City reports 7.6% vacancy rate, 92% retention; council accepts annual recruitment-and-vacancy report

Veronica Rodriguez, the city's human resources director, presented the city's first annual public hearing and report under the recent amendment to the MMBA (referenced in the meeting as AB 2561 / Government Code 3502.3) on May 27.

Rodriguez said the City of Lincoln had 223.25 full-time equivalent positions and 17 vacancies on May 1, 2025, yielding an overall vacancy rate of 7.6%. The vacancies were distributed across seven departments; public-safety vacancy rates were reported at about 3 percent, with police and fire showing no vacancies as of the May 1 snapshot (police had a dispatcher vacancy that was filled on May 18). Rodriguez walked the council through department-level details: community development (four vacancies but recent hires for multiple classifications), engineering (four vacancies with recruitments underway), IT/GIS (two new positions in process), finance (two positions with one filled), public works (two vacancies; refuse driver filled and wastewater interviews held), and a recently filled police dispatcher.

Rodriguez identified external factors that affect recruitment: the city's continued participation in Social Security (requiring both employee and employer contributions of 6.2 percent) that many regional comparables do not have; the employee share of CalPERS contribution (a 3 percent employee contribution to the city portion); and the regional private-sector wage gap. Council and members asked follow-up questions about how the Social Security contribution differentiated Lincoln from peer cities and whether exemptions were possible; staff said such a change would be complex and likely require negotiation and additional analysis.

Rodriguez also presented retention rates for May 2024'May 2025 and reported an overall retention rate of 92 percent, which she noted exceeded the typical benchmark (about 80'85 percent) for stability. The council received public comments supporting the report and urging continued monitoring. After public testimony and discussion the council voted to adopt the findings of the report.

Why this matters: The state requirement is designed to increase transparency about vacancies and recruitment/retention pressures in local governments; the report gives elected officials and the public a baseline to evaluate staffing challenges and helps identify targeted policy responses, such as changes to recruitment, compensation, or benefit structure.

Council action: Council accepted and adopted the report findings and thanked HR for its work developing the data and recommendations.