RECOMMENDATION(S): (CONT'D)
3. APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the hiring of County retiree Ralph Simmons as a temporary County employee for the period December 6, 2016 through June 30, 2017.
FISCAL IMPACT:
If the request is granted, there will continue to be salary and employment tax payments for the hours provided of approximately $50,409 for up to 960 hours per year. These costs will be offset by savings due to the vacancy of the permanent position. There is no additional fiscal impact. Salary costs are included in the Department's operating budget.
BACKGROUND:
The Public Employee Pension Reform Act of 2013 requires that active members who retire on or after January 1, 2013 must wait 180 days after retirement before returning to work as a temporary employee. The Act also allows the Board, based on a finding that the appointment is necessary to fill a critically needed position, to waive the 180 day "sit out" period.
The department would like to hire Mr. Simmons as a temporary employee due to ongoing back-up support for the PeopleSoft Payroll and Human Resources HCM system, Kronos Timekeeping system and continued support for the interfaces for CPAS, a pension administration system, for the Contra Costa County Employees’ Retirement Association.
Mr. Simmons retired from the Department of Information Technology on September 1, 2016. He served in a key role in the maintenance and support of various systems Kronos Timekeeping system and the Retirement systems. He worked with the Department of Information Technology for over 18 years, working with PeopleSoft, Kronos and other mainframe systems using COBOL.
In the past year, three Senior Analysts who supported our PeopleSoft Human Capital Management (HCM) and Kronos Timekeeping systems retired, promoted or transferred with little notice. This left one Senior Analyst to support the system. The Department of Information Technology started to train a mid-level Analyst and has hired three lower-level Analysts to learn the systems. The PeopleSoft HCM system is currently used to process the County’s payroll, in addition to maintaining human resources and employee benefits records. Mr. Simmons will also ensure PeopleSoft and Kronos daily operations; enhancement request and user support will not be interrupted. During this time Mr. Simmons will be training the new analyst to assume these duties.
The Department of Information Technology has been struggling to attract and retain staff with knowledge and skills related to PeopleSoft and mainframe technology. With over 18 years of experience in this area with Contra Costa County, Mr. Simmons is uniquely qualified to perform the necessary training and help with the support. The Department does not have any other staff that possess the specialized technical and business knowledge of the County justice systems and who can complete the work that is essential to the continued support of the PeopleSoft application.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
Disapproval of the request will increase the risk that the County will be unable to process employee Payroll, Human Resources and Employee Benefits timely and accurately, the serious consequences of which cannot be overstated.