Director Jackson asks commissioners to preserve key DSS posts as staff calculates county share of vacant positions

Director Brenda Jackson told the board that staff had targeted vacant and funded positions for potential elimination as part of the $4.2 million cut exercise and outlined a recommendation intended to preserve critical child- and adult-protective-services staffing.

Jackson said the original manager''s list included 61 positions proposed for abolishment when the county was asked to cut $4.2 million. "We proposed to abolish 27 [of those positions], to include the time-limited positions and some positions with Medicaid expansion," Jackson said, and asked the board to reinstate 17 positions that staff identified as critical to child protective services and to fund—but freeze—22 positions so the department could quickly unfreeze and hire if the board authorized it.

Staff also reported that an additional 41 vacant positions (outside the original 61) were identified as unfunded on the roster; taken together the two buckets produced roughly 102 positions under consideration. After estimated state and federal reimbursements, staff presented a county-share estimate of about $3,700,000 to keep all 102 as funded positions rather than abolish them.

Vice Chairwoman Joan Jones and other commissioners urged that the board consider using fund balance to bridge short-term needs while staff works to match positions to reimbursement lines. "If we can't find a way, I'm trusting our financial department... $60,000 for transportation and $187,000 for the barbershop program sound small compared to lives saved," Vice Chairwoman Jones said when arguing for preserving health and support programs that rely on social-services capacity.

Jackson and the county manager told commissioners they would return with a precise match-up of each position to funding sources (federal, state, county) and exact county-dollar impacts so the board could make a final decision Monday. Staff noted hiring freezes have prevented offers from being issued on about 45 budgeted vacancies; those openings are already in the recommended budget and staff said they could proceed with recruited hires unless the board directs otherwise.

What happens next: staff will provide position-to-funding match-ups, the county-dollar cost to preserve identified positions, and a recommended short list of high-priority positions and associated dollars for Monday's follow-up.