Salary costs are included in the Department’s operating budget. There will be salary and employment tax payments for the hours provided of approximately $70,000 for up to 960 hours per fiscal year. These costs will be offset by savings due to the vacancy of the permanent position.
The Public Employee’s 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 findings that the appointment is necessary to fill critically needed positions, to waive the 180-day “sit-out” period.
Mr. James Stein retired from the Public Works Department on July 30, 2022 after over 24 years of service. He retired from the position of the County Surveyor, which is a single position class that fulfills statutory requirements of the Professional Land Surveyors Act. As the County Surveyor, Mr. Stein managed the Surveys Section that provides map review, right of way engineering, and field surveys function of the Department. He also supervised the Senior Land Surveyors, provided direction to professional and technical staff, and performed related tasks as required in that position.
The Department has been working on a succession planning effort and is in the process of recruiting for the County Surveyor position. Unfortunately, on a statewide level, there has been a limited amount of qualified professional land surveyors with the expertise and experience required in this position. Due to the complexities of this job and in the interim, Mr. Stein’s expertise, experience, and institutional knowledge are critical in our Department’s succession planning, training the next appointed County Surveyor and recently hired Senior Land Surveyors, and assisting in continuing to provide the Department’s surveying services. The Department intends to have Mr. Stein assist the Surveys Unit of the Department in this position until the recruitment to backfill for the County Surveyor position is completed.
Failure to receive Board approval will result in a negative impact on the Department’s ability to provide the surveying services.