City HR outlines hiring reforms, trainee programs and vacancy data amid staffing shortages

City human resources officials described hiring practices, trainee programs and vacancy metrics at the Committee of the Whole meeting Jan. 13, answering council questions about time‑to‑hire, reclassification and efforts to recruit candidates with specialized licenses.

Elizabeth O'Leary, Director of Human Resources, said HR facilitates hiring across all departments and provided a staffing overview of the HR division. She said HR has 16 filled budgeted positions out of 17 budgeted, including herself and Deputy Director Kyla Moore, and three contract workers supporting recruiting and related work. "When a department's looking to fill a vacancy, the job description is reviewed," O'Leary said, and if substantive changes are proposed the position goes to the city's classification consultant to determine proper level and pay.

O'Leary provided vacancy and activity figures: 13 positions posted that she said correlate to 41 vacancies, 27 positions in preparation or review, 70 retirements in 2024, 42 resignations from budgeted positions in 2024, and 166 budgeted positions filled during the Jan. 1–Dec. 31, 2024 period. She said recruitment workflows include minimum‑qualification screening, assessments where appropriate, diverse interview panels and conditional offers followed by background checks tailored to the role.

Dennis Parker, Chief Labor Negotiator, outlined trainee and apprenticeship efforts to fill hard‑to‑fill roles. He said the city has a CDL program (20 individuals have obtained CDLs through the city program and five were in progress), a fleet mechanic trainee program, a dewatering trainee at wastewater, maintenance trainee positions, and two apprentice assessor positions intended to develop licensed assessors. Parker said the longtime electrician position was reclassified, bumped in pay and will be posted that week with a plan to hire a journeyman under a one‑year contract while the new hire progresses toward a master electrician license over two years.

Council members pressed for metrics and timelines. Vice President Carter asked whether HR tracks time from posting to offer; O'Leary said the deputy director is evaluating how to extract such metrics from the payroll/hiring system but that timelines vary by role (police and fire backgrounds take longer). Council members also asked whether the city consults the EDI advisory board; O'Leary said she had not yet engaged the board but welcomed collaboration. On retention risks for city‑funded licensing programs, Parker said there is no current requirement preventing workers from leaving after obtaining credentials and that the city accepts that risk in order to increase the qualified labor pool.

During the public‑comment period preceding the presentation, Loretta Stanaway urged mandatory annual employee performance reviews and more frequent updating of conflict‑of‑interest affidavits when employees change roles or receive promotions. "I would strongly suggest that there should be mandatory annual reviews for every worker in every department every single year," Stanaway said. O'Leary did not commit to an immediate system‑wide evaluation rollout but said HR planned to post a position charged with implementing a performance evaluation system and training managers to conduct equitable reviews.

Council asked for follow‑up information, including time‑to‑hire metrics by job class, historical trends in frontline versus management positions and specific fill times for the maintenance worker (400) CDL‑requiring posting; staff said they would provide reports back to council.