REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
December 16, 2025
FROM
JASON ANDERSON, District Attorney
SUBJECT
Title
Budget Adjustment for Vehicles and Reclassification of Vacant Staff Training Instructor Position
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. Reclassify vacant Staff Training Instructor (R50), position no. 59289 to Media Specialist II (R53).
2. Approve appropriation adjustments to increase the budget to purchase vehicles assigned to the High-Tech Crime Unit that can accommodate computers and field equipment by $50,000 and authorize the Auditor-Controller/Treasurer/Tax Collector to post necessary budget adjustments to the District Attorney’s 2025-26 budget, as detailed in the Financial Impact section (Four votes required).
(Presenter: Michael Fermin, Chief Assistant District Attorney, 382-3662)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Operate in a Fiscally-Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the use of additional Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The District Attorney (Department) will use salary savings from vacant positions to cover the $50,000 shortfall between the 2025-26 budgeted amount of $464,000 and the needed budget of $514,000 for vehicles for the High-Tech Crime Unit.
The cost of the reclassification of one vacant Staff Training Instructor position to Media Specialist II is approximately $6,500. The Department can cover the cost of the reclassification with salary savings from vacant positions and will include the additional cost in future recommended budgets.
|
Fund Center |
Commitment Item |
Description |
Action |
Amount |
|
4500001000 |
51001010 |
Regular Salaries |
Decrease |
$50,000 |
|
4500001000 |
54504050 |
Vehicles |
Increase |
$50,000 |
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Department is the public prosecutor and has the mandated responsibility to prosecute crimes committed within the county, including city jurisdictions, pursuant to Government Code 26500. In the 2025-26 budget, the Board approved the District Attorney’s (Department) new initiative to form a High-Tech Crime Unit with new investigator positions, equipment, training, and vehicles. The tools and technology enable the investigators to retrieve digital evidence from a variety of devices. The new unit has already successfully assisted the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department with solving cases that involved the retrieval of digital evidence from devices and vehicles.
During budget development for 2025-26, the Department budgeted for seven vehicles and at a cost that is typical of the vehicle model assigned to investigators. Upon Board approval of the budget, the Department conducted its own competitive solicitation to purchase the needed vehicles more quickly and from southern California dealerships. However, the vehicle models that are needed to power equipment in the field are larger and therefore more expensive than the typical vehicles in the Department’s fleet. The Department budgeted approximately $58,000 per vehicle but the lowest quote averaged approximately $67,000 per vehicle. The Department purchased six vehicles but needs an additional $50,000 in appropriation to purchase the seventh vehicle.
The Department also requests approval for the reclassification of a vacant Staff Training Instructor to a Media Specialist II. The Department requested a new position of Staff Training Instructor during development of the 2024-25 annual budget to assist with developing training for attorneys. The Staff Development Unit develops a significant amount of training for attorneys to obtain MCLE credits as part of the California State Bar requirements for continuing education. The training is also intended to help new attorneys learn more quickly how to prosecute complex cases. Due to the significant number of vacant attorney positions, the Department needs to assign complex cases to attorneys sooner than in the past.
The request for the new Staff Training Instructor position for 2024-25 was deferred and because of heavy workload, the Department reassigned a clerical position to Staff Development Unit to help offset workload. Eventually, the Staff Training Instructor position was approved in the 2024-25 budget adjustments but has remained vacant. The Department reassessed the intended job duties for the Staff Training Instructor with Human Resources. Because the Department plans to digitize or modifying content for online training and the creation of an online resource and learning center, Human Resources recommended reclassifying the Staff Training Instructor to Media Specialist II. The Department agrees with the recommendation and requests approval of the reclassification.
PROCUREMENT
N/A
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Daniella Hernandez, Deputy County Counsel, 387-3121) on November 17, 2025; Purchasing (Jessica Barajas, Supervising Buyer, 387-2065) on November 17, 2025; Human Resources (Gina King, Assistant Director of HR, 387-5570) on November 25, 2025; Auditor-Controller/Treasurer/Tax Collector (Charlene Huang, Auditor-Controller Manager, 382-7022) on November 17, 2025; and County Finance and Administration (Elias Duenas, Administrative Analyst, 387-4052) on November 25, 2025.