Mendocino County commissioners voted 4-1 to abolish 56 dormant job classifications, removing them from the county wage chart but leaving open the option to reestablish any position through the normal approval process.

Human resources manager Brandy Delzel told the board she was presenting “a list of 56 classifications that have not been used in several years, and they have been what we call dormant,” and recommended abolishing them so they no longer appear on the county’s wage chart.

Delzel said removing the classifications clears outdated items from the system and allows the county to “suppress them from the wage chart so they're not showing.” She added that if a department later needs any abolished classification, it could be reestablished “through the same process.”

During discussion, a commissioner said they did not understand the benefit of removing classifications that already exist in the system and worried it could create extra work to restore them later. Delzel responded that many of the listed classifications have had no incumbents for years and that any reestablishment would require board approval and updated classification work.

Commissioners also asked about specific merged roles on the list. Delzel said the auditor-controller and treasurer-tax-collector classifications were both listed because those functions had recently been merged and the former separate classifications were no longer needed. She also clarified that the county no longer has a single Health and Human Services Agency director position: public health, behavioral health and social services have been separated, and the county now has a director of health services for some functions while the underlying departments remain distinct.

The motion to abolish the dormant classifications was moved and seconded (movers not specified in the transcript). Roll call on agenda item 6b recorded votes as: Commissioner Windinger — Aye; “Mister Abiam” — No; Commissioner Rose — Yes; Commissioner Wiley — Aye; Commissioner Slater — Aye. The motion carried 4-1.

Delzel and commissioners emphasized that abolishing a classification does not permanently eliminate the county’s ability to recreate a role; it only removes the dormant item from active wage charts and internal lists. No members of the public spoke on the item.

The board did not attach a budget amendment or immediate hiring decision to the action; Delzel said any future reestablishment would come back to the commission for approval.