2026-03-20 Merit Appeals Board Minutes

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Merit Appeals Board March 20, 2026 MS. TOKIHIRO: Yeah, so that’s actually one of the MAB goals for this year, is compiling the database where we’re looking at all of the class specifications, for all of the classes of work that the County has. So, that’s almost 800 different classes of work. And we’re documenting the minimum qualifications for each position in a searchable database so that we can quickly gather information about all the different classes. But then, part of that is also a very important date where we’re going to be documenting when that class was last amended. And then, we’ll start a systematic review where we’re going to go through and look at the oldest ones first—and I will tell you that there are class specs. that haven’t been amended prior to even the year 2000. So, what we’re going to do is create a priority list and begin that process, so that we’ll— and start a system once we get caught up—but start a system where we’re regularly looking at those—every—it’s not going to be every year for all 800 class specs.— MS. BOND: Right. MS. TOKIHIRO: —but they should be reviewed not less than, say, every three years. Because what we’re finding, too, when we’re amending classes of work is that just even language changes, right— MS. BOND: Right. MS. TOKIHIRO: —or different duties that you don’t have anymore. I can’t come up with one as an example for right now, but just so that we’re looking at the language, looking at the way things are described—we’re actually going to be initiating a project to re-title “Clerks.” So, instead of being “Clerk III” it would be—I believe we’re going to go with something like “Office Assistant.” So, something that is more relevant and easier to understand now. So, that’s part of the MAB goal because—yes, I agree that we need to be looking at these things regularly and often—and prior to this database being created, there wasn’t one space where we could go in and quickly be able to see when the last time was that classes were amended, and a lot of times those amendments are initiated by the departments. And so, that’s fine—but we need to be keeping up with ones where people haven’t looked at it or departments haven’t changed it in a number of years. This last year, I actually was putting together information for the budget presentation that we’re going to be presenting from the Department to County Council in April. And last—in this last year, we completed 210 class specification amendments, and 300 position re-description reviews. We created—we did 72 initial position allocations, so that’s basically new positions that were added; and then 466 position re-allocations. And position re-allocations could be the result of things, like audits that Niel was asking about, but it’s also when we’re re-allocating positions either up or down for recruitment Page 10