County HR reports 11.4% vacancy rate, cites long recruitment times for nurses and physicians; outlines new hiring tools and incentives

Solano County’s human-resources director told the Board of Supervisors the county’s overall vacancy rate was 11.4% as of the February pay period and highlighted persistent recruitment challenges in nursing and specialized clinical roles.

Nija Edwards, Human Resources director, presented data showing that units representing nurses (Unit 2) and physician/psychiatrist/dental classifications (Unit 11) were the only bargaining units exceeding a 20% vacancy threshold. Edwards said the average time to fill a senior public-health nurse posting was about 305 days and that some specialty recruitments had produced few eligible candidates despite dozens of applications.

Why it matters: county departments that provide clinical health, behavioral health and jail medical services rely on hard-to-find professional classifications. Prolonged vacancies can increase overtime, reduce service levels and push costs to contractors or locum providers.

Details presented - Vacancy snapshot: an overall county vacancy rate of about 11.4% (figures presented were as of Feb. 28, 2025). For the period March 1, 2024–Feb. 28, 2025, Edwards reported roughly 320 external new hires and 542 internal moves (promotions, transfers), with 302 terminations (including retirements and resignations). - High‑vacancy classifications: Unit 2 (nurses) and Unit 11 (psychiatrists, clinic physicians and dentists) are over the 20% threshold; senior public‑health nurse recruitments averaged 305 days to fill from posting to hire on the recruitments listed for 2024.

Recruitment and retention actions HR described - New applicant platform: countywide shift to NeoGov/GovernmentJobs to broaden applicant visibility outside local passive posts. - Active recruiting and career‑fair expansion: HR said it has moved from virtual to in‑person career fairs and plans more targeted outreach, including junior‑high and community‑college engagement to present public service career paths earlier. - Financial incentives and grant support: managed‑care recruitment/retention grants were described that include multi‑year sign-on/retention components (example: a clinic physician package described as approximately $100,000 spread over five years), relocation assistance (up to $5,000 cited) and step‑placement flexibility on hire to make offers more competitive. - Workforce development: internships, foster‑youth pathways, military transition programs, tuition reimbursement (up to $5,000 annually), leadership and mentoring programs and an inclusive‑workforce study to surface retention barriers.

Board questions and public comments Supervisors asked whether the county could do more active national recruiting and whether professional associations could help HR better identify candidate pipelines. Edwards said the county historically used passive posts but is moving toward more active outreach, and that doing so would require investment in tools and staff time. Public commenters representing SEIU and county departments described burnout, overwork, and lateral contracting that they said pushes work away from in‑house staff and harms morale.

What HR said about causes Edwards cited several structural market forces: a tight labor market, post‑COVID retirement and relocation patterns in California, competition from private sector employers, and a national shortage in some health occupations. She also referenced a Berkeley Labor Center report (2020–2023) for statewide context on vacancy causes.

Concluding direction The board received the presentation; no action was required or taken. Supervisors asked HR to return with cost estimates for more active recruitment tools and to continue coordination with affected departments and unions.