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Baldwin Park holds required public hearing on vacancies and recruitment under AB 2561; employee group comments on pay and retention
Summary
City staff presented the annual AB 2561 report on vacancies, recruitment and retention; citywide vacancies were reported as 14 of 95 authorized positions (14.7%); the Baldwin Park City Employees Association urged competitive pay and workplace improvements to retain staff.
During a public hearing required by Assembly Bill 2561 (AB 2561), Baldwin Park city staff presented the status of vacancies and recruitment and retention efforts for the coming fiscal year and invited a brief presentation from a recognized employee bargaining group.
HR staff reported citywide totals as of June 3: 95 authorized full-time positions and 14 vacancies citywide (approximately 14.7%). The presentation included a breakdown by bargaining unit: for example, CEA showed 51 budgeted positions with six vacancies, POA 87 budgeted positions with seven vacancies, and multiple smaller units reported zero vacancies. Staff described recruitment channels — city website, social media, college job portals such as Handshake, job fairs, hiring expos and targeted outreach to professional associations for specialized recruitments — and retention steps already taken, including COLA and health-benefit increases negotiated in MOUs, hiring and referral bonuses for police, revised onboarding, training and internal promotional opportunities.
David Lopez, vice president and CA (employees) representative, addressed the council during the hearing and urged the city to keep compensation and benefits competitive with neighboring San Gabriel Valley cities as a strategy to improve retention and reduce recruitment costs. Lopez said stronger pay and a supportive work environment would help preserve institutional knowledge and reduce the “employee training center” effect where other agencies hire away trained staff.
There were no public speakers, the council closed the public hearing and later voted to file and receive the AB 2561 report. The motions to close the hearing and to file/receive the report passed on recorded votes of 5-0.
