Budgetary Position Control
Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to control expenditures on personnel through control of the number of positions each organization is authorized to fill.
Policy
It is the policy of the Board of County Commissioners that the total number of permanent fulltime, and part time positions approved in the adopted budget for each department, agency or office funded by the BOCC may not be exceeded without prior approval of a change in the authorized staffing level. The County Administrator as designated Budget Officer may authorize position realignments between departments, agencies and offices with the consent of any affected appointing authorities, so long as the realignment is not inconsistent with the work program in the approved budget. For departments and agencies that report to the BOCC, this also applies to temporary positions.
Additions to the approved number of total positions (i.e., permanent full-time, part time, and temporary in all organizations funded by the BOCC will require BOCC approval.
The following applies to departments and agencies that report to the BOCC:
Approved positions that have remained vacant for longer than seven months will be frozen unless under active recruitment. Departments must make a written request to the County Administrator justifying the need to retain frozen positions. Positions not approved for retention by the County Administrator within one month after having been frozen will be eliminated, and the budget associated with those positions will be returned to the appropriate reserve account in the fund from which the position had been budgeted. Approved positions that have remained vacant for greater than one year will be eliminated along with related budget appropriation unless continuation of the position(s) is approved by the BOCC. For purposes of this policy, a position is not considered to be vacant if it is associated with an employee who is on an approved leave of absence. A position becomes vacant on the date that staff in the position terminates employment based on the effective date stated in an approved personnel action. Newly established positions are considered to become vacant from the effective date of the position as determined through Civil Service Board approval up until such time as the position becomes filled with a new employee.
Positions that are not established through either the Human Resources Department (unclassified positions) or the Civil Service Office (classified positions) within six months after BOCC approval will be eliminated along with related budget appropriation and reported to the BOCC through an agenda item.
Costs associated with the use of temporary employees will be controlled through standards documented by the Human Resources Department. At a minimum, these standards will address the use of temporary agencies, compensation, promotional opportunities, and recruitment. The term of employment for temporary staff shall not exceed 180 days.
Responsibilities
It is the responsibility of the Business and Support Services Department, under the direction of the County Administrator, to implement this policy.