06 - Deputy District Clerk Position Costa Mesa Sanitary District …an Independent Special District Protecting our community’s health and the environment by providing solid waste and sewer collection services. www.cmsdca.gov Memorandum To: Board of Directors From : Scott Carroll, General Manager Date: June 17 , 2014 Subject: Deputy District Clerk Position Summary The Board of Directors directed staff to prepare an analysis for the Deputy District Clerk position to help support the District Cl erk. Board members had concerns for adequate coverage when the District Clerk is on leave. Staff Recommendation Tha t the Board of Directors receive and file this report. Analysis The District Clerk is the official keeper of District records and is responsible for administering democratic processes such as elections and legislative actions that ensures transparency to the public. The District Clerk also acts as a compliance officer for federal, state and local statutes including the Political Reform Act, the Brown Act and the Public Records Act. Attached is a copy of the duties and responsibilities fo r the District Clerk. Staff is currently crossed trained on some District Clerk duties to ensure there are adequate coverage and no disruption of service when the clerk is on leave for a short time (e.g. one to five days). For example, staff is trained on preparing agenda packets and uploading the packets on the website. Staff is also cross trained on Government Outreach for notifying the public about agendas, press releases, special events, announcements, etc., via email. In addition, staff is currently cross trained on accessing and retrieving ITEM NO. 06
Board of Directors June 17 , 2014 Page 2 of 3 documents from Laserfiche, and staff can respond to public records request and knows how to comply with the Brown Act. If the District Clerk is going to be on leave for a long period of time, the duties and resp onsibilities listed in the attachment will be too much for staff to take on in addition to his/her regular duties. If the District Clerk is on leave for long term, the District would hire a consultant to fill the void. This happened when Joan Revak retir ed from the District in March 2012 and the District hired City Clerk Management Services (CCMS) to provi de clerk duties . CCMS provided clerk duties for nearly four months. When the Executive Assistant/Deputy District Clerk was promoted to District Clerk in December 2013, the Executive Assistant/Deputy District Clerk position was eliminated . The salary range for this position was $60,000 to $80,350. I do not believe there is a need for a Deputy District Clerk position because the current workload for t he District Clerk’s Office does not warrant another position. For instance, the City Clerk’s Office in the City of Costa Mesa has 3.5 employee s. In FY 2011 -12, the City Clerk’s Office received 4,500 formal and informal records request & phone calls. I n contrast, the District Clerk’s Office receives about a dozen records request and phone calls a year . In 2013, the Costa Mesa City Council had 38 public meetings compared to 30 meetings by the Board of Directors. Also, the City has fourteen departments compared to f ive departments in the District and the city clerk is responsible for managing documents to fifteen commissions and committees , which me ans a larger records management system is being maintained at the City. The City Clerk’s Office in the City of Newport Beach has four employees including a Deputy City Clerk. In 2013, the Newport Beach City Council had 37 public meetings . The office also provides records management to eleven departments and fourteen Boards, Commissions and Committees. In conclusion, I believe cross -training of existing staff on essential clerk duties (e.g. agenda preparation, noticing and distribution, public records request, document retrieval, etc.) is sufficient when District Clerk is on leave for short term. If th e District Clerk is on leave for long term, the District will consider contracting this service to ensure no disruption of service. Strategic Plan Element & Goal This item complies wit h Strategic Element 6 .0., Personnel/Organizational Management and Strategic Goal No. 6.2, Job Description Update.
Board of Directors June 17 , 2014 Page 3 of 3 Legal Review Not applicable. Environmental Review Consideration of whether the District has adequate coverage when the District Clerk is on leave is an administrative matter, and administrative matters are exempt under CEQA and the District’s CEQA Guidelines. Financial Review The cost to employ a full -time Deputy District Clerk is approximately $78,000 to $104,455, which includes salary and benefits. The cost to hire City Clerk Management Services is approximately $14,000 a month. Public Notice Process Copies of this report are on file and will be included with the entire agenda packet for the June 17 , 2014 Bo ard of Directors study session at District Headquarters and on the District’s website. Alternative Actions 1. Refer the matter back to staff. Attachment A: District Clerk Duties & Responsibilities
District Clerk Duties & Responsibilities Elections Official Work with OC Registrar of Voters during the election Provide frequent updates to the Board on candidate filings ReceiveAandAfileAcampaignAstatementsA(FormA460’s)AforApublicAreview When unscheduled vacancies occur, prepare notices, applications, and publications for Board to fill by appointment Municipal Officer Liaison to the Board of Directors, General Manager, staff, legal counsel, outside agencies, and the general public. Maintain Bo ard’sAcalendarAofAevents,AmeetingAschedule,AcompleteAconferenceAregistrations,A travel and accommodation. Clerk of the Board – Agenda preparation, staff report review, agenda packet compilation and distribution Shall keep an accurate record of the proceedings of the legislative body Minute preparation Notices of adjournment, cancellation, date change (time sensitive for posting) Publication of public hearing notices (time sensitive) Attestations Administers Oaths of Office Custodian of the District Seal cceptAsubpoena’sAandAlawsuits Political Reform Officer Form 700 – agency wide annual filings Biennial review of conflict of interest code – addition, deletion, or modification of specific types of reclassifications, renaming or deletion of previously designated positions. Filing of Forms 801 & 802 (Gifts to Agencies), 806 (Identifying directors who are appointed to other boards for which they receive a stipend) Records Manager Ensuring public access to District records to promote transparency Custodian of records and filing officer Records retention – ensuringAretentionAandAdestructionAcomplianceAperAtheADistrict’sAadoptedA retention schedule. Electronic records management – document indexing, research & retrieval Minutes – transcribe, approve and archive Ordinances – publication/legal notice (time sensitive) ATTACHMENT A
Resolutions Contracts – receive, scan/archive, distribute Public records act compliance Update operations code and post Other Serve on the Website/Technology Committee Budget management for District Clerk’sAOffice Program manager - Citizen Relationship Manager (Government Outreach) Emergency Operations Center/Disaster worker Notary Public Bid openings ATTACHMENT A