The Director of the Bureau of Human Resources, Joseph Sova, stated that the proposed budget for this Bureau met the target of 5% less than 2009. If the sales tax were reduced and an additional 5% reduction were required, that would mean that he would only be able to fill 1 out of the 8 open positions he has, though he feels that he is already currently understaffed. In the 2009 budget, $2 million was allocated to implement an online employment application tracking system, which he feels will eliminate most of the human errors that occur in trying to handle 13,000 applications each year. Negotiations are in progress with the vendor for the Taleo system, with the expectation that the Board will be asked to approve the contract in Dec. This system will only be implemented for the departments reporting to the President, the Health & Hospitals System, and the Forest Preserve District. The other elected officials are responsible for their own hiring, though they may choose to utilize the system for their departments in the future.
Comm. Peraica stated that he would like to add more money for this Bureau, which he feels is critical to the proper working of Cook County. He noted that the County has paid close to $2 million in fees for the court-appointed Shakman decree compliance officers. Mr. Sova stated that he thinks they are within 30 days of having a hiring plan, one of the elements that needs to be in place before the County can come out from under the Shakman decree oversight.
Comm. Gainer would like the County to get a better handle on the total costs for absences of all types: workers comp, Family Medical Leave Act absences, short-term and long term disability, leaves of absence, as well as ordinary sick days. The responsibility is split among Risk Management, the individual departments, and Human Resources. Comm. Simms inquired as to whether Human Resources is any closer to properly classifying employees in appropriate job titles, which has been recognized as being a problem for many years. Mr. Sova said that he is in the process of looking into the Request for Proposal and responses from 2007 to perform such a task using outside contractors. One response to cover only 8 of the grades was for $1.8 million, while another proposal that covered additional grades was for $3.5 million. --Submitted by Observer Pris Mims
