HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC 2026-04-28_11a Workforce Vacancies AB 2561_PP
Workforce Vacancies, Recruitment and Retention Trends (AB 2561)
City of Arroyo Grande
April 28, 2026
Good evening, Mayor and members of the City Council.
I’m Ashley Garcia, your Human Resources Officer.
Tonight’s presentation fulfills the requirements of Assembly Bill 2561, which asks cities to report annually on workforce vacancies, recruitment, and retention efforts.
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Agenda
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By way of brief background—this law went into effect January 1, 2025.
It requires public agencies to present this information in a public hearing before adopting the final budget, with the goal of making sure we’re appropriately staffed and that vacancies
aren’t impacting operations or labor relations.
There are also additional reporting requirements if vacancies exceed 20% in any bargaining unit—which, I’m happy to report, does not apply to the City.
Tonight, I’ll walk you through a quick overview of our workforce, vacancy trends, recruitment efforts, and retention.
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City-wide Workforce
86 Total Budgeted/Authorized full-time equivalent positions provide the following services to the public:
Community Development
Recreation Services
Police Services
Public Works
City Administration
Administrative Services
Human Resources
Legislative & Information Services
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The City currently has 86 full-time equivalent positions supporting core services—everything from police and public works to community development, recreation, and administrative operations.
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2025 Calendar Year Vacancies
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Average % of Vacancies at the End of Each Month: 5.8%
Highest % of Vacancies at the End of a Month: 9.3%
Lowest % of Vacancies at the End of a Month: 3.5%
Looking at 2025, our vacancy rate remained relatively stable throughout the year, averaging about 5.8%.
For context, a 5 to 10% vacancy rate is generally considered healthy—it reflects normal turnover while still maintaining service levels.
We ended the year with 8 vacancies, or about 9.3%.
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Vacancies by Unit
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Vacancy Rates by Bargaining Group as of December 31, 2025
Breaking that down a bit further—those 8 vacancies were spread across SEIU and the Police Officers Association.
Since the end of the year, we’ve already made progress filling several of those positions.
And importantly, all bargaining units remain well below the 20% threshold that would trigger additional reporting.
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Recruitment
Statistics
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Calendar Year 2025 Vacancies Filled
Improved hiring time:
Reduced time to fill metric by 34 days over the previous year
409 job applications received
In 2025, we filled 18 positions—14 through recruitment and 4 through internal promotions.
One of the highlights here is our improvement in hiring timelines. We reduced our average time to fill by 34 days compared to the previous year.
We also saw a significant increase in interest, receiving 409 applications—nearly double what we saw in 2024.
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Hiring
Issues
Obstacles Identified:
Rising demand for talent in certain sectors (especially Law Enforcement, Engineering)
High Cost of Living in SLO County
Geographical distance from a major metropolitan center
To address these obstacles, the City will:
Continue to highlight the Lateral Police Officer Hiring Incentive Program
Promote jobs available through targeted outreach
Spotlight 2026 Best Place to Work honors
Ensure our Compensation Plan remains competitive
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That said, recruitment is still challenging in certain areas—particularly police and engineering—and the high cost of living in San Luis Obispo County can limit the applicant pool.
To address that, we’re continuing targeted efforts like our lateral police incentive program, expanding outreach through professional networks and local schools, promoting our recognition
as a Best Place to Work, and regularly evaluating our compensation to stay competitive.
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Staff Retention
Annual Staffing Retention Rate: 92%
Average Tenure: 9.1 years
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2025 Vacancy Reasons
From a retention standpoint, the City remains in a strong position.
Our turnover rate was 8%, meaning we retained about 92% of our workforce, and the average employee tenure is just over 9 years—both indicators of a stable organization.
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Summary of Vacancy Report
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Next
Steps
Recruitment Challenges
Focus on Retention
In closing, the City has made meaningful progress in reducing vacancies, improving hiring timelines, and strengthening recruitment efforts.
We’ll continue focusing on employee engagement, competitive compensation, and professional development to ensure we remain an organization where people want to work—and stay.
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POA Presentation
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SEIU declined to present tonight but there is a written comment provided in your agenda packet related to the item from Nicole Bryant, Field Representative for SEIU Local 620.
At this time, I’d like to invite Senior Police Officer Enrriqueta Peinado to the podium, representing the Arroyo Grande Police Officers Association.
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Questions & Discussion
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Recommendation
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Conduct a public hearing and receive and file the City of Arroyo Grande Workforce Vacancies, Recruitment, and Retention Trends presentation for the year ending December 31, 2025, to
comply with Assembly Bill 2561
The Recommended action is to conduct a public hearing and receive and file the City of Arroyo Grande Workforce Vacancies, Recruitment and Retention Trends presentation.
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Public Comment
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