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County HR reports vacancies, recruitment improvements under AB 2561; physician staffing flagged as concern by PDOC
Summary
Under AB 2561 the county presented its annual vacancies, recruitment and retention report. HR said vacancy rates have declined and time-to-hire shortened; the Physicians and Dentists Organization (PDOC) told the board physician and specialist vacancies remain high and urged more permanent hires rather than long-term contractors.
Contra Costa County human resources staff presented the annual AB 2561 report on vacancies, recruitment and retention at the Board of Supervisors meeting on May 13, 2025.
HR Director Anne Elliot (presentation) reported the county's full-time vacancy rate has fallen below the 20% AB 2561 threshold for bargaining units; no bargaining unit exceeded the 20% vacancy mark in the period reviewed. HR said applications are increasing, the county now posts more than 100 recruitments at a time, and the average time-to-hire has declined versus previous years. HR described improvements such as remote I-9 processing, use of recorded initial interviews to screen candidates, increased use of continuous recruitments where appropriate, and a planned business-intelligence tool to help benchmark classifications and compensation.
Physicians and Dentists Organization of Contra Costa (PDOC) President Dr. David McDonald addressed the board during the hearing and said PDOC's full-time vacancy rate stood at 18.85% and that many physician positions had stayed vacant for years. "We have 3 positions for child psychiatrists in East And West County clinics that have been vacant for 2 years, 7 years, and 9 years," he said. PDOC urged the county to redirect funds spent on temporary contractors into hiring long-term, permanently employed physicians, especially to staff new facilities such as the West County Reentry Treatment and Housing Facility.
HR described workforce initiatives to improve hiring and retention: modernizing job descriptions to emphasize mission and career pathways; using HireVue recorded interviews to speed screening; reducing appeal windows from five to three days; targeted recruitment and career fairs; and reintroducing internal service awards and a countywide performance-management system in the coming fiscal year. HR also highlighted efforts on career development and internal promotion: in 2024 the county recorded 837 internal promotions, reassignments or series promotions.
Board members thanked HR for the report and said they would monitor physician vacancies and other mission-critical staffing gaps. The hearing fulfilled the AB 2561 public-notice requirement; following the presentation the board accepted the report.
Ending
Supervisors asked HR to continue work on the transparency and hiring tools already underway and to work with departments that face persistent, hard-to-fill vacancies, with special attention to physician, psychiatric and detention medical positions.
