CITY OF POMONA
COUNCIL REPORT
May 18, 2026
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Anita D. Scott, City Manager
Submitted By: René Anderson, Human Resources/Risk Management Director SUBJECT: RECEIVE AND FILE REPORT REQUIRED BY ASSEMBLY BILL NO. 2561 RELATING TO PUBLIC AGENCY EMPLOYMENT RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council receive a status report of the City’s compliance with Assembly Bill No. 2561 - Public Agencies Vacancy Reporting.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
California State Assembly Bill No. 2561 (AB 2561) was signed into law by Governor Newsom on September 22, 2024, and amends the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act by adding Government Code §3502.3. Under this law, public agencies are required to report annually before their governing body on job vacancies, recruitment efforts, and retention strategies.
SB1439/GOVERNMENT CODE §84308 APPLICABILITY:
☐ When this box is checked, it indicates the agenda item is subject to the Levine Act SB1439 requirements. Councilmembers are reminded to check their campaign contributions and determine whether they have received a campaign contribution of $500 or more that would require disclosure and/or recusal from discussing or acting on this agenda item. Campaign contributions of $500 or more made 1) by any person or entity who is identified in the agenda report as the applicant or proposer or 2) on behalf of the applicant or participant, including a parent, subsidiary or otherwise related business entity, or 3) by any person who has a financial interest in the agenda item requires a councilmember to comply with SB1439.
FISCAL IMPACT: No fiscal impact at this time.
PUBLIC NOTICING REQUIREMENTS:
On May 4, 2026, electronic notices were sent to employee organizations informing them of their opportunity to make a presentation to the City of Pomona’s City Council. Attachment No. 1 includes the notices sent respectively to the Pomona Police Officers’ Association, the Pomona Police Managers’ Association, the Pomona Mid-Management/Confidential Employees’ Association, the Pomona City Employees’ Association and Pomona Part-Time General Unit, which are both represented by the Teamsters Local Chapter 1932.
DISCUSSION:
AB 2561 is a legislative measure aimed at addressing job vacancies within local public agencies in California. Effective January 1, 2025, public agencies are required to present at least once per fiscal year on the status of job vacancies, along with recruitment and retention efforts. Provisions of this bill entitles recognized employee organizations to give them the opportunity to make a presentation before the City Council during the public hearing.
The City of Pomona currently has 651 authorized full-time positions and employs approximately 150 part-time employees across various departments. As of April 29, 2026, there were fifty-two (52) full-time vacancies. The largest number of vacancies within a classification is Police Officer with twenty-six (26) vacancies, of which 14 positions are not being recruited for as a cost saving measure to our General Fund (also known as “frozen” positions). Human Resources staff devotes rigorous attention to retention efforts and strategies, which resulted in 114 vacancies filled (85 new hires and 29 promotional).
Pursuant to AB 2561, if vacancies within a single bargaining unit reach or exceed 20% of authorized full-time positions, the agency is required to provide additional information upon request from the recognized employee organization. At this time, no bargaining unit has met this threshold, as demonstrated in the following table:
Bargaining Units
# of Budgeted FTEs
# of Vacancies
Frozen
Percent of Vacancies
PCEA/Teamsters
320
41 16
7.81%
PPOA
153
26 14
7.84%
PPMA
9 1
0 11.11%
PMMCEA
115
12 1
9.57%
City of Pomona has 4 Bargaining Units representing 597 positions. Overall, the City has an 8.21% vacancy rate.
The Human Resources Department maintains a comprehensive range of recruitment strategies to enhance outreach efforts and attract highly qualified candidates. Those efforts include professional networking, community engagement, social media promotion, candidate sourcing, and paid job postings. Our retention strategies are demonstrated through enhanced benefits and salaries, employee engagement and wellness, and annual employee recognition events Pursuant to AB 2561, if there are policies, procedures, or recruitment activities that may present obstacles in the agency’s hiring process, then the City should identify potential changes that may alleviate the obstacles. The City of Pomona reviewed applicable policies, procedures, and recruitment activities to identify any potential obstacles in the City’s hiring process and found none. However, during this fiscal year and throughout the organization, recruitment efforts decreased in effort to provide savings to the General Fund.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment No. 1 – Notice to Employee Organizations
Report on AB 2561