For City Council Meeting June 10, 2025
TO: Honorable City Council
FROM: Tanya Williams, City Manager
AUTHORS: Shama Curian, Director of Human Resources/ Risk Management
Title
Request City Council to Conduct a Public Hearing on the Status of Vacancies and Recruitment and Retention Efforts in Compliance with Assembly Bill 2561.
POWERPOINT
(ACTION)
Body
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council open the public hearing to receive a report on workforce vacancies, recruitment and retention efforts, and provide recognized employee organizations of bargaining units the opportunity to make a presentation on these topics, as well as to receive and file this report in compliance with Assembly Bill 2561.
BACKGROUND:
Assembly Bill 2561 (“AB 2561”) added Government Code 3502.3 to the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act in response to a trio of findings:
1. Job vacancies in local government are a widespread and significant problem for the public sector,
2. High job vacancies impact public services and workers who are forced to handle heavier workloads, while understaffing leads to burnout and increased turnover; and,
3. There is a statewide interest in ensuring that public agency operations are appropriately staffed and that high vacancy rates do not undermine public employee labor relations.
As a result of these findings, effective on January 1, 2025, public agencies must report on workforce vacancy rates, recruitment and retention efforts, and obstacles in the hiring process at a public hearing before the public agency’s governing body at least once per fiscal year, prior to the adoption of the agency’s annual budget. If any recognized employee organization for a bargaining unit has a vacancy rate of 20% or higher, then additional information on vacancies for that unit must also be presented at the hearing at the request of the bargaining unit. This includes the total number of job vacancies within the bargaining unit, the total number of applicants for the vacant positions within the bargaining unit, the average number of days to complete the hiring process, and other opportunities to improve compensation and other working conditions.
ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION:
As of May 21, 2025, the vacancy rate for the City of Rialto was 8.8%, a remarkably low rate among surrounding similar-sized agencies. Four of the City’s six bargaining groups had a vacancy rate well under 10%. Firefighters’ Local 3688 had a vacancy rate of 11.9%, and the Teamsters’ Mid-Management and Confidential Employees’ Union had a vacancy rate of 16.7%. Each of the individual bargaining units and vacancy rates is outlined in Table 1.
TABLE 1
In collaboration with all City departments, the Human Resources and Risk Management Department (HR/RM) embarked on an overhaul of the recruitment and hiring process. While the recruitment process is governed by the City’s Personnel Rules and Regulations and adheres to applicable laws and best practices, the hiring campaign was tailored to address each department’s specific needs for their qualified candidates. HR/RM in partnership with individual departments leveraged digital and social media to advertise job opportunities, utilized tools like GovernmentJobs.com and LinkedIn Recruiter to attract applicants, and built partnerships with professional organizations, educational institutions, and trade associations to expand the candidate pool. Internally, HR/RM set up weekly recruitment meetings to discuss pinch points and potential areas where a “bottleneck” could occur and proactively found ways to continue to move recruitments forward. More recently, communication with applicants was used to maintain their engagement throughout the recruitment process. Internal audits are periodically conducted to ensure that the process is fair and in alignment with written rules while finding ways to continue to streamline and hire the most qualified candidate for each department.
The recruitment and retention challenge all cities face is part of a broader shift in the labor market that began prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. While “The Great Resignation” shifted the workplace culture to that of “hybrid/remote work”, the root of the hiring challenges is that the number of job openings is expanding, while the labor pool is decreasing. For specialized positions, such as those in the Engineering field, cities must compete with the private sector and other surrounding public agencies for a limited pool of qualified candidates. With the understanding that there are overarching labor trends that are impacting how we recruit, the Human Resources and Risk Management Department will seek to get ahead of the City’s hiring needs by undertaking the following:
1. Amplifying the online outreach efforts and increasing presence at job fairs.
2. Revising job specifications and eliminating any outdated requirements that impede evolving operational needs.
3. Collaborating with Department Heads and hiring authorities to prepare employees for promotional opportunities.
Human Resources and Risk Management will continue to audit for areas for improvement and practicable changes to meet its commitment to filling vacancies as quickly as possible.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT:
The request is not a “Project” as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Pursuant to Section 15378(a), a “Project” means the whole of an action, which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. According to Section 15378(b), a Project does not include: (5) Organizational or administrative activities of governments that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment.
GENERAL PLAN CONSISTENCY
Complies with the following Rialto General Plan Guiding Principle:
Our Government will lead by example, and will operate in an open, transparent, and responsive manner that meets the needs of the citizens and is a good place to do business.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney’s Office has reviewed the staff report.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Operating Budget Impact:
There is no fiscal impact to the FY 24/25 Budget.
Capital Budget Impact:
This action has no impact on the Capital Fund Budget.
Business License
Not applicable.