Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Human Resources topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Human resources reports county vacancy rate at about 8%, unions press for retention investments
Summary
Under new state law the county presented its 2024 vacancy and recruitment data; HR reported a year-end vacancy rate of about 8.2% and described recruitment and training efforts. AFSCME and bargaining unit representatives urged the board to quantify the churn costs and invest in retention measures.
El Dorado County Human Resources presented required information under Assembly Bill 2561 on June 24, describing vacancy, recruitment and retention statistics for calendar year 2024 and early 2025.
HR Director Joey Carrasco told the board the county had 2,051 approved personnel allocations as of Dec. 31, 2024, with 168 vacant permanent allocations, an 8.2% vacancy rate. HR reported 8,778 applications in 2024; about 54% met minimum qualifications. Human resources said 428 permanent vacancies were filled in 2024 (376 via open recruitment, 44 internal-only, and 8 continuous recruitments). HR described outreach including online postings, recruiting brochures, monthly job fairs and expanded training and development opportunities.
Union representatives used the hearing to press for retention investments. Jen Romaldi of AFSCME said the county should publish the "true cost of vacancies," citing a public-record request that found 39 probationary, limited-term or extra-help employees left between Jan. 1 and May 5, 2025. Romaldi estimated direct hiring costs and onboarding labor would quickly mount and argued retention measures often cost less than repeated recruiting. Mark Bartway, representing deputy sheriffs, said his unit's local counts differ from HR's snapshot and reported a larger short-term vacancy picture in sworn ranks.
HR said it is pursuing a total compensation study and has narrowed competitor agencies to five counties for benchmarking (Yolo, Napa, Placer, Sacramento and Amador). Carrasco said staff are increasing training, internal advancement opportunities and streamlining hiring steps. The presentation was informational; the board did not take formal action but asked staff to continue work on compensation benchmarking and to respond to questions from bargaining units about counts and vacancies.
Ending: HR will follow up with union representatives to reconcile head-count differences, continue the total compensation review and provide the board with additional data on churn costs and retention activities.
