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LAFCO moves to draft resolution to bring executive‑officer duties in‑house; commissioners ask for fair selection process
Summary
Commissioners discussed two staffing options to expand LAFCO's capacity for CCA and other work: creating a new consolidated Executive Officer position (longer HR process) or lifting restrictions on the senior program officer position to perform executive duties (faster). Chair Campos directed staff to draft a resolution and return with a selection roadmap.
At the same meeting commissioners reviewed LAFCO—s 2013 work plan and staff structure and debated how to provide sustained staff support for Community Choice Aggregation (Clean Power SF) and other priorities.
Ms. Miller, who has served as interim executive officer, described a proposal to transition executive‑officer duties to Jason Fried, the senior program officer, while exploring whether to authorize an in‑house Executive Officer position. "Jason Fried... has been working with LAFCO now for two and a half years and has done an excellent job," Ms. Miller said, recommending options to expand or reclassify positions so staff could take on more substantive projects beyond CCA.
Chair David Campos and several commissioners discussed two options: (1) create a new consolidated Executive Officer classification and recruit through the city process (requiring Board, DHR and mayoral approvals), or (2) lift restrictions on the existing senior program officer position to allow that person to perform Executive Officer duties, avoiding a full DHR process and moving more quickly. Jason Fried explained Option 2 would not require DHR review and could enable continuity of work, while acknowledging that creating a new classification would take longer but would be a formal, competitive route.
Commissioners stressed the need for a credible selection process even if the work were filled internally. "One of the benefits of having a process is that whoever is selected... it lends a certain level of added credibility and mandate," Chair Campos said. Many commissioners signaled a preference to bring the position in‑house and requested staff return with a recommendation on the most expeditious and fair selection path.
Public commenters supported bringing the Executive Officer role in‑house and urged that LAFCO retain or create two staff positions so one can focus specifically on local distributed generation and implementation of Clean Power SF. Eric Brooks (San Francisco Green Party / Our City) said LAFCO will need full‑time staff during the build‑out and recommended one position be dedicated to local distributed generation expertise.
The commission did not vote to create a new classification at the meeting. Instead, Chair Campos directed staff to draft a resolution to expand staff duties and to report back with options and a timeline for either lifting restrictions on the current senior program position or creating a consolidated Executive Officer post, along with an implementation roadmap.
