3.07.070 Residency requirements for specified positions.
A. It is the intent of the county to ensure that county employees who are employed in positions that are primarily responsible for responding to emergencies, including but not limited to law enforcement officers, emergency service workers and road workers who need to respond to weather and other emergencies affecting the use of county roads and facilities (such as the Sierra Brooks water system), will be able to reasonably respond to such emergencies when called out after their customary work hours.
B. County employees that are employed in each of the following designated positions shall be required to live within 30 minutes (under normal driving conditions) of the base station that is otherwise designated for the employee’s position:
All Deputy Sheriffs (including without limitation the Undersheriff)
Animal Control Officers
All Corrections Officers/Dispatchers
Road Maintenance Worker I, II, III
Equipment Mechanic I, II, III
Road Maintenance Leadworker
Equipment Shop Leadworker
Road Maintenance Supervisor
Equipment Shop Supervisor
Road Superintendent
Deputy Director of Public Works-Operations
OES Coordinator I, II, III
Plant Manager I, II, III
Supervising OES Coordinator
Supervising Plant Manager
Director of Transportation
OES Director
County Service Area Worker I, II, III
Water System Operator I, II, III
Environmental Health Director
C. The provisions of the ordinance codified in this chapter (adding SCC 3.07.070 to the County Code) shall not apply to any permanent part-time or full-time employee who would otherwise, because of the location of his or her domicile as of the date of the adoption of the ordinance codified in this chapter, not be in compliance with the foregoing provisions and if the employee was employed by the county on or before April 20, 2010 (hereinafter referred to as preexisting employee(s)). Notwithstanding the foregoing the provisions of this chapter may apply to any such preexisting permanent part-time or full-time employee(s) if the MOU between the county and the employee’s bargaining unit expressly incorporates the provisions of this chapter as being applicable to such preexisting employees.
D. Employees that are required to comply with the provisions of this section shall have a period of 90 days from the date of beginning employment or from accepting a new position or promotion into a position which is covered by this section (which may include a change of the employee’s base station), in which to establish permanent residency in accordance with the above requirements. Any employee that does not physically establish residency in compliance with the provisions of this section within these timelines shall be promptly terminated from county employment. If the employee is serving a probation period in his or her employment, including situations where the employee is in a new position or has been promoted and is serving a probationary period, the employment shall be deemed terminated during the probationary period without further action required by the county and/or the employee’s department head and the County Auditor shall thereafter not make any payments to the terminated employee. Notwithstanding the foregoing any employee may, for good cause, request a one-time extension of the time limit for establishing residency for an additional 90 days. Any such request for an extension shall be made to the employee’s department head prior to the running of the initial 90-day period and shall be promptly acted on by the department head. In no event shall the total time allowed for establishing residency exceed 180 calendar days. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, employees who would otherwise, because of the location of his or her domicile as of the date of the adoption of the ordinance codified in this chapter, not be in compliance with the foregoing provisions, and who are employed in positions with a journeyman series, such as a I, II, or III, shall not be subject to the residency requirements if promoted to a higher position so long as the position is not one of a supervisorial nature.
E. Any employee who fails to establish and to thereafter continuously maintain residency as required under this section shall be subject to immediate action to terminate his or her employment in accordance with the procedures set out in Chapter 3.10 SCC (if applicable to the subject employee) and the employee’s department head or any other official with authority to institute proceedings to terminate the employment shall immediately institute such proceedings. Any county employee or official having knowledge of a violation of this section shall be under an affirmative obligation to promptly report same to the Board of Supervisors. (Ord. 1020, eff. 5/20/10)