CC SR 20250506 02 - AB 2561 Vacancies Recruitment and Retention
PUBLIC HEARING
Date: May 6, 2025
Subject:
Consideration to receive a 2024 report on the City’s Vacancies and Recruitment and Retention Efforts
per Assembly Bill 2561 and Government Code § 3502.3.
Recommendation:
(1) Receive and file an annual report on the 2024 City’s vacancies and recruitment and
retention efforts, in compliance with new legal obligations under Assembly Bill (AB)
2561/Government Code § 3502.3.
1. Report of Notice Given: City Clerk
2. Declare Public Hearing Open: Mayor Bradley
3. Request for Staff Report: Mayor Bradley
4. Staff Report & Recommendation: Vanessa Godinez, Human Resources and Risk Manager, and
Eileen Jacinto, Human Resources Analyst
5. Council Questions of Staff (factual and without bias):
6. Testimony from members of the public:
The normal time limit for each speaker is three (3) minutes. The Presiding Officer may grant additional time to a representative speaking
for an entire group. The Mayor also may adjust the time limit for individual speakers depending upon the number of speakers who
intend to speak.
7. Declare Hearing Closed/or Continue the Public Hearing to a later date: Mayor Bradley
8. Council Deliberation:
The Council may ask staff to address questions raised by the testimony, or to clarify matters. Staff and/or Council may also answer
questions posed by speakers during their testimony. The Council will then debate and/or make motions on the matter.
9. Council Action:
The Council may: vote on the item; offer amendments or substitute motions to decide the matter; reopen the hearing for additional
testimony; continue the matter to a later date for a decision.
CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: 05/06/2025
AGENDA REPORT AGENDA HEADING: Public Hearing
AGENDA TITLE:
Consideration to receive a 2024 report on the City’s Vacancies and Recruitment and
Retention Efforts per Assembly Bill 2561 and Government Code § 3502.3
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:
1) Receive and file an annual report on the 2024 City’s vacancies and recruitment
and retention efforts, in compliance with new legal obligations under Assembly
Bill (AB) 2561/Government Code § 3502.3.
FISCAL IMPACT: There is no fiscal impact to receive and file this report.
Amount Budgeted: N/A
Additional Appropriation: N/A
Account Number(s): N/A
ORIGINATED BY: Eileen Jacinto, Human Resources Analyst
Vanessa Godinez, Human Resources and Risk Manager VG
REVIEWED BY: Catherine Jun, Deputy City Manager
APPROVED BY: Ara Mihranian, AICP, City Manager
ATTACHED SUPPORTING DOCUMENT:
1. Assembly Bill No. 2561 Text: Legislative Counsel’s Digest (page A-1)
BACKGROUND
On September 22, 2024, Governor Newsom signed AB 2561 into law, amending the
Meyers-Milias-Brown Act that authorizes local public employees to form, join, and
participate in the activities of employee organizations of their own choosing for the
purpose of representation on matters of labor relations. AB 2561 requires local
governments to publicly address the issue of job vacancies within their workforce, which
can adversely affect the delivery of public services and employee workload. In short, AB
2561 mandates public agencies to conduct a public hearing on the status of vacancies,
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in addition to recruitment and retention efforts, at least once per fiscal year. The bill went
into effect on January 1, 2025 and is codified under Government Code § 3502.3.
DISCUSSION
In compliance with the new legal obligations, the City is required to do the following:
1. Public Hearing: At least once each fiscal year, at a public hearing before the City
Council, the City shall present information regarding the status of vacancies ,
recruitment, and retention efforts (Gov. Code § 3502.3(a)(1)) and identify any
necessary changes to policies, procedures, and recruitment activities that may
lead to obstacles in the hiring process (Gov. Code § 3502.3(a)(3)).
If the City Council adopts an annual or multiyear budget during the fiscal year, this
presentation must occur prior to the City Council’s adoption of the final budget for
the City (Gov. Code § 3502.3(a)(2)).
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 two (2)
bargaining units at the City (Gov. Code § 3502.3(b)). They include the American
Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, District Council 36
(AFSCME), which represents 60 part-time employees, and Rancho Palos Verdes
Employee Association (RPVEA), which represents 54 full-time (non-management
or confidential) employees. Human Resources duly notified both bargaining units
regarding this public hearing and the opportunity to make presentations via email
on April 24, 2025.
3. Additional Reporting for High Vacancy Rates: In 2024, the vacancy rates in
AFSCME and RPVEA were 12% and 11%, respectively. Per AB 2561, 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; (2) the number
of applicants; (3) the average time to fill positions; and (4) opportunities to improve
compensation and working conditions for employees in the bargaining unit (Gov.
Code § 3502.3(c)).
2024 Recruitment and Retention Efforts
Recruitment:
The City remains focused on supporting recruitment and retention efforts to ensure
continuous, effective operations, utilizing strategic initiatives. In 2024, several key
strategies contributed to the successful recruitment of new full-time and part-time
employees:
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• Human Resources revised and streamlined job postings to make them clearer,
consistent, and more concise.
• For select hard-to-fill positions, sign-on incentive bonuses authorized by the City
Council were offered, which helped attract highly qualified candidates.
• The City hired executive recruitment firms to manage its more challenging
recruitments in a competitive market. Firms utilized their expansive networks,
diversified outreach tools, expertise in public sector hiring trends, consistent follow-
up with candidates, and a streamlined selection process to identify a pool of
qualified applicants. This has allowed the City to fill the following management
positions in Fiscal Year 2024-25:
o Two Principal Engineers for the Public Works Department
o Deputy City Manager
o Deputy Director of Finance
o Human Resources and Risk Manager
• In March 2024, a new salary schedule was approved following the classification
and compensation study. This updated schedule increased the minimum and
maximum pay ranges up to the 75th percentile of ranges at comparable agencies,
ensuring that the City’s salaries remain competitive.
• An ongoing recruitment challenge is competing with the private sector employer
branding. To address this, the City emphasized the value of public service and the
opportunity to make a meaningful impact in the community. Additionally, the job
postings promoted the City’s attractive benefits package, which includes, among
other things, work-life balance, competitive health insurance plans, paid vacation
and holidays, wellness programs, and a pension plan through CalPERS.
• To widen the City’s pool of applicants, Human Resources expanded its outreach
tools by advertising jobs on LinkedIn, various social media platforms, and industry
specific job boards such as the Public CEO, American Public Works Association,
Municipal Management Association of Southern California, and
GovernmentJobs.com.
Retention:
The City has successfully retained long-term employees by fostering a positive work
culture, promoting from within (when possible and when appropriate), supporting
employee development, and offering a competitive merit-based evaluation system.
• In 2024, nine internal promotions were made through a competitive recruitment
process that included both internal and external candidates.
• In March, the City launched its first wellness program called Live Well RPV. The
program is designed to support employees’ overall health and well-being and is
offering a variety of resources, activities, and tools to help employees thrive
personally and professionally.
• The City has engaged in good faith negotiations with RPVEA over the last several
months, ahead of their Memorandum of Understanding expiring on June 30, 2025.
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The City is also preparing to enter into negotiations with AFSCME in May 2025.
By approaching negotiations with transparency and a commitment to mutual
understanding, the City aims to reach agreements that support long-term
workforce stability and satisfaction.
CONCLUSION:
Staff recommends receiving and filing this 2024 report on city vacancies, recruitments
and retention efforts.
ALTERNATIVES:
In addition to the Staff recommendation, the following alternative actions are available for
the City Council’s consideration:
1. Decline to receive and file this report on 2024 vacancies, recruitment, and retention
efforts in the City and provide staff further direction.
2. Take other action, as deemed appropriate.
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Assembly Bill No. 2561
CHAPTER 409
An act to add Section 3502.3 to the Government Code, relating to public employment.
[ Approved by Governor September 22, 2024. Filed with Secretary of State
September 22, 2024. ]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2561, McKinnor. Local public employees: vacant positions.
Existing law, the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (act), authorizes local public employees, as defined, to form, join,
and participate in the activities of employee organizations of their own choosing for the purpose of
representation on matters of labor relations. The act requires the governing body of a public agency to meet and
confer in good faith regarding wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment with representatives
of recognized employee organizations and to consider fully presentations that are made by the employee
organization on behalf of its members before arriving at a determination of policy or course of action.
This bill would, as specified, require a public agency to present the status of vacancies and recruitment and
retention efforts at a public hearing at least once per fiscal year, and would entitle the recognized employee
organization to present at the hearing. If the number of job vacancies within a single bargaining unit meets or
exceeds 20% of the total number of authorized full-time positions, the bill would require the public agency, upon
request of the recognized employee organization, to include specified information during the public hearing. By
imposing new duties on local public agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill
would also include related legislative findings.
The California Constitution requires local agencies, for the purpose of ensuring public access to the meetings of
public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies, to comply with a statutory enactment that amends
or enacts laws relating to public records or open meetings and contains findings demonstrating that the
enactment furthers the constitutional requirements relating to this purpose.
This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs
mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions for costs
mandated by the state pursuant to this act, but would recognize that a local agency or school district may pursue
any available remedies to seek reimbursement for these costs.
Digest Key
Vote: majority Appropriation: no Fiscal Committee: yes Local Program: yes
Bill Text
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THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS
FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares as follows:
(a) Job vacancies in local government are a widespread and significant problem for the public sector affecting
occupations across wage levels and educational requirements.
(b) High job vacancies impact public service delivery and the workers who are forced to handle heavier
workloads, with understaffing leading to burnout and increased turnover that further exacerbate staffing
challenges.
(c) 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.
SEC. 2. Section 3502.3 is added to the Government Code, to read:
3502.3. (a) (1) A public agency shall present the status of vacancies and recruitment and retention efforts during a
public hearing before the governing board at least once per fiscal year.
(2) If the governing board will be adopting an annual or multiyear budget during the fiscal year, the
presentation shall be made prior to the adoption of the final budget.
(3) During the hearing, the public agency shall identify any necessary changes to policies, procedures, and
recruitment activities that may lead to obstacles in the hiring process.
(b) The recognized employee organization for a bargaining unit shall be entitled to make a presentation at the
public hearing at which the public agency presents the status of vacancies and recruitment and retention efforts
for positions within that bargaining unit.
(c) If the number of job vacancies within a single bargaining unit meets or exceeds 20 percent of the total
number of authorized full-time positions, the public agency shall, upon request of the recognized employee
organization, include all of the following information during the public hearing:
(1) The total number of job vacancies within the bargaining unit.
(2) The total number of applicants for vacant positions within the bargaining unit.
(3) The average number of days to complete the hiring process from when a position is posted.
(4) Opportunities to improve compensation and other working conditions.
(d) This section shall not prevent the governing board from holding additional public hearings about vacancies.
(e) The provisions of this section are severable. If any provision of this section or its application is held invalid,
the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid
provision or application.
(f) For purposes of this section, “recognized employee organization” has the same meaning as defined in
subdivision (a) of Section 3501.
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SEC. 3. The Legislature finds and declares that Section 2 of this act, which adds Section 3502.3 to the
Government Code, furthers, within the meaning of paragraph (7) of subdivision (b) of Section 3 of Article I of
the California Constitution, the purposes of that constitutional section as it relates to the right of public access to
the meetings of local public bodies or the writings of local public officials and local agencies. Pursuant to
paragraph (7) of subdivision (b) of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution, the Legislature makes the
following findings:
It is in the public interest, and it furthers the purposes of paragraph (7) of subdivision (b) of Section (3) of Article
I of the California Constitution, to ensure that information concerning public agency employment is available to
the public.
SEC. 4. No reimbursement shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of
Title 2 of the Government Code for costs mandated by the state pursuant to this act. It is recognized, however,
that a local agency or school district may pursue any remedies to obtain reimbursement available to it under Part
7 (commencing with Section 17500) and any other law.
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