Escondido reports 7.16% vacancy rate; HR outlines recruitment and retention steps under AB 2561

Jessica Perpetua, the city’s director of human resources, and Daniel Alvarado, human resources manager, presented the annual vacancy and recruitment report required under Assembly Bill 2561 (Cal. Gov. Code §3502.3) during the Escondido City Council meeting on June 4.

Perpetua said the city budgets 838 full-time positions and had 60 vacancies as of May 12, 2025, yielding a 7.16% overall vacancy rate. Alvarado provided a breakdown by bargaining unit: Teamsters (administrative/clerical/engineering) — 84 positions with 9 vacancies (10.71%); Teamsters maintenance and operations — 89 positions with 12 vacancies (6.35%); Escondido City Employees Association (supervisory) — 46 positions with 6 vacancies (13.04%); Escondido Police Officers Association (sworn) — 53 positions with 2 vacancies (1.31%); Escondido Police Officers Association (non‑sworn) — 40 positions with 7 vacancies (about 17.5%); Firefighters Association (safety and non‑safety) — 105 positions with 3 vacancies (2.86%).

Alvarado summarized recruiting activity for calendar year 2024 (61 recruitments opened, 5,660 applications received, 1,294 candidates tested and 248 hires processed) and year-to-date 2025 (77 recruitments opened, 3,172 applications received, 528 candidates tested and 95 hires processed). He said large applicant pools are common but many candidates do not meet minimum qualifications; several recruitments may fill multiple vacancies or draw from established eligibility lists.

Perpetua described outreach and retention steps: posting on the city website and third-party government job sites, targeted industry postings, online interest cards to notify candidates of related recruitments, stronger social-media recruitment, expanded attendance at career fairs, internships with local schools, periodic salary-structure reviews, a recent citywide classification and compensation study, maintained competitive benefits through broker review, and training such as a five-day supervisors academy and an eight-day management academy. The city also said it regularly reviews promotional opportunities for temporary, part-time and full-time staff.

Next steps included continuing to monitor vacancy rates, notifying employee organizations if any bargaining unit reaches a 20% vacancy rate, evaluating hiring policies that may impede recruitment, and presenting this information annually to the council in compliance with AB 2561. Council members asked for clarification on application-to-hire conversion and were told the screening and testing process narrows large applicant pools; Alvarado noted that one recruitment can produce multiple hires when filling several vacancies.

There were no public comments on the item and the council closed the public hearing after the presentation.