appropriate and full time positions to maintain consistent and reliable staffing in these three units; these three positions are funded by grants and special funds.

CHILDREN'S IMPACT STATEMENT:

No impact.