City Council and Authorities Concurrent
May 26, 2026

6/3/2026
1 City Council MeetingMay 26, 2026Item # 7 – RTC 26-509Vacancy Rates and Recruitment Challenges/Efforts (AB 2561) What is AB 2561?•Assembly Bill 2561 requires that public agencies assess and address vacancy rates on an annual basis• Track vacancies• Present information on the status of vacancies and recruitment and retention efforts at least once per fiscal year, and if applicable, before the budget is adopted• Identify any policies, procedures, and recruitment activities that may be obstacles for hiring•Additional obligations may apply if the vacancy rate in a bargaining unit exceeds 20%• The total number of job vacancies within the bargaining unit • The total number of applicants for vacant positions within the bargaining unit• The average number of days to complete the hiring process from when a position is posted• Opportunities to improve compensation and other working conditions2AB 2561 VACANCY RATES1 2 6/3/2026
2 3New Hires/Promotions FY 25-26TotalPromotionsNew Hires/RehiresBargaining Unit440Santa Clara Firefighters 22616Police Officers’ Association12012International Brotherhood of Electrical Works1358Engineers of the City of Santa Clara511734City of Santa Clara Employees’ Association381622American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, Local 101451728Unclassified Misc. Management 000Unclassified Police Management330Unclassified Fire Management321Unclassified Electric Management Utility Management Employees’ Association13112Public Safety Non-Sworn Employees Association 20471133TOTAL 4City of Santa Clara Bargaining UnitsApproximate Vacancy RateVacant FTEFilled FTEBudgeted FTENotable ClassificationsBargaining Unit0.00%01111Battalion Chief, Deputy Fire Chief, Fire ChiefUnclassified Fire Management0.00%055Police Captain, Assistant Police ChiefUnclassified Police Management5.44%8139147Police Officer, Police Sergeant, Police LieutenantPolice Officers’ Association9.70%1312114Grounds Maint. Worker, Water & Sewer Maint. Worker, Street Maint. WorkersAmerican Federation of State County and Municipal Employees12.00%64450Electric Program Managers, Principal Electric Utility Engineers, Electric Division ManagersUnclassified Electric Utility Management Employees’ Association12.36%117889Electrician, Journey LineworkerInternational Brotherhood of Electrical Workers12.41%18127145Firefighter, Fire Engineer, Fire CaptainSanta Clara Firefighters 13.89%106272Community Service Officer, Police Records Specialist, Public Safety DispatcherPublic Safety Non-Sworn Employees Association 13.93%47290.5337.5Office Specialist, Staff Aide, Staff Analyst, Librarian, PlannerCity of Santa Clara Employees Association15.89%24127151Management Analyst, Division Manager, Director, Assistant City ManagerUnclassified Misc. Management 3 4
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3 5City of Santa Clara Bargaining Units Cont.Approximate Vacancy RateVacant FTEFilled FTEBudgeted FTENotable ClassificationsBargaining Unit22.64%124153Associate Engineer, Senior Engineer, Electric Utility EngineerEngineers of the City of Santa ClaraTotalFY 26/27FY 25/26FY 24/2563.524.252118.25# Citywide FTE’s Added12426# Unit 4 FTE’s Added18Unknown135# Unit 4 FTE’s Filled4Unknown22# Unit 4 FTE’s Separated14.09%12.36%15.65%Citywide Vacancy Rate22.80%22.64%30.00%Unit 4 Vacancy Rate 6Engineers of the City of Santa Clara Recruitment StatusCurrent Recruitment TimelineCandidates on Eligible ListApplicationsRecruitment StatusVacanciesClassification~ 4 mo.11136Conditional offer; continuous recruitment 1Assistant Electric Utility Engineer~ 5 mo.1540Formal offers effective May 26, 2026 and July 6, 20262Associate Engineer (Civil)~ 4 mo.NA30Oral board interviews3Electric Utility Engineer~ 2 mo.1237Formal offer effective June 8, 20261Senior Civil Engineer~ 7 mo.827Oral board interviews; continuous recruitment4Senior Electric Utility Engineer4627011Total 5 6
6/3/2026
4 7Recruitment Challenges & Efforts•Challenges•Civil Service Rules and Regulations constraints •Department workload and prioritizing recruitments •Competitiveness of pool for specialized positions•Background process extends time to hire•Efforts•Recruiters at full capacity – City is adding additional FTEs to keep up with recruitment demands•Evaluating ways to streamline recruitment process•City attended 8 Career Fairs •Police, Fire & SVP attend additional fairs to expand recruitment efforts•Mission College Student Internship Program•Expand Advertising Efforts by adding Attract Feature in NeoGov•Competitive MOU contracts•Competitive COLA increases •Public Safety Dispatcher hiring incentives and retention bonus7