Richmond receives first AB 2561 vacancy report; unions and residents press council to fill positions and raise pay

Sharon Taylor, the city’s human resources director, presented Richmond’s first annual vacancy report required by Assembly Bill 2561, telling the City Council the report showed an 18% average vacancy rate in 2024 and a year-end staffing total of 808 full‑time equivalent positions.

Taylor said the city added 55 new budgeted positions during 2024 and opened recruitment for hundreds of classifications, but ongoing market pressures, the COVID hiring pause and a history of turnover left the city with higher-than-expected vacancies. “Our employees are our most valuable asset,” she said, framing retention and internal promotion as priorities.

The report drew extensive public comment and follow-up questions from council members. Council Member Claudia Jimenez asked for multi‑year vacancy trends and for a monthly dashboard showing how many open positions reach each stage of the hiring process. Council Member Natay Bonner and Council Member Myrna Wilson pressed staff for clearer lists of which classifications are vacant, the status of each recruitment and how many vacancies reflect positions intentionally held open.

Union leaders used the hearing to urge faster hiring and higher wages. Kevin Tisdale of SEIU Local 1021 highlighted a union tally showing dozens of vacant frontline positions and said vacancy savings approach $6.2 million for SEIU‑represented positions through April; he asked the council to invest in hiring to avoid overtime, injuries and burnout. Ben Therio, president of the Richmond Police Officers Association, presented the RPOA’s staffing analysis and called for incentives to recruit and retain sworn officers, noting a longer-term decline in authorized patrol staffing and “mandatory overtime” as a continuing consequence.

Several current city employees also spoke during the hearing, describing how vacancies affect daily service: a lifeguard, a library worker and maintenance staff described understaffing, repeated retraining of temporary hires and pressured schedules. City Manager Shasa Curl and other staff acknowledged the constraints, noting added positions in public works and safety tied to council priorities and saying bargaining outcomes could change payroll totals after the budget is adopted.

The hearing produced no final vote or formal action; it was convened as the statutorily required public review of the vacancy report. Council members directed staff to provide more detailed vacancy-tracking data — including month‑by‑month counts, classification‑level lists, and exit‑interview summaries — and to return during the budget hearings with options for using approved positions, reducing vacancy savings and quantifying overtime and other costs associated with understaffing.

The council capped the hearing with an administrative direction to staff to deliver the requested follow‑up materials in time for the June budget deliberations.