TO: Board of Supervisors
FROM: Sheryl L. Bratton, County Counsel
REPORT BY: Susan B. Altman, Deputy County Counsel
SUBJECT: Ordinance Amending Napa County Code section 2.100.181 - Fingerprints and Background Checks
RECOMMENDATION
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Adopt an Ordinance amending Title 2 (Administration and Personnel), Chapter 2.100 (Personnel) and amending Article III, Section 2.100.181 (Fingerprints and Background Checks) of the Napa County Code regarding persons required to submit to a Federal Bureau of Investigation background check and renewal requirements. (No Fiscal Impact)
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BACKGROUND
All new County employees are Live Scan fingerprinted prior to beginning employment with the County. Human Resources receives the background check results and receives subsequent arrest information. The Probation Department uses the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System (CLETS), a computer network that connects public safety agencies across the state to criminal histories, driver records, and other databases. For the Probation Department to maintain access to CLETS, all persons with access to the CLETS equipment, or information from the CLETS database, or to criminal offender record information, are required to undergo an additional background security clearance. Further, the Probation Department must have direct access to the results of this additional background check. The Probation Department has State and Federal approval to complete this requirement, which means Probation Department staff including volunteers, contractors, and other county employees that access the facility unescorted, such as custodial and maintenance staff, must be re-Live Scanned. The amendments to Napa County Code section 2.100.181 will institute the required additional background checks and give Probation access to the CLETS database.
Further, Napa County Code section 2.100.181 requires that employees with access to Federal Tax Information (FTI) receive additional background checks and that the same additional background check is completed every ten years. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Publication 1075 requires that reinvestigation be conducted within five years from the date of the previous background investigation. The recommended update to the Ordinance brings County Code and County Policy into alignment with IRS requirements. The Amendments were introduced at the Board of Supervisors September 10th meeting after proper public notice was given.
Staff is requesting the Board adopt the amendments to Napa County Code section 2.100.181 to include Probation Department employees the additional required background checks to access CLETS and to require employees with access to FTI be reinvestigated every five years to comply with IRS requirements.
FISCAL & STRATEGIC PLAN IMPACT
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Is there a Fiscal Impact? |
No |
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Consequences if not approved: |
The Probation Department will not meet the requirements to have clearance to access a vital system and the County will not meet IRS requirements. |
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: The proposed action is not a project as defined by 14 California Code of Regulations 15378 (State CEQA Guidelines) and therefore CEQA is not applicable.