To: Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council
From: Heather Ruiz, Human Resources Director
Prepared By: Caitlin Saldanha, Management Analyst II
TITLE:
Title
Public Hearing on Vacancies, Recruitment and Retention Efforts in compliance with Assembly Bill 2561/Government Code Section 3502.3
LABEL
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommendation
Conduct a public hearing in compliance with Assembly Bill 2561/Government Code Section 3502.3 and receive a presentation regarding the City’s workforce vacancies, recruitment, and retention efforts.
Body
DISCUSSION:
In 2021, the Human Resources Department implemented a new best practice by sharing ongoing regular updates with City Council regarding overall recruitment progress, including data related to vacancy rates, new hires and promotions, employee turnover trends, as well as highlights on a wide variety of employee engagement initiatives to support retention efforts. Over the last few years, these reports have been presented by the Human Resources Department as quarterly recruitment presentations during City Council meetings to provide the Council, staff, and members of the public with information regarding hiring efforts.
Earlier this year on January 1, 2025, AB 2561 was enacted into law to address the issue of job vacancies in local government, which adversely affects the delivery of public services and employee workload. Among other requirements, the bill mandates that public agencies conduct a public hearing to present the status of vacancies, recruitment, and retention efforts before the agency’s governing body prior to the adoption of the next fiscal year’s budget and identify any necessary changes to policies, procedures, and recruitment activities that may lead to obstacles in the hiring process.
As a result of this new law, AB2561 requires public agencies, including the City, to hold at least one (1) public hearing per fiscal year to discuss vacancies, recruitment and retention efforts. This presentation is for informational purposes only regarding the status of the City’s vacancies, recruitment and retention efforts. During the presentation, the City's recognized employee organizations will be provided an opportunity to make a presentation on such subjects.
In compliance with the new legal obligations under AB2561, the City is reporting on the status of vacancies as follows:
1. Public Hearing - Report on Vacancies: At the beginning of Fiscal Year 2024/25 (July 1, 2024), the City’s vacancy rate was 10.7%. As of December 31, 2024, the midpoint for Fiscal Year 2024/25, the City’s vacancy rate was 8.6%. The table below shows a breakdown of those numbers.
|
FY2024/2025 |
July 1, 2024 |
Dec 31, 2024 |
|
# of Vacancies |
56 |
45 |
|
# of Budgeted FTEs |
523 |
523 |
|
Vacancy Rate % |
10.7% |
8.6% |
2. Employee Organization Participation: Allow the recognized employee organization for each bargaining unit at the City to make presentations during the public hearing concerning vacancies and recruitment and retention efforts. There are currently six (6) represented bargaining units at the City including: Napa City Employees’ Association (NCEA), Administrative, Managerial and Professional Employees (AMP), Napa City Firefighters Association (NCFA), Napa Chief Fire Officers (NCFO), Napa Police Officers’ Association (NPOA), and Police Management Unit (PMU). The Human Resources Department notified the six (6) bargaining units of the opportunity to present. (Gov. Code § 3502.3(b).)
3. Additional Reporting for High Vacancy Rates: If vacancies within a single bargaining unit meet or exceed 20% of authorized full-time positions in that bargaining unit, upon request of the recognized employee organization for that bargaining unit, the City must provide additional information during the public hearing, including the following: (1) the total number of vacancies within the bargaining unit; (2) the number of applicants; (3) the average number of days to fill positions; and (4) opportunities to improve compensation and working conditions for employees in the bargaining unit. (Gov. Code § 3502.3(c).)
During the past fiscal year, no bargaining unit met or exceeded a 20% vacancy of the total authorized full-time positions, therefore, Section 3 above is not applicable. The table below shows a summary of the City’s bargaining units with recognized employee organizations, which are all under the 20% vacancy rate.
Vacancy Rate by Bargaining Unit
|
Bargaining Unit |
July 1, 2024 |
Dec 31, 2024 |
|
Napa City Employees’ Association (NCEA) |
14.5% |
9% |
|
Administrative, Managerial and Professional Employees (AMP) |
4.8% |
3.8% |
|
Napa City Firefighters Association (NCFA) |
4.8% |
9.6% |
|
Napa Chief Fire Officers (NCFO) |
0% |
0% |
|
Napa Police Officers' Association (NPOA) |
9.7% |
12.5% |
|
Police Management Unit (PMU) |
0% |
0% |
The comprehensive presentation (Attachment 1) provides an overview of the Human Resources Department’s efforts to fill these vacancies for budgeted positions, as well as details on the current projects and initiatives in Human Resources to support hiring and workforce stability.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS:
This is an informational presentation and there are no financial impacts.
CEQA:
The Human Resources Director has determined that the Recommended Action described in this Agenda Report is not subject to CEQA, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15060(c).
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
ATCH 1 - PowerPoint Presentation
NOTIFICATION:
All City Bargaining Units;
Legal notices of the report were published in the Napa Valley Register at least 10 days prior to the hearing date.