CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH
CITY COUNCIL MEETING – COUNCIL MEMBER ITEMS REPORT
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
FROM: GRACEY VAN DER MARK, MAYOR PRO TEM
DATE: JANUARY 17, 2023
SUBJECT: REQUEST TO IMPLEMENT A MANAGED HIRING PROCESS FOR VACANT CITY
STAFF POSITIONS (WITH LIMITED EXCEPTIONS)
The newly formed City Council needs to get up to speed on the fiscal health of the City, which includes gaining a clear understanding of the City's staffing levels, their associated costs, and financial impacts. To that end, the City should implement a “managed hiring” for current vacant positions until the City Council gets a comprehensive education on what staffing is necessary. There is a sincere concern about the financial health of the City after the past couple of years of high spending by the previous City Council, the current deepening recession, recent CalPERS return on investment and related Unfunded Accrued Liability, and worsening economic conditions.
And as the budget is being prepared for the upcoming fiscal year, the newly formed City Council should be afforded this opportunity to make informed decisions about staffing and the impacts to the budget prior to the adoption of the FY 2023-24 budget by Council in June.
RECOMMENDED ACTION
Direct the City Manager to take necessary measures to develop and implement a “managed hiring” process for City staff position vacancies that results in only necessary hiring for public safety (including Police and Fire Departments), building inspection and code enforcement, legal services (City Attorney's Office), infrastructure maintenance and operation, essential support services, meeting Charter and Municipal Code requirements, filling interim/permanent Department Head vacancies, etc.
This “managed hiring” process is meant to be temporary and is designed to allow the City Manager to prepare and present a report for City Council at its regular meeting on February 21, 2023, about the state of the City’s budget and financial health, as well as staffing levels, vacancies, the costs of filling vacancies, and any other aspect of citywide reorganization or planned increase in fiscal responsibility and economic efficiency.