[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6527088,"mediaKeyId","3650465-27655a2b81ae2d10e5c219ef0910b503","parentId",3650465,"title","Mendocino County holds AB 2561 hearing: HR reports ~12% vacancy rate, retention metrics and hard-to-fill roles","audioSeconds",858,"startMs",930000,"endMs",1788000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3650465-27655a2b81ae2d10e5c219ef0910b503&start=930&end=1788","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3650465-27655a2b81ae2d10e5c219ef0910b503/thumbnail_930000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6527088/Mendocino-County/California/Mendocino-County-holds-AB-2561-hearing-HR-reports-12-vacancy-rate-retention-metrics-and-hard-to-fill-roles","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6527088-47558b7a93c58206338c2a738d633087/orig.mp4?Expires=1771161316&Signature=fT1lG8KHoA6k-HDPYJ1y7odVuv5K8l6gbbp7B74N65-lWIx6j6bo4sVEewvqLZSQvSAGvDmcaVk-x4eW7X4vI8cY-tP4i3rNcu5AJ~ynItfgD4fVasWBipV2zAdBwNu~71r5b7FwtrxxSJM0HKlCAgMNp0LTtf152v1UMN1wIaPrSxl-AFEDZMXvOy~E5fHDGjQz-MlESGevbY~U8YrrEmZgF5ATBP-u50zh7zpvNtJAcHq1SbSqbwm~F~cw5Rxh26qXujWRNyDtleWZ8vz97fUkCjcRFanSE4l7Migu6GMAY2JzKvRcDBqgkpYzDMpGLPD2wpe3fPkD6YgVytDJlQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Mendocino County CA","date","2025-06-04T04:05:00Z","article","The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors held the public hearing required by Assembly Bill 2561 on June 3 and voted unanimously to accept the staff's presentation on vacancies, recruitment and retention efforts.

Sherry Johnson, the county's human resources director, told the board that AB 2561 requires annual public discussion of vacancies and staffing strategies and that proper notice had been given. Johnson and HR manager Brandy Dalzell presented countywide vacancy and recruitment statistics and outlined recruitment and retention activities.

Key points from HR's presentation
- Countywide vacancy rate: Dalzell reported a countywide vacancy rate near \"almost 12 percent\" as of the pay period ending May 10.
- Activity and workload: HR said departments submitted a large number of staffing requisitions in 2025; staff reported roughly 189 position requisitions in the period cited, 127 recruitments underway, approximately 1,618 applications screened, 75 exams conducted and 12 formal referrals (eligibility lists). HR explained that those figures cover requests across multiple departments and recruitment stages.
- Bargaining-unit thresholds: AB 2561 requires extra disclosure when a single bargaining unit exceeds 20% of total allocated full-time positions. HR said one such unit was the county's Public Attorneys Association (MCPA) and clarified that Teamsters-represented probation (McPhee) also exceeds the 20% threshold; HR said neither had requested the additional unit-level data at this hearing but could do so under the law.
- Retention and hiring challenges: Dalzell reported a retention-rate measure \"at or around 99%\" for a defined period and listed retention measures the county is using — onboarding and anniversary surveys, training and a \"coffee with HR\" program. She and Johnson also flagged several hard-to-fill roles including licensed social-service positions and Public Health Nurse (PHN) roles that require special certifications or master's-level credentials.

Board concerns and exchange about arithmetic
Several supervisors pressed HR on apparent inconsistencies between a near-99% retention snapshot and a countywide turnover/hiring-savings target of 6% used in budget planning. Supervisor Williams and others asked how both figures could coexist and whether relying on a 6% natural attrition assumption to realize budget savings was realistic. HR and the CEO's office responded that the retention metric is a point-in-time measure that fluctuates and that the 6% figure is a conservative, budget-level assumption to be monitored and adjusted during the year.

Action
The board voted to accept the staff presentation and comply with AB 2561's requirement that the county discuss vacancies, recruitment and retention. The motion to approve the presentation was made by Supervisor Mulhern, seconded by Supervisor Williams and carried unanimously (5-0). HR will provide additional unit-level information if any bargaining unit requests it under the statute and will continue to report on recruitment and retention metrics during quarterly updates.

Context
AB 2561, enacted by the California Legislature and signed by the governor, requires public agencies to hold one public hearing each fiscal year about vacancies, recruitment and retention and to provide unit-level data when requested for large bargaining units. The hearing is intended to increase transparency on staffing challenges that affect service delivery.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Board of Supervisors 6/3/2025","oneSentenceSummary","At a required public hearing under AB 2561, county HR presented vacancy and recruitment data, described retention efforts and identified hard-to-fill positions; the Board approved the staff presentation unanimously.","taxTitle","Mendocino County, California","taxId",18012,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6527093,"Mendocino supervisors move CEO's proposed FY2025-26 budget forward, warned of $16 million deficit next year",17256,2495000,19751000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3650465-27655a2b81ae2d10e5c219ef0910b503&start=2495&end=19751","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3650465-27655a2b81ae2d10e5c219ef0910b503/thumbnail_2495000.jpg","/articles/6527093/Mendocino-County/California/Mendocino-supervisors-move-CEOs-proposed-FY2025-26-budget-forward-warned-of-16-million-deficit-next-year","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6527093-e466a14d2f06a2a5f20a84e3731cbb6d/orig.mp4?Expires=1771161316&Signature=byJGlj8WBYn7rOmQCsf4rUSWHHetcJJWRArSEez2UVmEg1CeyVAzUlnk1gqR5R8bjqqy5zlC2PSF6w8piFYnUJ~DMxpAZK27B1b4q0LYihUbPTr58U9V9TPtG5HwImE22L~TIVpTshjj4XE6wsh7jicQCtTt9oH1nYzq~EJoXj4yugV0a~g0v8CptfgnIIo2S29semsCJTRpswxH8C9PT8mWE5MewEnfpq4VChLGzF3KFGDs1MpCgoGlrZD7FtcUkZ6samJXr7U9WO9stqBtmSpgeNujzETcsx4o76R1OOc2MiPnThqD2T8D91WiiwsWYomfyaqfktzM0iSA~8WuCQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Mendocino County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously June 3 to move the CEO's proposed fiscal year 2025-26 budget and associated recommendations forward for the next steps in adoption, after a day-long hearing that included department-by-department presentations and questions from supervisors.

County CEO Darcy Antle said the proposed package reflects an intensive effort to balance operating needs against a multiyear structural shortfall that the county is only beginning to address. \"We've probably been in a structural deficit at least a decade,\" Antle told the board; she added the county faces a projected shortfall of about \"$16,000,000\" going into fiscal year 2026-27.

The CEO's proposal reduces departmental requests, uses one-time funds to balance the 2025-26 budget, and asks the board to direct staff to return with formal adoption materials. Under the proposal, general-fund departments would have a combined Net County Cost of roughly $90,100,000, against about $84,000,000 in non-departmental revenue; the $6.1 million gap would be covered by one-time reserves and carryforward. Antle and budget staff also presented an illustrative \"plus-one\" outlook showing an estimated $16 million gap for 2026-27 if current trends hold.

Why it matters: the board's vote lets staff finalize documents required for formal adoption, but supervisors and department heads warned the work to close the longer-term gap will need policy decisions and continued collaboration. Several department heads urged careful prioritization so mandated public-safety and social-service obligations are not unintentionally weakened.

What the plan uses and leaves for later
- One-time funds proposed to balance 2025-26 include a retirement/Pension Obligation Bond contribution of about $3.29 million, $1 million from 2023-24 carryforward, a $1 million mental-health audit reserve used toward landfill closure backfill, $533,610 in PG&E Emergency Operations funds, $325,844 in a TETR reserve and other smaller items. Budget staff said most one-time funds are tied to one-time expenses and will not be used for ongoing costs.
- Countywide vacancy/turnover assumptions: budget staff applied a countywide 6% turnover-savings assumption (presented as about $6.36 million) to department salary budgets. Departments and elected officials warned that applying that uniformly produces uneven impacts because some units cannot safely absorb continued cuts without service losses.

Department heads pressed specific risks
- District Attorney David Eister warned against sweeping cuts to prosecutorial resources. \"If the district attorney doesn't have the bandwidth and the resources to finish the fight, then that's wasted money,\" Eister said, arguing that his office historically runs very close to budget and that cutting prosecution capacity would reduce public-safety results and victim services.
- Chief Probation Officer Eisen Locatelli told the board his juvenile hall budget as proposed is lower than last year by roughly 5.3% and asked the board not to impose additional across-the-board reductions on juvenile services. \"I am requesting not to go down,\" Locatelli said, describing mandated staffing and the high cost to send youths out of county.
- Sheriff Matt Kendall said the department faces a near-term need to hire roughly 10 positions for a behavioral-health wing in the county jail and cautioned that the hiring freeze and cuts could complicate staffing that must be in place when the unit opens.

Other budget items, briefed in the hearing
- Transportation and roads: the Department of Transportation briefed the board on long-range capital commitments that rely on outside grants and local matches; staff said roughly $15 million in local matches is already committed against multi-year projects and that a proposed unincorporated 1-cent sales tax estimate ranges in the ballpark of $90 million over 30 years (with a roughly 40% reduction applied if major annexations do not occur).
- Health services: Dr. Janine Miller (Health Services Agency) reviewed the county's reliance on realignment, Medi-Cal and grants, and highlighted risks from federal/state changes that could increase demand or reduce match funding. Behavioral health staff flagged possible higher costs if state conservatorship rules expand and noted investments in electronic health records and CalAIM billing that are intended to increase federal revenue over time.
- Disaster recovery and FEMA: disaster-staff reported a fiscal-year-23-24 fund balance of roughly $8.6 million across multiple grants and settlement accounts but emphasized many large FEMA projects remain open and that only a modest portion of funds is immediately available for unanticipated needs.

Board direction and next steps
The board voted to \"move the recommended action\" on the CEO's proposed fiscal year 2025-26 budget; the motion (agenda item 4e) was moved by Supervisor Mulhern, seconded by Supervisor Klein and carried unanimously (5-0). The approved recommendations capture multiple actions: approving the department adjustments outlined in the CEO's package; directing the auditor-controller to prepare required documents for formal adoption; asking HR to return with a revised position-allocation table; and approving specified one-time appropriations (retirement reserve, carryforward, TETR and PG&E funds) tied to one-time needs.

The board also formed an implementation ad hoc committee (Supervisors Klein and Williams) to work with the CEO's office on near-term steps including public-safety priorities, Prop. 172 allocations and the strategic hiring process.

Ending note: the vote sends a balanced 2025-26 proposal on for formal adoption steps, but supervisors, elected officials and department heads told the board that deeper structural remedies will be needed next year to avoid cuts to core services and public safety.","The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously June 3 to move the CEO's proposed fiscal year 2025-26 budget forward for adoption steps while staff and an ad hoc of supervisors will continue work on implementation and public-safety allocations. County leaders warned the structural shortfall could reach about $16 million in 2026-27.","actionData","errors"]

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Mendocino County holds AB 2561 hearing: HR reports ~12% vacancy rate, retention metrics and hard-to-fill roles

Mendocino supervisors move CEO's proposed FY2025-26 budget forward, warned of $16 million deficit next year