Kern County receives AB 2561 vacancy report; unions and staff press board on understaffing and restricted reserves

The Kern County Board of Supervisors opened and closed the public hearing required by Assembly Bill 2561 and voted to receive and file a county vacancy report that summarized recruitment and retention data as of the pay period containing July 1, 2025.

Tracy Eldridge, the county chief human resources officer, presented the report and said the county’s Service Employees International Union (SEIU) bargaining units include 6,051 allocated positions and 793 vacancies, a 13.11% overall vacancy rate. Eldridge told the board that one bargaining unit — the sheriff’s aircraft pilot classification — showed a 100% vacancy because it contains a single classification that was vacant at the reporting date. Human resources described targeted recruitment efforts for that hard‑to‑fill position, outreach to aviation programs, and attendance at career expos.

Eldridge also gave vacancy and recruitment metrics for recently created classifications (28 allocated positions, seven vacancies; 83 applications received; 22 names certified; average 72 days to complete hiring) and for promotional sergeant vacancies within law enforcement (16 vacancies; 27 applications; 16 names certified; 67 days to hire). The district attorney’s office was reported to have 90 allocated prosecutor positions with 25 vacancies; human resources said it is working with the district attorney’s office to increase applicant flow and noted recently approved contract adjustments for prosecutors.

Public commenters, including county employees and union representatives, urged faster hiring and criticized chronic understaffing. Ian Paine, a Public Works employee and SEIU member, and Rosario Romero, a Department of Human Services supervisor and SEIU Region 5 trustee, summarized a research packet prepared by SEIU that, they said, showed longstanding vacancies across multiple departments and linked staffing shortfalls to service impacts. Romero said county financial reports show persistent underspending on salaries compared with budgeted amounts and contended that restricted funds held by the county could be used to address critical vacancies.

Assistant Chief Administrative Officer Elsa Martinez responded during public comment that some of the figures referenced by commenters reflected a point in time (June 30, 2024) and described the nature of restricted funds, including state realignment and program‑specific restrictions that prevent moving those balances to unrelated uses. Martinez offered to sit down with union representatives and staff to walk through the county’s financial statements and line‑by‑line restrictions.

Firefighter Jesse Wodowski, representing Kern County Firefighters Local 1301, voiced support for the human resources presentation and thanked staff for their recruitment briefings.

After hearing public comments the board voted to receive and file the AB 2561 vacancy report for the pay period including July 1. Supervisor Parlier made the motion to receive and file; the clerk recorded the motion as approved by the board.