Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Personnel Recruiting Benefits topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Personnel department cites slow hiring, near-term salary study and health-plan cuts in FY26 presentation
Summary
City personnel officials told the Budget and Public Employees Committee on May 20 that the city averages about 51 days from application to hire, that a consultant salary study is nearing completion, and that the Department of Personnel faces reductions to wellness and professional-services budget lines while administering multi-million-dollar insurance plans.
John Understall, director of personnel, Jamie McGeachan, public information officer for the department, and Brenda Haverly, supervisor for health and welfare, briefed the Budget and Public Employees Committee on May 20 on recruitment, a pending salary study, and health-and-welfare line-item changes in the FY26 budget.
Understall said the city has made progress reducing time-to-hire for some positions but that the overall average remains about 51 days from application to onboarding. "We're reviewing our internal processes with recruitment, to make that as efficient as possible," Understall said. Committee members pressed for specifics about policy or code changes that might shorten the timeline; Understall said most causes are procedural and that Talent Acquisition is examining bottlenecks and weekly coordination with departments to speed hiring.
Aldermen repeatedly raised pay as a factor in recruitment and retention. Understall said a consultant salary study is nearing completion and that the next steps will include discussions with unions and departmental leaders; he said the study has been slow in part because employee participation in survey instruments was low and because staff asked the consultants for additional targeted comparisons. "I think we're getting very close," Understall said of the study's final report, but he declined to give a firm completion date.
On benefits, Brenda Haverly said the department manages the city's medical plan (about 9,000 active lives) with a $31 million medical plan and a $29 million pharmacy plan that is self-insured. She said the FY26 recommended budget reduced several health-and-welfare line items: $175,000 cut from wellness facility supplies (five employee fitness centers), $100,000 cut to wellness programming, and $150,000 reduced in internal services tied to printing and communications, for a total reduction of about $610,000. Haverly said the department will prioritize preserving insurance-plan funding and will seek internal options to deliver required services.
Haverly told the committee the department still lacks a fully operational online enrollment experience for benefits because the Oracle "Redwood" enrollment module has not yet been implemented. The department is processing some enrollments on paper while awaiting Oracle and will evaluate alternatives if the module is not viable. She also said city UKG timekeeping needs correct pay-code configuration so FMLA and other leave tracking are accurate.
Committee members requested follow-up information on whether recruitment process steps could be eliminated or streamlined, on legislative barriers if any exist, and on the salary-study timeline. Understall said he will continue to analyze recruitment bottlenecks and work with departments.
Sources: Testimony by John Understall, Jamie McGeachan and Brenda Haverly, Budget and Public Employees Committee, May 20, 2025.
