Public Works reports 64 vacancies; council presses for department‑level diversity reports

Cleon Cawley, general manager of Public Works, told council that the department is working to reduce a large vacancy list and described the issue as a mix of retirement and recruitment challenges. At the hearing Cawley said the department had 64 vacancies in total and described an active hiring effort. He also provided a headcount and organizational context for the council.

Cawley said public works has an authorized complement of staff measured in the hundreds and that the department has seen many long‑service employees reach retirement age. “When you talk about general fund positions, there are 389 FTEs in public works,” Cawley said, and he later described an authorized strength that allocates staff between general fund and sewer fund components. He said the department has been filling positions steadily and that monthly and weekly recruiting work is…