Council committee presses personnel on transfer portal as layoffs loom; departments ordered to submit vacancy reports

The Budget and Finance Committee continued its special meeting on citywide layoff management and ordered a series of written reports from departments after hearing updates on an expedited transfer portal meant to reduce layoffs.

The committee’s chair, Chair McCosker, opened the single-item special session and asked city personnel, the Chief Administrative Office and multiple departments to brief the committee on vacancies and transfer opportunities. “As of this week we have identified 246 positions that are available to be filled,” a Personnel Department representative told the committee, adding that the 246 figure represents proprietary- or special-funded positions and is up seven from the previous week.

Why it matters: Council members sought to ensure the transfer process prioritizes employees who may face displacement while matching skill sets to available vacancies. CAO staff said updated payroll data taken on July 1 reduced an earlier estimate of potentially affected filled positions from 614 to 595, a change CAO representative Melissa Velasco described as the result of positions that were eliminated in the adopted budget but became vacant by the start of the new fiscal year.

Details of the portal and numbers

Personnel staff described the portal as an expedited matching process that accepts applications from employees who could be affected by layoffs; the department is reviewing applications and helping departments identify candidates who fit open classifications. The committee was told there are roughly…