PowerPoint Presentation — Manhattan Beach City Council, May 12, 2026

“Note: This PowerPoint presentation is intended solely as a visual aid to an oral staff presentation of an agenda report topic. In the event of any differences between the presentation and the agenda report, the information in the agenda report prevails.”

EMPLOYEE VACANCY RATES AND

CITYWIDE RECRUITMENT AND
RETENTION EFFORTS (AB 2561)
May 12, 2026
2CITY OF

MANHATTAN BEACH
“Note: This PowerPoint presentation is intended solely as a visual aid to an oral staff presentation of an agenda report topic. In the event of any differences between the presentation and the agenda report, the information in the agenda report prevails.” • AB 2561 (effective Jan 1, 2025) amended the Meyers-
Milias-Brown Act to require public agencies to annually report on vacancies, and recruitment and retention
efforts, prior to budget adoption.
• Legislative Intent:
o High job vacancies are a widespread and significant
problem that impact public service delivery, with
understaffing leading to burnout and increased
turnover that further exacerbate staffing challenges
o Statewide interest in ensuring that public agency
operations are appropriately staffed

LEGISLATIVE BACKGROUND
MAY 12, 2026

VACANCY RATES AND CITYWIDE RECRUITMENT EFFORTS
3CITY OF

MANHATTAN BEACH
“Note: This PowerPoint presentation is intended solely as a visual aid to an oral staff presentation of an agenda report topic. In the event of any differences between the presentation and the agenda report, the information in the agenda report prevails.” • Retirement/resignation wave and lower interest in
public employment driving a “job seekers market”
• Historic inflation resulted in higher salary adjustments in competitor agencies for several years
• Competing for talent in a challenging market,
especially for difficult to fill positions (e.g. Police Officer, engineering, accounting)
• In response, some agencies offering large bonuses
(up to $100,000) and salary increases (15% in one
year), especially for Police Officers

LABOR MARKET TRENDS
MAY 12, 2026

VACANCY RATES AND CITYWIDE RECRUITMENT EFFORTS
4CITY OF

MANHATTAN BEACH
“Note: This PowerPoint presentation is intended solely as a visual aid to an oral staff presentation of an agenda report topic. In the event of any differences between the presentation and the agenda report, the information in the agenda report prevails.” • Annual positions filled has been over the past four
years, which represents approximately 20% of total
FTE staffing annually.
• Nearly 50% of City employees have been with the
City for 4 years or less
• Increased number of positions filled, as well as
internal promotions and appointments
• Time-to-Recruit (Position opening until candidates
referred to hiring manager) dropped from 82 to 30
days (between FY20 to FY25)

RECRUITMENT & HIRING TRENDS
MAY 12, 2026

VACANCY RATES AND CITYWIDE RECRUITMENT EFFORTS
5CITY OF

MANHATTAN BEACH
“Note: This PowerPoint presentation is intended solely as a visual aid to an oral staff presentation of an agenda report topic. In the event of any differences between the presentation and the agenda report, the information in the agenda report prevails.” • NEOGOV system implemented (2020) to streamline
recruitment and applicant tracking
• Candidate pipeline programs: Office Assistant Pool,
Fire Apprentices, Police Intern and Explorer
• Additional part-time HR staffing dedicated to
recruitment oversight
• Consolidated testing and increased efficiencies, such as scheduled monthly testing for Police Officer
(written and PAT), and more job-related recruitment
exams (e.g. performance exams for Maintenance
Workers)

RECRUITMENT EFFORTS
MAY 12, 2026

VACANCY RATES AND CITYWIDE RECRUITMENT EFFORTS
6CITY OF

MANHATTAN BEACH
“Note: This PowerPoint presentation is intended solely as a visual aid to an oral staff presentation of an agenda report topic. In the event of any differences between the presentation and the agenda report, the information in the agenda report prevails.” • Council previously enhanced recruitment bonuses for
Police Officer and hard-to-fill positions, and referral bonus for employees who refer Police Officers
• Wellness perks: Calm app, fitness memberships,
additional holidays
• Negotiated increases to support both recruitment and
retention
• Prior retention incentives approved by City Council
• Competitive labor agreements authorized

RECRUITMENT & RETENTION EFFORTS
MAY 12, 2026

VACANCY RATES AND CITYWIDE RECRUITMENT EFFORTS
7CITY OF

VACANCY RATES
MAY 12, 2026

VACANCY RATES AND CITYWIDE RECRUITMENT EFFORTS
• The City currently budgets a 6% vacancy factor, which means that an assumes there will be at least an
average of 6% vacancies Citywide at any time.
• Vacancy Rate = Positions Filled/Positions budgeted
• Vacancy rates can be broken down by bargaining unit,
or department
• Police Academy Trainee are for the purpose of
eventually filling sworn Police Officer positions, but are not included in calculated vacancy rates. These
employees therefore do not reduce the vacancy rate for
either POA or Teamsters and do not reduce the
vacancy rate for the Police Department as a whole
8CITY OF

VACANCY RATES BY BARGAINING UNIT
MAY 12, 2026

VACANCY RATES AND CITYWIDE RECRUITMENT EFFORTS
Employee vacancy rates are as of April 30, 2026
Employee Group Budgeted Filled Vacancies Vacancy
Rate
Unrepresented Employees 31 26 5 16.1%
Firefighters Association (MBFA) 30 28 2 6.7%
Mid Mgmt. Association (MBMEA) 59 51 8 14.8%
Police Mgmt. Association (PMA) 7 7 0 0.0%
Police Officer Association (POA)** 64 58 6 9.4%
Teamsters** 155 147 8 5.2%
TOTAL 348 318 30 8.6%
9CITY OF

VACANCY RATES BY DEPARTMENT
MAY 12, 2026

VACANCY RATES AND CITYWIDE RECRUITMENT EFFORTS
Employee vacancy rates are as of April 30, 2026
Employee Group Budgeted Filled Vacancies Vacancy
Rate
Community Development 39 38 1 2.6%
Finance 21 19 2 9.5%
Fire 41 38 3 7.3%
Human Resources 8 6 2 25.0%
Information Technology 12 10 2 16.7%
Management Services 10 8 2 20.0%
Parks & Recreation 21 19 2 9.5%
Police 119 112 7 5.9%
Public Works 77 68 9 11.7%
TOTAL 348 318 30 8.6%
10CITY OF

POLICE OFFICER HIRING
MAY 12, 2026

VACANCY RATES AND CITYWIDE RECRUITMENT EFFORTS
2020 - 21
• Improvements in
testing for Police
Officer
• Increased
resources for
background
investigations
• Application
software
expanded
applicant pool
• Sworn police
staffing remains
at 65 FTE; 7
sworn vacancies
2023 - 2024
• Sworn staffing
increase from
65 to 72,
including civilian
background
investigator
• Enhanced
recruitment and
referral bonuses.
• Additional
recruitment and
retention
incentives
authorized.
• Ongoing testing
continues.
2025-Current
• POA MOU
authorized in
2025 to remain
competitive in
labor market.
• Vacancies
reduced from 10
to 6.
• Increase in
number of
candidates
placed into
background
process.
11CITY OF

VACANCY RATES AND CITYWIDE RECRUITMENT EFFORTS
• Police Academy Trainee (PAT): Entry level position with no prior law enforcement training and experience
º PAT: 4-6 month academy and 18 month field
training and observation period (probation)
• Police Officer (Academy Graduate): Completed police
academy but has not yet completed a year at a law
enforcement agency
• Police Officer (Lateral): Completed police academy
and sworn Officer experience over one year.
º Academy Grad and Lateral: 12 month field training
and observation (probation)
12CITY OF

POLICE OFFICER HIRING
MAY 12, 2026

VACANCY RATES AND CITYWIDE RECRUITMENT EFFORTS
January 1, 2024 to present
• 17 New Hires for Police Officer or Academy
Trainee
• 2 retirements
• 10 resignations or separations
• 3 promotions to ranks above Officer
• 8 Academy Trainees graduated the
academy to Police Officer
13CITY OF

POLICE OFFICER APPLICANT FLOW
MAY 12, 2026

VACANCY RATES AND CITYWIDE RECRUITMENT EFFORTS
1,305
Applications
514
Written Exam
258
Interviews
147
Eligible Candidates
16 Hired
*January 1, 2024 - Present

1.2%
of applicants
hired
14CITY OF

VACANCY RATES AND CITYWIDE RECRUITMENT EFFORTS
Attrition during Background
(May 2025 to Present)
67 Entered Backgrounds
47 Did Not Pass / Withdrew
10 Hired

17.5%
pass rate through
background
investigations10
Still in Background
15CITY OF

MANHATTAN BEACH
“Note: This PowerPoint presentation is intended solely as a visual aid to an oral staff presentation of an agenda report topic. In the event of any differences between the presentation and the agenda report, the information in the agenda report prevails.” • 6 sworn vacancies (does not include PATs)
• 2 Police Academy Trainees currently in the
academy
• 2 additional Police Academy Trainees scheduled
to start in academy June 1, 2026, with an
additional 2 candidates in pre-employment with
the same date as a target
• 1 additional Academy Trainee cleared initial pre-
employment with a start date TBD
• 12 additional candidates in background

CURRENT RECRUITMENT PIPELINE
MAY 12, 2026

VACANCY RATES AND CITYWIDE RECRUITMENT EFFORTS
16CITY OF

MANHATTAN BEACH
“Note: This PowerPoint presentation is intended solely as a visual aid to an oral staff presentation of an agenda report topic. In the event of any differences between the presentation and the agenda report, the information in the agenda report prevails.” • The City Council has made several updates to recruitment and retention efforts for sworn police employees. Current recruitment incentives include:
º Current recruitment bonus is 3 – 10% of annual salary, with a maximum of $13,058.
º Referral bonus open to any City employee, currently at to 5% of trainee salary (currently $4,430)
º Current recruitment and retention incentives: leave
based on total sworn experience, initial bank of leave
for laterals, health and wellness benefits

CURRENT RECRUITMENT INCENTIVES
MAY 12, 2026

VACANCY RATES AND CITYWIDE RECRUITMENT EFFORTS
17CITY OF

POLICE OFFICER HIRING
MAY 12, 2026

VACANCY RATES AND CITYWIDE RECRUITMENT EFFORTS
Agency Police Vacancy Rate Recruitment Bonus
Manhattan Beach 8.3% Lateral or Academy Trainee: 3-10%
(Up to $13,058 Maximum)
El Segundo 3.0% Lateral: $40,000
Hermosa Beach

5.3% Lateral: $40,000
Academy Trainee: $30,000
Torrance 20.0% Lateral: up to $100,000
Academy Trainee: Up to $40,000
Hawthorne 8.5% n/a
Inglewood 10.5%
Lateral: $40,000
Academy Grad: $30,000
Academy Trainee: up to $25,000
Beverly Hills 9.7% Lateral: $45,000
Academy Trainee: $35,000
Santa Monica 2.1% n/a
Redondo Beach 5.1% Lateral: $10,000
18CITY OF

POLICE CAPTAIN OVERHIRE
MAY 12, 2026

VACANCY RATES AND CITYWIDE RECRUITMENT EFFORTS
• In February 2026, City staff requested the addition of a Deputy Police Chief
• Council requested alternatives to providing
additional management-level oversight
• Over hires have been historically approved within the Police Department, including at management levels
• Salaries savings from long-term (unpaid) leave and
vacancies will be utilized for near term; Staff will
return throughout the year with funding updates.
• Staff plans to utilize this authorization at the Police Captain level for an extended period of time, and
seeks Council concurrence.
19CITY OF

QUESTIONS
MAY 12, 2026

VACANCY RATES AND CITYWIDE RECRUITMENT EFFORTS

Manhattan Beach City CouncilMay 12, 2026

Manhattan Beach City Council
May 12, 2026