8. CONSIDER
AUTHORIZATION OF MITIGATION FUNDS TO CONTRACT FOR
ONE WATER
RESOURCES ASSISTANT POSITION
Meeting
Date: June 16, 2003 Budgeted: Yes
Program/Line Item No.:
Fisheries 2-4-2B
Staff
Contact: Cynthia
Schmidlin Cost Estimate:
$16,500
General Counsel Approval: N/A
Committee Recommendation: The Administrative Committee reviewed this
item on June 10, 2003 and recommended approval.
CEQA Compliance: N/A
SUMMARY:
The contract Water Resources Assistant position is designed to assist with the
District’s fisheries and aquatic resources program, as well as assist staff in
groundwater and surface water monitoring programs within the Water Resources
Division. Funding for this position is included
in the 2003-2004 Fiscal Year (FY) budget. Authorization is requested to rehire
a contract Water Resources Assistant, with that individual entering into an
agreement with the District for up to 1000 hours of work between July 1, 2003
and June 30, 2004.
RECOMMENDATION:
Authorize the expenditure of funds to rehire a Water Resources Assistant
to assist the fishery biologists and hydrologists with field and administrative
tasks, for up to a total of 1000 hours during FY 2003-2004 at a salary of
$13.77 per hour. The Administrative Committee considered this item at its June
10, 2003 meeting and voted 2 to 0 to recommend approval.
IMPACTS TO STAFF/RESOURCES: The budget for FY 2003-2004 includes
funds to pay the part-time, contract Water Resources Assistant position for a
maximum of 1000 hours. Funds totaling
$16,500 are included in the Fisheries Mitigation Program as line item 2-4-2B in
the Summary of Project Expenditures section of the FY 2003-2004 Budget. A
similar amount was budgeted during FY 2002-2003. The Board should note that
other than an hourly wage, these employees receive no District benefits except
for those required by law (e.g. workers compensation coverage.)
BACKGROUND: The
Water Resources Assistant position was created in December 1998 to assist staff
in the Water Resources Division with field and administrative tasks,
including implementation of the smolt
survival experiments at Los Padres Dam, rescuing of juvenile steelhead in the
lower Carmel River, surveying of
steelhead spawning habitat, and monitoring of groundwater and surface water
resources within the Monterey Peninsula Water Resources System. This position
is needed to help ensure that tasks for the District’s Fisheries Mitigation
Program are completed on schedule.
The duties of the Water Resources
Assistant are listed in the job description attached as Exhibit 8-A. The Assistant works in the
Water Resources Division and will be supervised by the Senior Fisheries
Biologist.
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