Finance and Management Committee
February 7, 2022
RECOMMENDATION
AGENDA REPORT
Staff Recommends That The City Council Receive An Informational Report From The City Administrator Regarding:
1) The Vacancy Rate, Salary Schedule, And Total Number Of Budgeted And Vacant Positions For Each Classification In The Departments Of Transportation, Planning And Building, And Public Works By Department; And
2) The Classification Level Vacancy Rates Of Similar Departments Of Local Public Entities And Special Districts; And
3) For Classifications In Oakland With A Vacancy Rate Of More Than 20%, Salary Schedules For Similar Classifications Of Local Public Entities And Special Districts; And 4) Which Vacancies Have The Greatest Impact On Each Department.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City Administrator received a request from City Council to research information related to vacancies in the departments of Transportation, Planning and Building, and Public Works. This report contains data that is responsive to that request.
BACKGROUND/LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
At the July 7, 2021 Rules and Legislation meeting, the Committee scheduled a report to the Public Works Committee for November 2021. This report was titled, “Receive An Informational Report From The City Administrator Regarding The Vacancy Rates Of The Departments Of Transportation, Planning And Building, And Public Works And The Vacancy Rates Of Similar Departments Of Local Public Entities.” At the October 7, 2021 Rules and Legislation meeting, the Committee changed the title and scheduled the matter to the Finance and Management Committee for February 7, 2022.
This informational report was requested as a separate item from the Semi-Annual Staffing Report, which is presented to the Finance and Management Committee every May and November. The most recent report was provided to the Committee on November 8, 2021.
TO: Edward D. Reiskin FROM: Ian Appleyard
City Administrator HRM Director
SUBJECT: Vacancy Rate Report DATE: February 7, 2022
City Administrator Approval Date: Jan 27, 2022
Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Vacancy Rate Report
Date: February 7, 2022 Page 2
Finance and Management Committee
February 7,2022
The current request includes:
1) The vacancy rate, salary schedule, and total number of budgeted and vacant positions for each classification in the Departments of Transportation, Planning and Building, and Public Works by department.
2) The Classification level vacancy rates of similar departments of local public entities and special districts.
3) For Classifications in Oakland with a vacancy rate of more than 20%, salary schedules for similar classifications of local public entities and special districts. 4) Which vacancies have the greatest impact on each department.
At the October 7, 2021 Rules and Legislation Committee meeting, staff raised the following concerns about the data that was being sought, including:
• Total Compensation: in comparison to salary data, total compensation is the most accurate data point for market comparisons
• Labor market:
o 3.8% Bay Area unemployment rate in November 2021
o 3.9% National unemployment rate in December 2021
o High demand for technical public sector talent (i.e., engineers, planners, surveyors, building inspectors, accountants, analysts, etc.) • Vacancy rates:
o Normally tracked by Departments and not by classification o Local public entities and Special Districts do not track vacancy rates by classification or department. These data will be difficult to obtain.
To contextualize the discussion, it is important to understand the definition of a classification, according to the Personnel Manual of the Civil Service Board: “Class or Class of Positions - a position or group of position for which a common descriptive job title may be used, as defined by similar education, experience, knowledge, duties, qualifications and compensation schedule.”
The City of Oakland’s classification plan consists of approximately 800 distinct classifications.
These classifications can be single incumbent, department-specific, or citywide. Therefore, when performing the below analysis, especially with an individual department focus, the applicable classifications can be expansive.
The source of the information for this report includes the monthly Position Control Report, the Salary Schedule, data from previous Staffing Reports, a survey of regional jurisdictions and a departmental survey. The Position Control Report includes authorized positions that reflect the current approved budget, which consists of 4,704.43 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) positions.
Currently, 168.16 FTEs are frozen.
Additionally, as stated in the Semi-Annual Staffing Report presented on November 8, 2021, the “budgeted vacancy factor,” which is distinct from the “vacancy rate,” is a fixed budget ratio applied to the total personnel allocation for a given department. Historically, the budgeted vacancy factor has been 4%. In the Mayor’s 2021-23 Proposed Budget, the vacancy factor was set at 8% for the General Purpose Fund. In September and December 2021, the City Council approved an additional $1.3 million and $1.4 million, respectively, from vacancies to increase the budgeted vacancy factor to 8.8% for the General Purpose Fund.
Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Vacancy Rate Report
Date: February 7, 2022 Page 3
Finance and Management Committee
February 7,2022
ANALYSIS/POLICY ALTERNATIVES
The analysis below examines four areas that were detailed in the October 7, 2021 Rules Committee title change.
1) The vacancy rate, salary schedule, and total number of budgeted and vacant positions for each classification in the Departments of Transportation, Planning and Building, and Public Works by department
Table 1 shows budgeted FTEs over a three-year period for the Departments of Planning and Building, Transportation, and Public Works. The number of positions in all three departments have increased over that time. The source of this information is the Semi-Annual Staffing Report.
Table 1: 3-Year FTE per Department
Staffing Report Date
Nov
2018
April
2019
Oct
2019
May
2020
Nov
2020
May
2021
Nov
2021
3-year
increase
Planning and
Building
172.50
172.50
205.50
203.50
204.50
203.50
201.50
16.81%
Transportation 317.04 317.04 324.04 325.04 353.08 353.08 365.08 15.15% Public Works 631.57 634.57 636.17 642.17 681.83 680.83 690.23 9.29%
Table 2 shows the vacancy rates for the departments of Planning and Building, Transportation and Public Works over the last three years. The fluctuation is largely due to positions being added at the beginning of the fiscal year. Typically, the percentages are higher in the Fall report and lower in the Spring report. The “November 2021” date is data from September 22, 2021. At that moment, the vacancy rate was below the three-year average for the departments of Planning and Building and Public Works. While the vacancy rate for the Department of Transportation was higher than the three-year average.
Table 2: 3-Year Vacancy Rate Average
Staffing Report Date
Nov
2018
April
2019
Oct
2019
May
2020
Nov
2020
May
2021
Nov
2021
3-year
avg
Planning and
Building
23.77%
17.97%
28.47%
28.26%
22.49%
24.08%
21.34%
23.77%
Transportation 23.42% 17.97% 19.83% 17.14% 13.59% 8.94% 17.68% 16.94% Public Works 17.66% 18.60% 19.68% 19.26% 23.41% 16.20% 17.82% 18.95%
Attachment A is the City of Oakland’s Salary Ordinance, which lists all classifications and the affiliated salary range in the form of a step or range. Attachment B are links to the salary schedules for local public entities and special districts.
In terms of vacancies in specific classifications, these data are more challenging to obtain.
Since classifications can be single incumbent, department-specific, or citywide, the Departments of Planning and Building, Transportation, and Public Works contain all the different iterations.
Attachment C is the January 2022 Position Control Report with all budgeted positions and if they are filled, vacant, multiple (temporary part-time positions) or frozen.
Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Vacancy Rate Report
Date: February 7, 2022 Page 4
Finance and Management Committee
February 7,2022
2) The Classification level vacancy rates of similar departments of local public entities and special districts
The City of Oakland uses a defined survey universe to determine its place in the external market. These jurisdictions are local governments that have similar revenue base, service model, and governmental structure. Special Districts typically have a broader geographic tax base, fee structure, and different service models.
Local public entities that are considered the City of Oakland comparators: Berkeley, Concord, Contra Costa County, Fremont, Hayward, Richmond, San Francisco (City and County), San Jose, and Vallejo.
The above request also identified special districts. For the purpose of this survey, East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) and East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) were surveyed although they do not have Planning and Building and Transportation Departments.
The survey was sent to the above local public entities in early January 2022. At this point, one response was received from the City of San Jose. The Human Resources Management (HRM) will continue to seek this information for a supplemental report or informational memo.
Table 3 shows the City of San Jose is experiencing similar vacancy rates to the City of Oakland.
San Jose’s Public Works Department has a seven percent higher vacancy rate and Planning and Building has a six percent lower rate.
Table 3: Regional Departmental Vacancy Rates
San Jose Oakland
Planning and Building 15.48% 21.34%
Transportation 17.47% 17.68%
Public Works 25.40% 17.82%
3) For Classifications in Oakland with a vacancy rate of more than 20%, salary schedules for similar classifications of local public entities and special districts
Attachment D shows all classifications with a minimum of five positions that exceed the 20 percent vacancy threshold. Of the approximately 800 classifications, only 180 have five positions or more. Of the 180, 87 have a vacancy rate of 20% or more.
Attachment E shows the total number of budgeted and vacant positions for each classification in the Department of Transportation. Attachment F shows the total number of budgeted and vacant positions for each classification in Public Works. Attachment G shows the total number of budgeted and vacant positions for each classification in the Planning and Building Department.
Attachment H shows all frozen positions by department and position.
Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Vacancy Rate Report
Date: February 7, 2022 Page 5
Finance and Management Committee
February 7,2022
4) Which vacancies have the greatest impact on each department
Staff surveyed the City of Oakland Departments regarding the vacancies that have the greatest impact. Please see the results below in Table 4:
Table 4: Departmental Survey
Department Vacancies with Greatest Impact
Animal Services Animal Control
Supervisor
Animal Care Attendant
Supervisor Veterinarian
Library Senior Librarian Librarian I Library Assistant
Department of Race
and Equity
Equity Certified
Program Analyst III
City Administrator's
Office
Neighborhood
Services Coordinators
Program Analysts IIIs
(NSC Supervisors)
Deputy City
Administrators
Police Police Officer
Trainees
Communication
Dispatchers Criminalist
Fire Firefighter/Paramedic Firefighter Captain
Planning and Building Planner III Planner I/II Specialty Combo Inspectors
Economic & Workforce
Development Accountant II Program Analysts III
(Cultural Affairs)
Urban Economic
Analyst IV
Community Police
Review Agency
Complaint Investigator
II
Administrative
Assistant II
Finance Accountant Sen HR Operations Accountant
Parks, Recreation &
Youth Development
Recreation Leader II,
PPT Facilities Manager Management
Assistant
Summer
hires
City Clerk Assistant City Clerk Management Assistant Executive Assistant
Transportation Engineer, Assistant II Public Works
Maintenance Worker
Heavy Equipment
Operator
Concrete
Finisher
Violence Prevention Public Information
Officer III
Human Services
Manager Case Manager
Public Works Heavy and Auto
Equipment Mechanic Asst and Civil Engineer Tree Service Workers
Information
Technology
Project Management
III
Information Systems
Specialist
Human Resources Senior HR Analyst HR Analyst
Housing & Community
Development Deputy Directors Project Manager Accountant III Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Vacancy Rate Report
Date: February 7, 2022 Page 6
Finance and Management Committee
February 7,2022
Recruitment Considerations
When considering vacancies in a complex Civil Service system, it is important to note that most positions are subject to a valid, merit-based examination, which is a longer process than the private sector. In the current, competitive market, time is of the essence when hiring qualified individuals. HRM has worked diligently to streamline that process, working closely with City Departments. However, to obtain more efficiencies, broader reform will need to occur.
Certification Rule
For instance, once an eligible list is created, there is a back-and-forth with departments as ranks are certified based on the number of vacancies. This is called the Certification Rule. Table 5 shows the certification rule of regional public entities. The City of Oakland’s is one of the most restrictive and it adds time to successfully fill a vacancy:
Table 5: Certification Rule Survey
Local Public Entity Certification Rule
Oakland 4, plus 2 for additional vacancy
Alameda County 5, plus 1 for additional vacancy
Berkeley Rule of the List
Concord Rule of the List
Contra Costa
County
10, plus 1 for additional vacancy
Fremont No rules
Hayward Rule of the List
Richmond Rule of the List
San Francisco 3 plus 1. Rule of list for managers
San Jose Rule of the List
Vallejo Rule of the List
The “rule of the list” means departments receive the full list of eligible candidates once the list is established and hiring interviews can commence. Hiring interviews require departments to schedule interviews, assemble a panel, and perform background checks. This takes between 3- 5 weeks. If the department needs additional ranks certified, it can cause an additional 3-5 week delay. An increased number of certified ranks for hiring can save considerable time.
Internal Hiring Preference
Oakland personnel rules and labor agreements provide preference to existing employees, which has positively contributed to the City’s ability to “grow its own,” filling approximately 55% of vacancies with internal candidates. One labor agreement requires the City to advertise, recruit, test, create a list, and certify a list before an external recruitment can occur and the process is repeated. The challenge is the time it takes to fill all vacancies and the cascade effect. When one vacancy is filled another is created, and a new civil service recruitment is needed.
Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Vacancy Rate Report
Date: February 7, 2022 Page 7
Finance and Management Committee
February 7,2022
Average Tenure of Resigned Employees
16 14
12 10
8 National
6 Public
Sector
4 Average
2 0
18-19 19-20 20-21
Hires and Separations by Fiscal Year
500
450
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50 0
469
416 405
301 306 285
18-19 19-20 20-21
Hires Separations
Workforce Analysis
1. Separations and Hires: To reduce the overall vacancy rate, city hiring needs to outpace separations. As demonstrated in Figure A below, over the last three years, the number of hires has exceeded the number of separations. This trend is projected to continue in the current fiscal year.
Figure A: Separations and Hires by Fiscal Year
2. Tenure of Separations: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the national rate of tenure with a public-sector employer is 6.5 years (private sector is 3.7 years), which includes all separations. Over the last three years, all separated full-time City of Oakland employees average 12.28 years of service, far surpassing the national average.
See Figure B below:
Figure B: Separations and Hires by Fiscal Year
3. Separations by Department: While the tenure of separating employees is above the national average and overall hires exceed the number of separations, rates of separation vary by department. Table 6 below shows the number of separations, including YEARS
Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Vacancy Rate Report
Date: February 7, 2022 Page 8
Finance and Management Committee
February 7,2022
retirements and resignations, in six of the largest city departments. Of note, among sworn Police personnel, there were 65 resignations in FY2019-20 and 66 in FY2020-21.
Also, the FY 2020-21 separation rates were similar to prior year rates.
Table 6: Largest Department Separations, Retirements, and Resignations
Department
Total
Department
FTE
FY 2021-22
FY 2020-21
Total
Separations Retirements Resignations
Police 1,269.50 100 (7.9%) 32 (2.5%) 50 (3.9%)
Public Works 690.23 27 (3.9%) 14 (2%) 10 (1.4%)
Fire 656.08 31 (4.7%) 18 (2.7%) 10 (1.5%)
Transportation 365.08 21 (5.8%) 13 (3.6%) 7 (1.9%)
Library 264.35 9 (3.4%) 6 (2.3%) 3 (1.1%)
Human Services 238.68 14 (5.9%) 7 (2.9%) 7 (2.9%)
Planning &
Building 201.50 15 (7.4%) 5 (2.5%) 9 (4.5%)
FISCAL IMPACT
This item is for informational purposes only and does not have a direct fiscal impact or cost.
COORDINATION
Human Resources Management Department staff coordinated the collection and verification of data provided in this report with staff in each of the City’s departments and the Finance Department.
SUSTAINABLE OPPORTUNITIES
Economic: There are no economic impacts associated with this informational report.
Environmental: There are no environmental impacts associated with this informational report.
Race & Equity: There are no race & equity impacts associated with this informational report.
Edward D. Reiskin, City Administrator
Subject: Vacancy Rate Report
Date: February 7, 2022 Page 9
Finance and Management Committee
February 7,2022
ACTION REQUESTED OF THE CITY COUNCIL
Staff Recommends That The City Council Receive An Informational Report From The City Administrator Regarding:
1) The Vacancy Rate, Salary Schedule, And Total Number Of Budgeted And Vacant Positions For Each Classification In The Departments Of Transportation, Planning And Building, And Public Works By Department; And
2) The Classification Level Vacancy Rates Of Similar Departments Of Local Public Entities And Special Districts; And
3) For Classifications In Oakland With A Vacancy Rate Of More Than 20%, Salary Schedules For Similar Classifications Of Local Public Entities And Special Districts; And 4) Which Vacancies Have The Greatest Impact On Each Department.
For questions regarding this report please contact Ian Appleyard, Director of Human Resources, at (510) 238-3112.
Respectfully submitted,
IAN APPLEYARD
Director of Human Resources
Attachments (8):
A. City of Oakland Salary Ordinance
B. Links to Salary Schedules for Local Public Entities and Special Districts C. January 2022 Position Control Report all Departments D. List of Classifications with over 20% Vacancies for all Departments E. Total Number of Budgeted and Vacant Positions for each Classification in the Department of Transportation
F. Total Number of Budgeted and Vacant Positions for each Classification in the Public Works Department
G. Total number of Budgeted and Vacant Positions for each Classification in the Planning and Building Department
H. City-wide Frozen Positions by Department and Position