5-100: Salary Resolution Amendments

Purpose

To define the usage and characteristics of Salary Resolution Amendments (SRAs) used to amend the Annual Salary Ordinance, and the manner in which they will be authorized, as required.

Authority

•  Sacramento County Personnel Ordinance Section 2.78.015 (a) – Annual Salary Ordinance​

Scope

This policy applies to each of the County agencies and departments requesting program and/or full-time equivalent (FTE) changes, amending the Annual Salary Ordinance adopted by the Board of Supervisors. 

The Annual Salary Ordinance is adopted or amended by the Board of Supervisors each year and reflects the total number of positions authorized for each class in each of the County agencies and departments. 

SRAs, which include, but are not limited to, adding, deleting, or reallocating permanent and limited term positions, are used to amend the Annual Salary Ordinance. 

Together with the SRAs, the Annual Salary Ordinance shall fix and regulate the number of positions that may be filled in each of the County agencies and departments and shall establish the rates of compensation for each class, which shall be paid in accordance with the provisions of the Sacramento County Code, Title 2 Chapter 2.78. 

SRAs are distinguished by two primary types – Administrative and Board of Supervisors items. ​

Definitions

Annual Salary Ordinance: Ordinance adopted or amended annually by the Board of Supervisors and that reflects the total number of positions authorized for each class in each of the agencies and departments.

Confidential Designation: Assigned to positions where an employee regularly participates in making or regularly has advance knowledge of decisions of the County affecting employee relations. 

Limited Term Position: A position of temporary duration, which is established for a designated period of time that is greater than six (6) months, for the accomplishment of a specific project or to meet a time limited need. 

Permanent Position: Any position established in the annual salary ordinance, excepting any position established to accomplish a specific project which is limited in its duration. 

Special Skill: Possession of the required defined skill or knowledge that pertains to the job specifications of a given position as certified or approved by DPS (e.g. possessing certification pertinent to the position, the ability to speak, read, and/or write fluently in a language other than English or possessing knowledge of the culture, etc.). 

Temporary Position: A position of limited duration and which may not exceed one day less than six (6) months. 

Policy

1. Adminsitrative Item

Change to the Annual Salary Ordinance that is considered administrative or clerical in nature and does not require approval by the Board of Supervisors or has already been approved by the Board of Supervisors. The SRA does not contain fiscal (exceptions are specified below), program, and/or FTE changes.

a. Budget

Administrative Budget items include: 

• Addition, deletion, or reallocation of position previously approved by the Board of Supervisors through the budget hearing process.

b. Non-Budget

Administrative non-Budget items include, but are not limited to:

• Class reallocation which does not contain fiscal or program changes.
• Changing full-time position to part-time, or part-time position to full-time with no change to the total FTE allocation.​
• Addition or deletion of special skill designation to an existing position. 
• Addition or deletion of confidential designation to an existing position with approval from the Office of Labor Relations. 
• Addition or deletion of a salary change to a class which was previously approved by the Board of Supervisors where represented or unrepresented employees may be affected (e.g. salary adjustment for represented employees through approval of a labor agreement, salary adjustment for unrepresented employees through approval of a proposed item from the Department of Personnel Services (DPS)). 
• Correction of error, such as typographical, mislabeling, or minor error in the original SRA.

2. Board of Supervisors Item: 

Change to the Annual Salary Ordinance that is a change to the approved Annual Budget or Position Allocations which typically include, but are not limited to, fiscal, program, and/or FTE changes. Such changes require approval by the Board of Supervisors.

The two types of Board of Supervisors items, defined below, include:

a. Personnel Services Consolidated Agenda Item:

SRAs containing routine changes prepared and presented regularly to the Board of Supervisors. 

The Department of Personnel Services (DPS) Consolidated Agenda items include, but are not limited to:

• Civil Service Action. 
• Changes to Section I (Alpha Class Table)/Section 45 (Special Pay Allowances) of the Salary Ordinance. 
• Routine class reallocation or classification plan change that is cost neutral or reflects a cost savings, is non controversial, and results in a net change of less than 1.0 FTE. Savings from positions that have been vacant for over two years or positions that would not otherwise be filled may not be included in the cost calculation. 

Items meeting the criteria for a DPS Consolidated Agenda Item will not be permitted to go as a separate Department Agenda Item.

DPS Consolidated Agenda Items will be taken to the Board four times a year: 

• The first Board meeting in March
  • Restricted to reallocations resulting from positions vacated October 1 of the previous year or later, or that otherwise were not possible for the previous December Consolidated SRA. 
• The first Board meeting in July 
  • Restricted to class studies with class specification changes, only, no changes to class titles, salaries, or reallocations without prior approval from the Office of the County Executive. 
• The second Board meeting in October. 
• The first Board meeting in December. 

b. Department Agenda Item

SRA requests not meeting the Consolidated SRA requirements must be presented individually, as separate items, to the Board of Supervisors. Unless specified below, items with an increased cost must be accompanied by additional departmental funding (i.e., no increase in net county cost).

The Department Agenda items include, but are not limited to

•  Classification changes that result in increased costs. 
•  Salary and other pay increases presented by DPS-Labor Relations to the Board of Supervisors. Included are recommendations to increase the salary range for a class or to change special pay allowances, such as incentive pay and night shift pay. These changes may result in increased net county cost. 
• Increases or decreases to the total number of FTE positions allocated to an Agency/Department that are greater than or equal to 1.0 FTE. 
• Changing a position type from Permanent to Limited Term or Limited Term to Permanent. 
• Reallocations involving a senior management classification comparable to a Chief or higher-level position. 
• Reallocations taken with an appropriation adjustment request. 
• Agency/Department reorganization including changes in policy or program, which may include reducing or increasing the level of staffing by reallocating, adding, and/or deleting positions, as well as transferring existing positions from their current Agency/Department to a new one, and retitling the name of the existing Agency/Department. 
• Major department reorganizations (such as the creation of a new Department) or other extraordinary or critical needs may not require additional departmental funding, subject to Office of the County Executive approval.

3. Request for Salary Resolution Amendment (SRA)

The DPS Classification and Pay Team and the Office of the County Executive Budget Analyst are jointly responsible for the review and processing of SRA requests from agencies/departments. DPS shall review each request for classification appropriateness based on the request and justification provided. The Budget Analyst will review each request for fiscal impact and sustainability. 

The DPS Classification and Pay Team is responsible for the maintenance of all processed SRA documentation.

4. Exceptions

a. Temporary Positions

SRAs shall not apply to temporary positions.

b. SRA Request Timelines

When possible, position changes should be included within each department’s June requested budget. SRAs are strongly discouraged from mid-March through September of each year, with limited exceptions requiring approval of the Office of the County Executive.

Exceptions should only be requested if:

• The department cannot temporarily underfill another vacant position. 
• An employee is at risk of losing their job. 
• The County is at risk of losing funding (i.e. grant funding with immediate expenditure timeline). 
• The County is at immediate risk of failing to meet a legal mandate
• Action is required in order to comply with approved labor agreements.​