Supervisors press Public Works on high vacancies, plan working group to speed hiring

SAN FRANCISCO — The Government Audit and Oversight Committee on Feb. 3 pressed Department of Public Works officials over prolonged hiring timelines and a persistent vacancy problem that supervisors said is degrading street services across the city.

Supervisor Safaie (name appears in the record with variant spellings Safaei/Safai/Safaie), who sponsored the hearing, said the department reported “about 500 plus positions” vacant citywide and that “over 300 plus of them are in your operations division,” leaving crews stretched thin and slowing responses to calls for service. “That is significant to the delivery of service in our city,” the sponsor said.

The committee heard from Interim DPW Director Carla Short, Deputy Director Bruce Robertson and City Administrator human-resources staff about the causes of the shortfall and possible fixes. Robertson gave the most detailed snapshot of the operations bureau, saying the bureau had 257 vacant positions — a vacancy rate he put at 33.8% — and that 45 of those positions are project-funded; he also noted temporary corridor hires were on payroll but not included in the vacancy totals. “Based on the report as of this morning I…