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 ongoing.

Council concern on hiring and contracts

Several council members raised concerns about historic hiring patterns and the use of contracts in place of direct hires. Councilman Street said he believed portions of the historic vacancy rate resulted from decisions to contract out work rather than fill positions with county hires; he said on the record that “people were not hired and contracts were given.” Councilman Sheldon and others advocated exploring apprenticeship programs and training partnerships as a path to fill equipment‑operator and skilled trades roles.

Diversity reporting

Multiple council members — including Councilman Street and Councilman Hollins — pressed the administration about the absence of department‑level diversity reports in the packet. The council co‑chair said the administration had experimented with a countywide diversity report in executive‑committee briefing materials; printed department‑level reports were made available at the meeting and staff said they will provide copies to council members not present.

Cawley and other staff said recruiting is being actively managed and that the vacancies present an opportunity to improve workforce diversity. “When we have those conversations weekly about hiring, we're talking about being able to make sure that we're recruiting in all of the places that we can get a diverse, pool,” Cawley said.

Why it matters: vacancies affect service delivery and the pace at which capital and maintenance work can be completed; department staffing choices and diversity metrics are matters of ongoing council oversight and public concern.

Clarifying numbers and hiring context

- Public Works vacancies: Cawley cited 24 general‑fund vacancies and about 40 vacancies in the sewer fund for a total of 64 vacancies; he said the number was an improvement from about 75 vacancies at the same point a year earlier. - Public Works staffing levels: Cawley said the department has hundreds of budgeted positions and provided an authorized strength breakdown in his slides; council requested the department provide the written diversity report and the departmental submissions used to create the countywide summary.

Next steps

Council members asked the administration to reintroduce department‑level diversity reporting into the budget packet and to provide timelines for filling key positions. Cawley said funds to hire authorized positions are budgeted, and council members asked staff to follow up with details on retention, starting salaries for hard‑to‑fill roles like civil engineering positions and possible apprenticeship programs.