Orange County approves new engineers and technicians to speed health plan reviews to 30 days

Orange County’s Health and Mental Health Committee approved the creation of three public health engineer positions, two public health technician positions and one principal clerk to help the county reach a target 30-day turnaround for engineering plan reviews.

County health staff told the committee the backlog rose sharply after 2020, and the county received nearly 500 plan-review submissions in 2022 and expects more than 600 this year. Steve, a health department staff member, said the department has operated at 50 hours of overtime per week to keep up and that adding positions is one part of a larger plan to shorten review time. “That 30 days would be not from the time we get the first submission to the time it gets approved,” Steve said. “It’s the time of submission to this time we get our comments back out.”

The committee heard a presentation that analyzed past volumes: 341 plans were submitted in 2012 with 109 approvals that year, the department said; plan volumes dipped during the COVID years and then spiked. County leaders and the deputy county executive described the workload increase as widespread and urged a solution that mixes additional staff with process changes. Marie (Deputy County Executive) said, “We believe with the program that they presented to us, this will improve our turnaround time to 30 days.”

Under the approved staffing package the county will create three public health engineer positions (Grade 14, 2025 starting salary $78,957.84), two public health technician positions (Grade 11, 2025 starting salary $61,736.90) and one principal prep/clerical position (Grade 7, 2025 starting salary $49,863.84). Committee materials and presenters said the technicians and clerk will handle non‑engineer tasks (data entry, water-system inspection documentation and routing of plan submissions) so licensed engineers can focus on technical reviews.

Presenters described how reviews vary widely in complexity — from backflow-preventer submissions that can be processed quickly to large subdivision plans that require multiple rounds of comment and resubmission. Steve said some applicants submit incomplete plans to “get their place in line,” which extends the cycle because the county currently charges one fee per initial submission regardless of the number of revisions. He said the county has considered charging for revisions but has concerns about the appearance of fee-driven reviews.

Officials also noted emerging regulatory work that increases engineering time per file, including implementation of rules addressing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFOA/PFOS) and forthcoming lead and copper rule changes. The department regulates more than 500 private water systems and said engineers also perform comprehensive annual reviews of public water systems, including treatment, distribution, storage and pumping equipment.

The personnel items passed the committee by voice vote. Presenters said funding for the positions will come from contingency (legislative request number 123) and that the department will report performance measures back to the committee; one legislator requested an annual update on whether the 30-day target is being met.

Discussion items that were not formal actions included consideration of revising submittal fees and expanded outreach to design professionals; the health department said it has checklists on its website and is conducting outreach with professional societies to improve first submissions.

If results vary, staff said they will revisit the mix of engineers and technicians and return to the committee with adjustments and performance data.