Agenda Report
Fullerton City Council
MEETING DATE: OCTOBER 20, 2026
TO: CITY COUNCIL / SUCCESSOR AGENCY
SUBMITTED BY: Laura Giannetti-Mercer, Acting Director of HUMAN RESOURCES PREPARED BY: lAURA GIANNETTI-MERCER, Acting director of human resources SUBJECT: FULLERTON MUNICIPAL CODE AMENDMENT, RENAMING THE ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES DEPARTMENT AND CLASSIFICATION PLAN UPDATE TO ESTABLISH DIRECTOR OF FINANCE AND DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF FINANCE POSITIONS
SUMMARY
Staff requests City Council consideration of an ordinance renaming the Administrative Services Department to the Finance Department. Staff also proposes amendments to the City’s personnel classification plan to establish the Director of Finance and Deputy Director of Finance classifications. These changes would include corresponding updates to the Resolution Relating to Compensation for Executive Employees, as well as a correction to Appendix A, salary range 1010.
PROPOSED MOTION
Introduce Ordinance No. XXXX for first reading and waive further reading of the ordinance.
ORDINANCE NO. XXXX – AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FULLERTON, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING FULLERTON MUNICIPAL CODE TITLE 1, CHAPTER 1.12.217 PERTAINING TO RULES OF CONSTRUCTION Adopt the following resolutions:
RESOLUTION NO. 2026-XXX – A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FULLERTON, CALIFORNIA, ADOPTING AND DELETING CERTAIN CLASSIFICATION SPECIFICATIONS IN THE PERSONNEL CLASSIFICATION PLAN RESOLUTION NO. 2026-XXX – A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FULLERTON, CALIFORNIA, RELATING TO COMPENSATION FOR EXECUTIVE EMPLOYEES AND SUPERSEDING RESOLUTION NO. 2025-039.
ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS
Approve the Proposed Motions
Other options brought by City Council.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the Proposed Motions.
CITY MANAGER REMARKS
None
PRIORITY POLICY STATEMENT
This item matches the following Priority Policy Statement:
Fiscal and Organizational Stability.
FISCAL IMPACT
Staff propose assigning the Director of Finance to Salary Range 1070, with a salary control point of $204,464. This will allow the City to offer a competitive salary, comparable to other surrounding cities. The anticipated annual total compensation, including benefits, would total $375,800. The Fiscal Year (FY) 2026-27 Adopted Budget includes funding for the Director position at Salary Range 1060 and totals $313,500. However, the proposed costs would be partially offset due to the position currently being filled on an interim basis, in addition to salary savings of vacant positions within the Department. Therefore, no additional budget appropriations are required.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
Historically, the Administrative Services Department has overseen a broad range of organizational functions, including Risk Management and Information Technology. As the City's organizational structure has evolved, Risk Management was transitioned to Human Resources , and Information Technology now operates under the City Manager's Office. Consequently, the department's current responsibilities are primarily focused on traditional municipal finance functions, including budgeting, accounting, financial reporting, treasury management, and financial planning.
To better align the department's name with its current functions and organizational structure, the City Manager proposes renaming the Administrative Services Department to the Finance Department. This change would more accurately reflect the department's responsibilities and provide greater clarity regarding its role within the organization. The proposed name change requires an amendment to Section 1.12.217 of the Fullerton Municipal Code.
In conjunction with the department name change, staff recommends establishing the Director of Finance and Deputy Director of Finance classifications to align the executive positions with the department's primary responsibilities and support the City's upcoming recruitment for its senior financial leadership position.
The City also engaged Grant Thornton Advisors (GTA) to evaluate selected accounting transactions and budget items for consistency with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and City policies and procedures. GTA identified opportunities to improve financial governance, accounting practices, and financial reporting, reinforcing the importance of specialized governmental accounting expertise and experienced financial leadership.
As the City prepares to recruit its next department director, the proposed classification and compensation adjustments are intended to attract the most highly qualified candidate with the technical accounting expertise and executive management experience necessary to address the City's complex financial management needs.
Staff recommends assigning the Director of Finance to Salary Range 1070, with a salary control point of $204,464, compared to the current Salary Range 1060 control point of $194,066. This represents an approximate 5.4 percent increase and would place the position at the same salary range as the Director of Community and Economic Development. A compensation analysis of comparable Orange County agencies supports the adjustment and would bring the City's compensation closer to the market average.
Staff also recommend establishing the Deputy Director of Finance classification at Salary Range 1010, consistent with the existing Deputy Director of Administrative Services classification.
Appendix Correction
It was discovered that the Executive salary schedule, effective July 4, 2026, had the incorrect dollar amount entered for the Salary Control Point under salary range 1010, resulting in the salary range being calculated incorrectly. This error was limited to both the salary schedule effective July 4, 2026, and salary range 1010. Staff request that Appendix A be updated to correct this mistake. The positions assigned to this salary range are currently vacant; therefore, the error did not affect any employees.
Attachments:
Attachment 1 – Draft Ordinance
Attachment 2 – Draft Resolution (classification plan update) Attachment 3 – Executive Resolution (redline)
Attachment 4 – Draft Resolution (Executive resolution)
cc: City Manager Eddie Manfro
Classification Plan Update-Executive
October 20, 2026 - Page 2