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Public Works reports hiring gains but uncertainty after mayor's hiring freeze
Summary
Human Resources Director Karen Hill told the commission Public Works exceeded its FY 2023-24 hiring goal (495 hires) and filled additional positions in the first half of FY 24-25, but noted a mayoral hiring freeze (effective Jan. 9) that makes current vacancy and hiring projections uncertain; commissioners asked for a breakdown by discipline and details on retirement eligibility (242 employees eligible).
Karen Hill, Human Resources Director for San Francisco Public Works, reported to commissioners that the department exceeded its fiscal 2023-24 hiring goal and has taken steps to expand apprenticeship, intern and promotional pipelines — but said a mayor-imposed hiring freeze is complicating current vacancy accounting and future planning.
Hill said the department exceeded a goal to fill 350 positions by June 30, 2024, reporting 495 hires by that date and an additional 166 hires between July 1 and Dec. 31, 2024. She described recruitment steps including mass hiring events, expansion of eligible civil-service lists and a presence on LinkedIn to reach specialized candidates.
On retention and separations, Hill said the department recorded 100 separations for the period July 1, 2023'June 30, 2024 (39% due to transfers to other departments and 28% retirements). She reported that 242 employees (about 15.3% of the department in the dataset) are eligible to retire and said the department is revisiting its exit-interview program and succession planning.
Hill told commissioners she cannot provide a reliable current vacancy rate because the mayor's hiring freeze (effective Jan. 9) caused positions to be reverted to proposed status; she said the pre-freeze vacancy rate (as of July 2024) was about 14.7%.
Commissioners requested a breakdown of hires and vacancies by discipline (engineering, streets, sanitation, etc.) and asked staff to follow up with those details. "We do have it broken down, but I didn't provide it in this report; I can follow up," Hill said.
Next steps: staff will provide requested discipline-level breakdowns and further data on survey participation and vacancy trends as available.
