REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF THE FOLLOWING:
COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO
BOARD GOVERNED COUNTY SERVICE AREAS
AND RECORD OF ACTION
REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OF THE SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT
AND RECORD OF ACTION
December 17, 2019
FROM
BOB PAGE, Registrar of Voters, Registrar of Voters
SUBJECT
Title
Adoption of Ordinances Establishing Revised Employee Poll Worker Program for the County, Board Governed County Service Areas, and the County Fire Protection District.
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. Acting as the governing body of the County of San Bernardino, adopt ordinance adding Section 13.0617 to the County Code relating to County employees serving as election workers, which was introduced on December 10, 2019, Item No. 53.
2. Acting as the governing body of the Board Governed County Service Areas, adopt ordinance relating to employees serving as election workers, which was introduced on December 10, 2019, Item No. 53.
3. Acting as the governing body of the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District, adopt ordinance relating to employees serving as election workers, which was introduced on December 10, 2019, Item No. 53.
(Presenter: Bob Page, Registrar of Voters, 387-2100)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Improve County Government Operations.
Operate in a Fiscally-Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item may require additional Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The Registrar of Voters (ROV) budgeted approximately $865,000 to fund election workers in 2019-20. Approval of this item could increase the 2019-20 budget by up to $150,000. The possible incremental increase to the total cost of election workers caused by the recommended ordinance will depend on the number and compensation level of the County employees and employees of other Board of Supervisors governed entities who serve and what role they are assigned to fill in polling places. The County Employee Poll Worker Program will continue to be administered by existing ROV staff. The necessary adjustments to the ROV 2019-20 budget will be included on the 2019-20 First Quarter Budget Report presented to the Board of Supervisors (Board) for approval.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The ordinances relating to employees serving as election workers was introduced on December 10, 2019, Item No. 53. The item before the Board today recommends adoption of the ordinances on the Consent Calendar.
County employees are an important source of volunteer election workers who help residents exercise their right to vote at polling places, which total more than 400 during countywide elections. The recommended ordinances are intended to increase the number of employees participating and in turn improve the services provided to voters.
On February 28, 2006 (Item No. 41), the Board adopted Ordinance No. 3970, establishing the County Employee Poll Worker Program. Through the program, County employees were paid their regular County compensation without having to use their leave balances for Election Day as well as a daily stipend of $100 to $250 depending on the election worker position they filled. Employees were also expected to complete required election worker training outside their normal work schedule and without pay by attending evening or weekend classes.
Over the years, 200 to 300 County employees have served as election workers for each countywide election. About 65 percent of the 218 County employee poll workers in the November 2018 Statewide General Election attended training classes during work hours, using leave balances to do so.
The recommended ordinances would re-establish (the County ordinance setting forth the program was inadvertently repealed in a larger clean-up ordinance in 2015) and amend the program by:
1) expanding it to employees of Board Governed County Service Areas and the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District;
2) expanding the definition of employee to include regular employees, Public Service Employees, extra-help and recurrent employees, and contract employees; and
3) changing the method of financially compensating employees who volunteer as poll workers.
ROV’s goal is to recruit one to two County employees to work in each polling place, one of which would serve as supervisor to improve the professional management of the polling places.
The recommended ordinances would amend the method of compensation for County Employees as follows:
• Employees will be encouraged to attend training during their regular work hours, receiving the compensation to which they are entitled without having to use their leave balances.
• For working 15 to 16 hours on Election Day, employees would be compensated in accordance with the applicable memorandum of understanding and other applicable ordinances, polices, and procedures.
For example, if a County employee poll worker was regularly scheduled to work on Election Day, then the employee would receive his or her regular salary for his or her standard tour of duty hours during the pay period. If the hours worked by a County employee poll worker on Election Day cause an employee to exceed his or her standard tour of duty hours, the employee would receive any additional compensation to which he or she is entitled, provided that any due overtime or other form of additional compensation had been approved by his or her supervisor. However, any employee not entitled to additional compensation for working more hours in a period than his or her standard tour of duty would only receive his or her regular salary irrespective of how many hours he or she worked on Election Day.
ROV would then reimburse each employee’s department or district for the compensation the employee receives while in election worker training and all additional compensation for working on Election Day.
ROV developed the updated Program with the assistance of Human Resources and County Counsel.
The County Employee Poll Worker Program provides employees a chance to gain valuable leadership and supervisorial experience in an environment outside their office or work site. Each employee must get their supervisor’s approval to serve as a poll worker so departments can ensure they still have sufficient resources to provide vital services.
PROCUREMENT
Not applicable.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Ken Hardy, Supervising Deputy County Counsel, 387-5401) on November 20, 2019; Human Resources (Mark DeBoer, Interim Assistant Director, 387-5570) on November 22, 2019; Finance (Elias Duenas, Finance Analyst, 387-4052) on November 22, 2019; and County Finance and Administration (Robert Saldana, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on December 2, 2019.