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Council receives Assembly Bill 2561 vacancy report showing Norwalk’s overall vacancy rate under 5%
Summary
City staff presented a statutorily required report under Assembly Bill 2561 on workforce vacancies, showing Norwalk had 303 full‑time positions at year‑end 2024, an average time‑to‑fill of 104 days and an overall vacancy rate under 5%. Council received the report as a public hearing item.
Norwalk city staff on June 16 presented the city’s first required public hearing report under Assembly Bill 2561 (AB 2561), summarizing vacancies, recruitment and retention efforts for calendar year 2024.
Human Resources staff outlined that AB 2561 (effective Jan. 1, 2025) requires local agencies to present staffing‑status information in public hearing before adoption of the final budget. The presentation covered vacancy counts, recruitments, and retention measures. Staff reported the city had 303 full‑time positions at the end of 2024, and that 48 of 64 vacancies created during the year were filled in 2024. The average days to fill those positions was 104, which staff described as “a very good number” for civil‑service processes that include internal notice periods and multi‑step selection procedures.
Staff said the city’s average vacancy rate is under 5%, so additional AB 2561 reporting requirements specific to bargaining units with vacancy rates of 20% or more did not apply. Staff also described recruitment strategies (on‑the‑spot hiring fair, increased social media outreach, listings on professional association channels, NEOGOV use) and retention efforts (benefits package, education reimbursements totaling $80,000 across unions, wellness and recognition programs). HR noted obstacles including market wage competitiveness and a previously paper‑based onboarding process, and said the city implemented an online onboarding system and conducted a class and compensation study at council direction.
The public hearing was opened and closed with no speakers; council accepted the staff presentation and the item was received into the record.
Why this matters: AB 2561 requires transparency about local government vacancies. Norwalk’s report indicates low vacancy levels overall but identifies recruitment and retention constraints that staff plan to address.
Next steps: Staff said the compensation/classification study and onboarding improvements are ongoing and that the city will continue monitoring vacancy and recruitment metrics.
