City Council Memorandum
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL DATE: JULY 18, 2023 FROM: HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT WARDS: ALL SUBJECT: REVISIONS TO THE MASTER FRINGE BENEFITS AND SALARY PLAN FOR THE CREATION OF THE NEW CLASSIFICATION AND SALARY RANGE FOR THE LICENSED CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKER; SALARY ADJUSTMENT TO THE PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT CLASSIFICATION; AND TITLE CHANGE FOR THE REAL PROPERTY SERVICES OFFICER CLASSIFICATION ISSUE:
Approve a revision to the Citywide Fringe Benefits and Salary Plan for the creation of the new classification and salary range for the Licensed Clinical Social Worker; salary adjustment to the Principal Accountant; and title change to the Real Property Services Officer classification RECOMMENDATION:
That the City Council
Approve the creation of the new classification and salary range for the Licensed Clinical Social Worker; Approve the salary adjustment for the Principal Accountant classification; Approve the title change for the Real Property Services Officer classification; Adopt a Resolution amending the Master Fringe Benefits and Salary Plan to reflect the new classification and salary range for the Licensed Clinical Social Worker; salary adjustment to the Principal Accountant classification; and the title change for the Real Property Services Officer classification.
DISCUSSION:
New Classification:
Creation of Licensed Clinical Social Worker classification:
The Office of Homeless Solutions submitted a request to the Human Resources Department to conduct a classification and compensation study to create a new classification for Licensed Clinical Social Worker. The Office of Homeless Solutions seeks to recruit for three Licensed Clinical Social Workers to prevent the flow of homeless individuals exiting from the Riverside County Emergency Treatment Services (ETS) back to the streets. The clinical therapists will assist individuals experiencing homelessness with appropriate services including ongoing mental health services, substance abuse treatment, shelter resources, and handle highly sensitive and confidential information for the individuals they service.
The Clinical Social Worker is responsible for working collaboratively with ETS staff and coordinating discharge and treatment plans that support patient-centered care. The functions of the Social Worker include crisis intervention techniques, high risk screening, brief counseling, referring for financial or other identified resource needs with the health care team and the Office of Homeless Solutions as needed, and engagement of appropriate agencies or community resources when high risk patients are identified. During the 2023 Point-In-Time Count, 23% of people experiencing homelessness in the City of Riverside indicated that they suffer from mental illness. While 33% self-reported that they suffer from substance misuse. Co-occurring disorders complicate recovery and homeless individuals exit into self-sufficiency. A licensed Clinical Social Worker will provide necessary support to our target population.
The Human Resources Department conducted a classification and compensation study for a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. The City’s approved Labor Market Basket was used for this classification and compensation study to locate comparable classifications. Since there were only two agencies within the market basket that had a comparable classification for a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, the Human Resources Department recommended inclusion of three local County agencies with comparable classifications (County of Orange, County of Los Angeles, and County of San Diego). Based on the results of the market survey, it is recommended that the median maximum salary total of the comparable agencies be used as the recommended maximum salary. Additionally, the 3% COLA adjustment for the unrepresented unit will be included in the proposed base salary range. This salary recommendation aligns with the County of San Diego salary range and is also slightly above the County of Riverside maximum salary (see Exhibit B - Salary Survey Data). The salary recommendation will be crucial to attracting and recruiting qualified candidates for the City of Riverside. Due to the types of interactions and information the Licensed Clinical Social Worker will be receiving from members of the community experiencing homelessness, it is recommended that this classification be placed into the Confidential bargaining unit, which aligns with the existing classifications within the Office of Homeless Solutions.
The proposed salary range is illustrated below for the Licensed Clinical Social Worker:
Job Code
New Classification Title
Proposed Monthly Salary
New
Licensed Clinical Social Worker
(BU 25-Confidential)
$6,945 – $8,536
Salary Adjustment:
The Human Resources Department recommends a salary adjustment be applied to the Principal Accountant classification to create the minimum required ten (10%) percent differential with the Senior Accountant classification, as the Senior Accountant reports to the Principal Accountant classification. The salary range for the subordinate classification of Senior Accountant was recently adjusted which caused a compaction issue with the Principal Accountant classification. The salary adjustment for the Principal Accountant should have been included on the May 16, 2023, Council Report under Salary Adjustments. The City of Riverside Fringe Benefits and Salary Plan, Part II, Section 5, Salary Differentials, I. Miscellaneous (1), states that the top step of the salary range of any Sr. Management/Management/Professional/Supervisory classification shall be a minimum of two steps (approximately ten percent) above the top step of the closest subordinate classification, with the exception of those classifications supervising specialized classifications which are highly compensated due to labor market conditions. Subordinate classification shall be defined as any position classification in which there are employees who are supervised by the management employee. The salary adjustment is illustrated below:
Job Code
Classification Title
Current Monthly
Salary Range
Proposed Monthly
Salary Range
% Increase to Max Salary
8290
Principal Accountant (BU 15)
$8,046 - $9,789
$8,406 - $10,228
4.48%
Title Change of Existing Classification:
A title change is recommended for the Real Property Services Officer to more accurately reflect the purpose of the classification as illustrated below:
Job Code
Current Classification Title
Proposed Classification Title
8802
Real Property Services Officer (BU 55)
Real Property Compliance Officer (BU 55)
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT:
This action contributes to Strategic Priority 5 – High Performing Government and Goal 5.1 – Attract, develop, engage, and retain a diverse and highly skilled workforce across the entire City organization.
This item aligns with each of the Cross-Cutting Threads as follows:
Community Trust – New classifications allow the city to accurately align with comparable market classifications to attract the appropriate workforce skillset to efficiently maintain City services.
Equity – Classifications and salary levels are reviewed against comparable classifications within the approved City market basket. These are also reviewed internally to ensure the appropriate internal salary alignment with comparable classifications.
Fiscal Responsibility – Classifications and salaries are reviewed both internally and within the City’s comparable market basket to ensure appropriate salary alignment.
Innovation – Classifications are reviewed and updated to ensure the City is progressive on new fields of study, changes to specific fields related to certifications, associated technology, educational and experience requirements.
Sustainability & Resiliency – Classifications are updated, and salary adjustments are adopted to ensure employees can work effectively and efficiently; and at the same time retain a diverse range of highly skilled employees who can adapt to the changing needs of the City both internally and externally.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The total fiscal impact for FY 2023/24 for all positions listed (4 FTEs) is estimated to be $312,564. All costs associated with these positions have been incorporated into each department’s respective budget that was presented to Council for adoption in June 2023.
Prepared by: Rene Goldman, Human Resources Director
Certified as to
Availability of funds: Kristie Thomas, Finance Director/Assistant Chief Financial Officer Approved by: Edward Enriquez, Assistant City Manager/Chief Financial Officer/City Treasurer
Approved as to form: Phaedra A. Norton, City Attorney
Attachments:
Resolution
Exhibit A – Job Code Table – New Classification, Salary Adjustments, Title Change.
Exhibit B – Salary Survey Data for Licensed Clinical Social Worker Fringe Benefits and Salary Plan