AB 2561 Presentation
City of Richmond
Vacancies, Recruitment, and
Retention Efforts in 2025
Presented by Sharrone Taylor, Director of Human Resources May 19, 2026
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Agenda
o City-Wide Information
• Background
• What is AB 2561?
• Celebrate Successes
• Workforce Information
• Recruitment Information
• Vacancy Data
• Retention Information
• Obstacles and Efforts to Address
Recruitment and Retention
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Background
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In FY 20-21, the City of Richmond had ~581 FTEs; currently, there are ~673 FTEs, a net increase of 92 FTEs. In FY 26-27, the City of Richmond is currently anticipated to be able to afford ~684 FTEs due to rising inflation, increased health care costs, class and compensation increases, and bargaining unit increases. As additional revenue and expenses are finalized, the FY 26-27 recommended FTEs will be updated. City staff will monitor recent rapid increases in inflation and, as public safety MOUs are finalized, update projections to make recommendations to the City Council.
3 What is AB2561?
California Assembly Bill 2561 (2024), effective
January 1, 2025, mandates that local public agencies
hold a public hearing at least once per fiscal year to
report on job vacancies, recruitment, and retention
efforts. If the number of job vacancies within a single bargaining unit meets or exceeds 20% of the total
number of authorized full-time positions, the bill
would require the public agency, upon request of the
recognized employee organization, to include
specified information during the public hearing. By
imposing new duties on local public agencies, the bill
would impose a state-mandated local program.
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Celebrate
Successes!
• Hired and onboarded a total of 91
new people!
• Annual turnover rate reduced by 2%
in 2025
• Instituted trainings by job
classifications
• Held 10 staff engagement and
appreciation events!!
• Significantly brought down Richmond
Fire Management vacancy rate from
28.3% to 3.3% in one year!
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Workforce Information
City Manager City Attorney City Clerk City Council Community Development
Community
Services
(Recreation)
Department of
Children &
Youth
Economic
Development
& Port
Employment &
Training Finance Fire Human
Resources
Information
Technology Library
Mayor
Office of
Neighborhood
Safety
Police Public Works Rent Program
Average Budgeted
Full-Time Positions
in 2025
802
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Average
Number of
Vacancies
Applications
Received
Hires
New
Positions
Promotions
Recruitments
91 496,474 2
682025
Recruitment
Statistics
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143
2024- 2025 Data Comparison
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8 Metric 2025 2024
Citywide Total Vacancy Rate 18% 18%
Executive Management Vacancy Rate 15.0% 17.6%
Mid-Management Vacancy Rate 23.5% 24.6%
General Employees Vacancy Rate 19.0% 16.4%
Part-Time and Intermittent Employees Vacancy Rate 7.1% 9% Richmond Police Officers’ Association (RPOA) Vacancy Rate 17.8% 18.9% Richmond Police Management Association (RPMA) Vacancy Rate 1.4% 2.1% International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 188 Vacancy Rate 8.7% 7.3% Richmond Fire Management Association (RFMA) Vacancy Rate 3.3% 28.3% Average FTE Budgeted 802 776
Average FTE Filled 659 635
Vacancies Created 108 179
Number of Hires 91 112
Number of Separations 75 85
Retirements 22 24
Resignations 36 42
Involuntary 14 16
Other 3 3
Annual Turnover Rate 11% 13%
9 2025
Vacancy
Trends
Over
12 Months
135
151
162
Avg. 143.6 Vacancies
Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May Jun July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.DRAFT Vacancy Information by Month
Average Vacancy Percentage: 18%
Calendar Year 2025 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Budgeted FTEs 808 808 800 800 800 800 800 800 800 800 800 810 Hires 9 6 27 3 2 7 7 6 4 7 3 10
Promotions 3 5 3 6 4 11 4 2 2 4 3 2
Position Changes -8 10
Separations -6 -7 -8 -3 -8 -3 -9 -6 -4 -8 -4 -9
Vacancies 162 162 135 135 141 137 139 140 140 141 142 151 Vacancy Percentage 20% 20% 17% 17% 18% 17% 17% 18% 18% 18% 18% 19% 10DRAFT
11 2025
Vacancies
Created
108 Vacancies Created
• # of Vacancies due to
Newly Budgeted
Positions: 2
• # of Vacancies due to
Internal Promotions: 28
• # of Vacancies due to
Internal Transfers: 3
• # of Vacancies due to
Separations: 75
New Positions
2%
Internal
Promotion
26%
Transfer
3%
Separation
69%
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2025 Retention Information (Separations)
75 Separations from City Service
• Retirement – 22
• Resignation – 36
• Involuntary – 14
• Other – 3
Annual Turnover Rate: 11%
Retirement
29%
Resignation
48%
Involuntary
19%
Other
4%
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2025 Reasons for Leaving
Factors Cited in Exit Questionnaire:
Retirement
38%
Personal Pursuits or
Reasons
19%
Another Job
21%
Other
Resignations
22%
13 Main Reason:
Other resignations = reasons not given
Better benefits
Career
advancement
(higher or different
position)
Flexible hours
Telework
School
Family/personal
reasons
Conflict
0 1
2 3
4 5
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2025 Vacancy Rate – By Bargaining Unit
Bargaining Unit Vacancy Rate
IFPTE Local 21 Mid-Management 23.5%
SEIU Local 1021 General Employees 19.0%
Richmond Police Officers Association 17.8%
IFPTE Local 21 Executive Management 15.0%
Fire Local 188 8.7%
SEIU Local 1021 Part-Time Unit 7.1%
Richmond Fire Management Association 3.3%
Richmond Police Management Association 1.4%
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• Council Goals and Objectives
• Goal Area #5: Strengthen the City’s Internal Infrastructure and Processes • Hiring and Retention
• Focus on Public Safety, Emergency Services, Parking Enforcement, Community Crisis Intervention Program
• Budget Implications:
• Balanced Budget Driven by Vacancy Savings: FY 2026-27 is balanced primarily through an assumed 12% vacancy rate ~ $16.4 million in savings.
• Salaries / Fringe Benefit Costs Rising
• Increases in salaries and benefits to maintain competitive salaries and offer benefits package
• Increases in OPEB
• Expenses outpace revenues
• Federal, State & Local Environment
• Budget cuts
• Funding Flexibility
• Unfunded Mandates - Vacancy Savings
• Hidden Costs
• Staff Morale, Burnout, Turnover
• Service Quality
• Reputational Risks
15 Strategic
Recruitment
& Hiring
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Recruitment
Process
Overview
Vacancy Created
Voluntary Separation, Retirement,
Involuntary Separation, Internal
Movement, Newly Budgeted
Position
Recruitment Requisition
Department submits a recruitment
requisition. Once it is approved
through workflow, HR is notified to
begin the process to fill the vacancy
Determine Recruitment Type
Utilize existing eligibility
list/ongoing recruitment, recruit
external & internal, or recruit
internal only
Job Posting
Advertise job opening and
recruitment on website and
networks. May be specialized based
on classification or job market.
Application Screening
Applications are screened to
determine if the applicants meet
minimum and desired qualifications
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Recruitment
Process
Overview
Examination
Candidates to pass examination
(written, oral interview, practical
skills assessment)
Employment List
Employment list established;
eligible candidates certified to
department in accordance with
Personnel Rules
Interviews Department interviews candidates
that have been certified
Conditional Job Offer
Candidate is extended a conditional
job offer, and completes a pre-
employment background process
Final Job Offer
Candidate successfully completes
the background process and is
extended a final job offer with a
confirmed start date.
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Policies, Procedures, and Recruitment Enhancements
• Personnel Rules – Minimum Application Period (10 days) • High volume for entry-level roles: Extended filing periods often generate a large number of applications, including many that would meet minimum qualifications
• Increased volume requires additional staff time for selection screening, which can increase hiring timelines
• Limited yield for specialized roles: Longer recruitment windows do not necessarily result in more qualified applicants for hard-to-fill or specialized positions, contributing to longer time-to-fill • One-size timeline impacts efficiency
• Creates an opportunity to adjust timelines by role
• NEOGOV System Enhancements
• Continued implementing NEOGOV modules, to include streamlined onboarding process for new employees (implemented)
• Learn Module: Training by Classification – Courses are personalized by department and classification to guarantee that new employees acquire skills tailored to their specific classification The City routinely evaluates relevant policies, procedures, and recruitment efforts to pinpoint any possible barriers within its hiring process.
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Retention Efforts
• Competitive Compensation and Benefits
• Provided strong compensation and benefit enhancements through completed successor MOU negotiations with Executive Management Unit, Mid-Management Unit, General Employees Unit, Part-Time Employees Unit, and the Firefighters Unit
• Continuing successor MOU negotiations with Fire Management, Police Officers Association, and Police Management
• Training and Professional Development
• Building a high-performance Richmond through specialized training initiatives • CORE Institute – designed to enhance leadership, soft skills and mindfulness • REPU – training focused on Richmond’s Race Equity Plan and diversity and inclusion • Leadership Academy – to boost leadership and public sector employment relations knowledge • Promotional Pathways
• Internal recruitment and promotional opportunities resulted in promotions for 41 employees • Continued Enhancement of the Health and Wellness Program • Improved dental and vision benefits
• Expanded personel development reimbursment to include therapeutice and self help support • Promotion of added value programs that support employee health and wellness through our joint powers authority and benefits partners 19
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Employee
Engagement
Events
Throughout the year, we have organized several employee appreciation events, including:
• All Employee Recognition & Service Awards
• Valentine’s Day Coffee Cart
• Beach Break with Italian Ice
• Health and Wellness Fair
• Cocoa and Color, and More!
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Thank You
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