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Linn County approves senior environmental chemist vacancy to oversee public‑health lab quality
Summary
Linn County approved a vacancy form March 19 to upgrade an environmental chemist to a senior position in the county public health laboratory to preserve laboratory certifications and centralize quality assurance functions; the change raises salary costs by $1,800 and will not be backfilled.
Linn County approved a vacancy form Monday, March 19, to upgrade one environmental chemist to a senior environmental chemist in Linn County Public Health’s laboratory, county staff said at a meeting held in the Gina Oxley Public Service Center.
County Health Director Pramod Dvivedi said the upgrade is a senior‑level classification that has been approved by the county human resources and finance directors and that the department has budgeted the $1,800 annual cost difference. “So this is a senior level position, and it has been approved by both our HR as well as the, finance director. And the idea behind this currently, we have 2 full time positions in our clinic, chemist position. This would be 1 of those positions would be upgraded to the chemist, senior lehi chemist position. And the difference between the current salary and the upgraded salary is $1,800 and we have that money in our budget to support,” Dvivedi said.
The county sought the change after the previous senior environmental chemist retired in December. Wanda, identified at the meeting as an air quality branch supervisor and laboratory supervisor, described the senior role as responsible for the laboratory’s quality assurance and quality control and for maintaining existing clinical and environmental laboratory certifications. “The senior position is going to be responsible for the quality assurance and quality control of the laboratory as well as maintaining our current certifications for the clinical environmental sides of the lab,” Wanda said. She told the board that most of the retired senior chemist’s responsibilities had fallen to another senior employee with more than 20 years of experience.
County officials confirmed the department will not backfill the retired position; instead, one current position will be elevated to the senior classification. A board member summarized that the change will reduce the laboratory headcount from three to two positions while consolidating responsibilities into a senior role; staff said the department’s current budget will cover the $1,800 salary differential.
A motion to approve the vacancy form was moved and seconded during the meeting and carried unanimously, the board recorded. The action authorizes Human Resources to proceed with the classification change and for the department to fill the senior environmental chemist position under the county vacancy policy.
The upgrade is intended to preserve laboratory certifications and to formally assign quality‑assurance duties to a senior‑level staff member; no additional funding or external approvals were reported at the meeting.
Less critical details discussed during the item included the retirement timing (the prior senior chemist retired in December) and confirmation from HR and finance that the change fits within the current fiscal budget.
