The top administrator in the Marin County government wants the Board of Supervisors to beef up his staff.

Marin County Executive Derek Johnson said the supervisors’ ambitious work plan for fiscal year 2025-26 would likely require additional managers.

“There are 22 departments in addition to a variety of different team members within my department that are all currently reporting to me,” Johnson told supervisors at a budget workshop. “We are going to need a variety of assistants and deputies at various different levels to achieve the list of objectives that the board has in mind.”

Already, two new deputy county executives have come on board: Linn Walsh and Danielle O’Leary, who will begin work on March 31. Johnson’s office also has two assistant county executives.

Johnson said Friday that he envisions creating two additional assistant county executive positions. He said a new employee will be hired to fill one of those slots, but the other may be taken by an employee at the Marin County Department of Health and Human Services.

The county’s personnel department said assistant county executives are paid a maximum salary of $260,915 plus benefits worth $120,000, and deputy county executives receive a top salary of $219,773 plus benefits worth $101,000.

Prior to the new hires, the two assistant county executives were receiving a combined total of $521,830 in base pay before benefits, the maximum possible for their positions.

With the two new deputies, Johnson’s office will have 37 full-time budgeted positions. The department has a $25.9 million budget for this fiscal year, up from $25.2 million for fiscal year 2023-24.

Johnson began his tenure as Marin’s county executive last April. Before that he was the city manager in San Luis Obispo.

In 2023, Marin supervisors voted to replace the office of county administrator with an office of county executive. The move gave the position more direct control over department heads.

While the county administrator could recommend that supervisors suspend or remove top managers, the county executive has the authority to “discipline, suspend or remove any person holding an administrative position in cases where the board has the power to appoint.”

The change also removed language from the county code giving officials targeted for suspension or termination “the right to be heard by the board at a public meeting.”

“Before, you had 18 department heads reporting to five supervisors, and now those 18 department heads have moved to the county executive,” Johnson said.

Rollie Katz, executive director of the Marin Association of Public Employees, has often questioned whether county managers are purposely leaving positions unfilled as a cost-saving measure. As of the end of December, the county had an overall vacancy rate of 8.8%, accounting for 239 full-time positions, while the executive’s office had four vacant positions, or a vacancy rate of 11%.

Regarding the plan to hire a number of new top managers, Katz said, “We are always concerned when the county adds high-paid management positions.”

“That said, I want to have a better understanding of Mr. Johnson’s plan and his rationale for it,” Katz said. “The change from a county administrator to a county executive does require the executive to directly supervise the department heads. A reorganization that focuses on departments working together and breaking down silos could be positive.”

In November, supervisors approved Johnson’s request to allocate $500,000 for an assessment of the county organization. That effort hasn’t begun.

During the budget workshop, however, Johnson said the effort to reorganize the county executive’s office has been underway for some time. He said the first step was to create a 14-member “organizational leadership steering committee,” whose members come from various county departments, to advise in the process.

In December, the county signed a $49,000 contract with MRG Consulting, based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and a $40,000 contract with the Centre for Organizational Effectiveness in San Diego to lend a hand. Because neither contract exceeded $50,000, they did not require the approval of county supervisors.

Regarding the decision to proceed with the reorganization of the county executive’s office before the operational assessment, Johnson said, “They are different initiatives — and they occurred at different times because of the different stakeholders involved.”

He added that there was a goal “to get the office of chief executive organizational study done as soon as possible.”

Walsh spent the previous 18 years working for Mill Valley, most recently as deputy director. She holds a master’s degree in humanities and leadership from New College of California and a bachelor’s degree in women’s studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

“I am honored and excited to join the county of Marin, where I can continue my commitment to fostering inclusive communities, building strong partnerships and driving initiatives that create lasting impact,” Walsh said.

In her new job, she will direct efforts in communications, digital services, legislative affairs, facilities planning and the new office of inspector general, who will oversee the sheriff’s office.

O’Leary said, “In this role, my mission is clear: to champion equity, resilience, and smart governance that delivers real results for the people we serve.”

O’Leary, who has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Concordia University in Irvine, most recently worked for Prologis, a global warehousing company. Before that O’Leary, worked for six years as San Rafael’s director of economic development and nearly eight years as Santa Rosa’s economic development manager.

“Danielle’s career has been centered on the intersection of public policy, economic strategy and community development,” Johnson said. “That’s an intersection we’re eager to strengthen.”