Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
San Mateo holds AB 2561 hearing on city vacancies; HR outlines hiring challenges and staff retention steps
Summary
City HR reported a 9.8% vacancy rate and cited hiring delays, lengthy external recruitments and competition from higher-paying nearby cities; SEIU urged raises, workforce housing and childcare; staff said they will pursue process improvements and partnerships to reduce vacancies to a 6% target.
The San Mateo City Council convened a public hearing on April 7, 2025 as required by Assembly Bill 2561 and government code section 3502.3 to present the status of city vacancies, recruitment and retention efforts.
Araceli Esparza, director of human resources, told the council the city has 548 full-time equivalent positions in 68 job classifications and reported an overall vacancy rate of 11.5% as of Jan. 27, 2025 that has since decreased to 9.8%. She said the largest share of vacancies was in Public Works (41% of vacancies) and Parks & Recreation (24%), and that the city filled 140 positions in 2024. “As of 01/27/2025, our vacancy rate was 11.5. I am pleased to report that our current vacancy rate has decreased to 9.8%,” Esparza said.
Esparza outlined steps staff has taken and recommended actions to address hiring challenges: request additional HR staffing, review each phase of recruitment and selection to streamline processes, identify…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
