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PERSONNEL / ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH - Director of Environmental Health Tia Branton
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Requested Action(s)
recommendation
a) Request approval of a new classification specification of Hazardous Materials Specialist I/II/III within the Joint Council Bargaining Unit, effective 6/24/25
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Financial Impact:
The proposed salary placement of the Hazardous Materials Specialist I is five percent (5%) below the currently budgeted Environmental Health Specialist I. Therefore, the requested action would result in an annual minimum cost savings to the General Fund of approximately $3,384.05 - $4,092.34.
Background Information:
The Environmental Health Department is requesting to add a new classification of Hazardous Materials Specialist I/II/III within the Joint Council Bargaining Unit.
The Department has enforcement inspection requirements for many different state mandated programs. These programs include Food, Recreational Health, Medical Waste, Public Water, OWTS, Domestic Water, Solid Waste and Medical Waste, etc. The state requires these inspections to be conducted by a Registered Environmental Health Specialist (REHS). The only programs that do not require a REHS are in the California Unified Program Agency (CUPA) program. This includes inspections in Hazardous Materials, Above Ground Storage Tanks, Underground Storage Tanks and Hazardous Materials Business Plan sites.
The requirements to become a REHS are outlined in the California Health and Safety Code and cannot be modified. Due to the strict minimum qualifications and process to become a REHS, the Department has struggled to fill vacant REHS allocations, which has in turn, left the Department short-staffed. The difficulty in finding qualified REHS candidates is a statewide problem. However, because the state does allow non-REHS to conduct CUPA functions. Many other Counties in California have made a similar designation between CUPA inspectors and REHS. The majority of our comparator Counties (Shasta, Butte, Yuba, and Humboldt) are among those who have added the classification of Hazardous Materials Specialist.
If approved, the Hazardous Materials Specialist I/II/III will perform professional office and field work in support of the County’s hazardous materials programs consistent with state mandates as a Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA); respond to complaints and/or emergencies and perform site analysis of hazardous materials incidents; verify compliance with requirements, inspect facilities for hazardous materials storage and hazardous waste disposal requirements throughout the County; and perform related duties as assigned.
The proposed classification is a flexibly staffed series of Hazardous Materials Specialist I/II/III. This would allow the Department to advance incumbents to the higher-level classifications after gaining the required knowledge, skills and experience for the higher-level classifications. Although flexibly staffed, incumbents would not automatically promote to the higher-level classification.
The recommended salary placements for each level of the classification series are as follows:
• Hazardous Materials Specialist I - Joint Council Range 29
• Hazardous Materials Specialist II - Joint Council Range 33
• Hazardous Materials Specialist III - Joint Council Range 37
This placement is five percent (5%) below the Environmental Health Specialist and sets the separation between each position within the series at the standard ten percent (10%).
If approved, the Department has requested amend the PAL by deleting one (1.00 FTE) vacant Environmental Health Specialist I/II/Senior allocation and replacing it with one (1.00 FTE) Hazardous Materials Specialist I/II/III allocation during the FY 2025/26 Recommended Budget.
The Joint Council Bargaining Unit has been notified of the proposed classification and salary placements and is in agreement with the requested action.