Cupertino council receives state-mandated vacancy report; citywide vacancy rate 10.4% as of April

Vanessa Guerra, the City of Cupertino's human resources manager, presented the report required by Assembly Bill 2561 and Government Code section 3502.3, saying the law's intent is to increase transparency about public-agency hiring and to identify policies or procedures that could hinder recruitment.

Guerra said the city's snapshot through April shows 202 budgeted full-time equivalent positions (FTEs), excluding the five councilmembers, and a citywide vacancy rate of 10.4%. The city tracks vacancies by bargaining unit; Cupertino has two represented bargaining units (Operating Engineers Local 3 and the Cupertino Employees Association, IFPTE Local 21) plus unrepresented/appointed positions. Guerra said the city uses NeoGov and CalOpps for job postings, and works with department contacts, professional organizations and conferences to recruit candidates.

The report said agencies must make additional disclosures and actions if a bargaining-unit vacancy rate exceeds 20%. Guerra said Cupertino did not meet that threshold, and therefore does not have the extra reporting requirements triggered by AB 2561.

Public comment included requests to prioritize filling community-facing positions. A remote speaker who identified himself as a resident urged the council to reduce growth in the city manager's office and to prioritize planning, building and parks positions that affect day-to-day services. Planning Commissioner Sima Linscog, speaking as a resident, said repeated turnover in the city manager position had damaged morale and the city's ability to recruit. Several speakers also asked for more transparency in legal and outside-contract spending.

Council members asked staff for additional detail. Councilmember Mohan asked whether the report was new (staff said it is a new state requirement but the city has provided vacancy information previously in budget documents). Vice Mayor Moore asked whether employee organizations were notified of the hearing (staff said they were). Councilmembers asked for a follow-up table showing when vacancies were posted, the recorded reason for each vacancy (retirement, promotion, resignation) and typical recruitment timelines; staff said they will provide that information in writing for the council and public prior to final budget adoption.

The council moved to receive the informational report on vacancies and recruitment and retention efforts pursuant to Government Code section 3502.3. The motion passed on a roll call vote: Councilmember Fruin, Aye; Councilmember Mohan, Aye; Councilmember Wong, Aye; Vice Mayor Moore, Aye; Mayor Chow, Aye.

Staff said the vacancy snapshot and the recruitment methods will inform budget deliberations leading up to the June budget adoption, and that they will return with the requested posting dates, vacancy reasons and additional recruitment metrics.

(Reporting note: direct quotes in this article are drawn from the public transcript and are attributed to the speakers listed below.)