Arroyo Grande holds inaugural AB 2561 vacancy hearing; city reports 7% year-end vacancy rate

At the April 22 Arroyo Grande City Council meeting, Human Resources Officer Ashley Garcia presented the city's first required public hearing under Assembly Bill 2561, reporting that the City ended calendar year 2024 with six vacancies — a roughly 7% vacancy rate of 86 authorized full-time equivalent positions.

AB 2561 requires public agencies to report to their legislative body at least once per fiscal year on vacancies, recruitment and retention trends. Garcia told the council the City filled 14 positions in 2024 (11 via external/internal recruitments, three by promotion), received 220 job applications and recorded an average time-to-fill of 117 days for external recruitments and 76 days for internal recruitments. The city's overall turnover rate for 2024 was 12% (10 of 86 positions), Garcia said.

The presentation broke vacancies down by bargaining unit: on Dec. 31, 2024 the City had two vacancies in the SCIU-represented unit, one in the POA unit and three in the management group. Garcia said the city's vacancy rates remained well below the 20% threshold that would trigger additional reporting requirements under AB 2561 when requested by an employee organization.

Nicole Bryant, field representative for SCIU Local 620, addressed the council as the bargaining unit's representative. Bryant praised the city's recruitment and retention work and said Arroyo Grande's low vacancy rate "is no accident," pointing to proactive policies and collaboration between human resources and labor partners.

Garcia outlined targeted steps to address recruitment challenges for hard-to-fill roles such as civil engineers and police officers, citing the county's high cost of living and distance from major metropolitan centers as factors that narrow the applicant pool. To improve police recruitment, Garcia described a lateral hiring incentive for officers moving from other agencies: a $2,500 signing incentive on hire, another $2,500 after completion of field training, and a front-loaded 40 hours of vacation leave for eligible hires.

Council members asked clarifying questions about the incentive and recruitment timing. Councilmember Maravilla requested the overview of the lateral incentive; Garcia provided the amounts and conditions. No members of the public spoke on the item.

Because the AB 2561 presentation is a receiving item, the council did not take further action beyond hearing and filing the report. Council members expressed appreciation for city staff and for the proclamation recognizing Public Service Recognition Week earlier in the meeting.

The city will present the vacancy data at least once per fiscal year as required by AB 2561 and will incorporate the information in the adoption cycle for the final budget, Garcia said.