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DPW officials say key engineer and building-safety posts remain vacant; salary and hiring limits flagged
Summary
Department of Public Works officials told lawmakers that specialized roles such as a building-safety official and civil engineers remain open because of low salary levels; DPW said it is pursuing grant support and WIA hires while OPM reports few qualified applicants.
Lawmakers pressed the Department of Public Works on multiple vacancies and recruitment barriers during a budget hearing, and DPW officials cited salary limits set by the Office of Personnel Management and the difficulty of attracting specialized applicants.
"We're not gonna attract the type of applicants we need with the current funding limits based on OPM," Secretary Ray Yumo said, describing efforts to use grants to supplement salaries. Peter Camacho, DPW director of administrative services, told the committee several positions have completed selection steps but are pending final signatures and issuance of personnel actions.
Why it matters: vacancies in technical roles affect DPW's ability to deliver projects and to perform inspections and code enforcement. Committee members pressed on timelines and asked whether federal grant funds could be used to raise pay for hard-to-fill roles.
What DPW told the committee: - The building safety official position and other professional posts have been repeatedly advertised but the Office of Personnel Management reported no qualified applicants; DPW said it is continuing a continuous announcement. - Yumo said DPW is pursuing grant support under a building-code adoption and technical assistance program to supplement salary offers. He said, by his account in testimony, the grant could help raise one position's pay "beyond the ... $65" range referenced in the hearing and that another position was discussed at about $50,000. - The department also described converting Workforce Investment Agency (WIA) trainees to permanent hires as a stopgap and said it is running equipment-operator certification training to build in-house capacity.
Lawmakers asked whether statutes or regulations prevent DPW from using federal grant funds to co-fund salaries; the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) representative told the committee lapses and program funds can be used in many cases, and that if an employee supports a federal program the federal grant should cover a portion of the salary.
Committee direction: members urged DPW to keep recruiting, provide documented vacancy timelines, and to work with OMB and OPM to identify where grant co-funding or reclassification can fill critical technical posts.
