HomeMy WebLinkAboutAGENDA REPORT 2025 0416 CC REG ITEM 08ACITY OF MOORPARK, CALIFORNIA
City Council Meeting
of April 16, 2025
ACTION APPROVED STAFF
RECOMMENDATIONS.
BY A. Hurtado.
A. Consider Status of Vacancies and Recruitment and Retention Efforts in
Compliance with Assembly Bill 2561. Staff Recommendation: 1) Open the public
hearing, receive public testimony, and close the public hearing; and 2) Receive
and file the report. (Staff: Carolina Tijerino, Human Resources Manager)
(ROLL CALL VOTE REQUIRED)
Item: 8.A.
MOORPARK CITY COUNCIL
AGENDA REPORT
TO: Honorable City Council
FROM: Carolina Tijerino, Human Resources Manager
DATE: 04/16/2025 Regular Meeting
SUBJECT: Consider Status of Vacancies and Recruitment and Retention Efforts
in Compliance with Assembly Bill 2561
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
On September 22, 2024, Governor Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 2561 to address
the issue of job vacancies in local government, which adversely affects the delivery of
public services and employee workload. Among other requirements, the bill mandates
that public agencies present the status of vacancies and recruitment and retention efforts
during a public hearing before the agency’s governing body at least once per fiscal year.
The bill was enacted into law and is codified in Government Code section 3502.3. The
new law became effective January 1, 2025.
AB 2561 imposed three requirements on local agencies: (1) at least once each fiscal year,
an agency’s governing board must hold a public hearing and receive the agency’s report
on the status of vacancies and recruitment and retention efforts; (2) the agency must
allow the recognized employee organization for a bargaining unit to make a presentation
at the hearing; and (3) if 20% or more of full-time positions in a bargaining unit are vacant,
the City must, upon the union’s request, provide specific vacancy and workforce data at
a public hearing, including total vacancies, applicant numbers, time-to-fill averages, and
ways to improve compensation and conditions.
For the Fiscal Year 2024/25 Annual Budget, the City Council approved a total of 78.71
full-time equivalent budgeted positions. In calendar year 2024, the City experienced an
average vacancy rate of 6.7%.
Vacancies within an organization can arise for a variety of reasons, including the addition
of newly funded positions, internal promotions or transfers, or the departure of employees
due to retirement, voluntary resignation, or termination. When a position becomes
vacant, the Human Resources Division works with the respective department to fill it
quickly to maintain uninterrupted services, support ongoing operations, and reduce the
need for overtime. Timely recruitment and hiring help prevent departmental disruptions
and contribute to the overall stability of the organization’s workforce. In 2024, the City
Item: 8.A.
1
Honorable City Council
04/16/2025 Regular Meeting
Page 2
successfully filled the positions of Administrative Assistant II, Budget and Finance
Manager, Code Compliance Technician II, Landscape Maintenance Inspector,
Maintenance Worker I, Records Supervisor, Recreation Coordinator I, Recreation
Program Specialist, and Vector/Animal Control Technician II.
AB 2561 also requires that during the hearing, the agency must identify any necessary
changes to policies, procedures, and recruitment activities that may lead to hiring
obstacles. In recent years, the City has made significant changes to policies and
procedures that presented obstacles in the hiring process. Recent efforts include:
streamlining the hiring and onboarding processes, conducting pre-employment physicals
exclusively for safety-sensitive positions only, creating a recruitment video to help raise
awareness and promote job openings with the City, implementing referral and signing
bonuses for hard-to-fill positions, actively participating in job fairs, undertaking a total
compensation study to identify disparities in salaries and benefits, updating job
descriptions, offering alternative and flexible work schedules, and providing robust
professional development opportunities and employee engagement and recognition
programs. The City’s efforts to evaluate its recruitment and retention policies are ongoing
to attract top talent, reduce turnover, improve morale, and strengthen workforce stability.
The City of Moorpark has one bargaining unit, which is the Service Employees
International Union Local 721. They have been notified about the public hearing and
were informed they are allowed to make a presentation. Since the City is below the 20%
vacancy rate, no other vacancy or workforce data is required to be presented.
PUBLIC NOTICING
California Government Code Section 4217.12 requires that a Public Hearing Notice be
published in a local newspaper. The notice was published April 6, 2025, in the Ventura
County Star newspaper.
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION
This action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as it does
not constitute a project, as defined by Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines.
Therefore, no environmental review is required.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with this status update.
COUNCIL GOAL COMPLIANCE
This action does not support a current strategic objective.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION (ROLL CALL VOTE REQUIRED)
1.Open the public hearing, receive public testimony, and close the public hearing; and
2.Receive and file the report.
2